Owning a business comes with risks and one of them being low sales. Earning sales is especially challenging for new brands, so their marketing strategy must be carefully planned and cost-effective. With limited resources, one’s choices of promotional tools are also limited.
You can do brand promotions through TV, radio, and online ads, as well as by giving away brochures and engaging in PR activities. But there are other more feasible and inexpensive ways to spread brand awareness and boost sales. These include using social media, customer referral programs, loyalty programs, and distributing custom promotional apparel to your employees and customers.
1. Social Media
You can advertise your brand and products for free on various social media platforms. Being active on social media also gives you the opportunity to engage with your customers, because they can leave questions and commentaries on every post. Q”Reddit Ask Me Anything” is going popular, and it’s a social media platform where your customers can freely ask you questions, too. To get started with “Reddit Ask Me Anything”, browse its relevant threads to have an idea of how you should launch your own.
2. Customer Referral Programs
A customer referral program enables you to gain new customers through your existing ones. This works by giving an existing customer an incentive when a new customer that they have referred buys from your brand. For example, giving away a coupon or gift card to the existing customer, and granting a discount to the one they’ve referred. The incentives for the existing customer should increase per new customer they bring in so that they’ll be motivated to encourage more of their peers to buy from your brand.
3. Loyalty Programs
Research has shown that 73% of customers are more willing to spread the word about a brand which has loyalty programs. Like customer referral programs, loyalty programs benefit both the brand and customers. The latter gets rewards, while the former enjoys high revenues.
Customer retention is important to increase profits. According to research, a 5% increase in customer retention can result in a 25% to 95% increase in profits. Loyalty programs also enhance the customer experience, which is also essential when targeting higher sales.
When you decide on a loyalty program, make sure it’s one that’s easy to understand, and that accumulation of points won’t take a long time. Don’t forget about the pleasing discounts you’ll offer once the customers have generated enough points.
4. Promotional Apparel
There are several reasons promotional products are effective parts of a marketing strategy. These include giving your employees incentives. Rewarding them for their hard work by gifting them promotional products such as clothes can make them feel appreciated. It is a good way to remind them that they are vital parts of your brand.
Promotional products are also great alternatives for discount programs. For a certain amount spent by a customer, include a free gift to their purchase. They will perceive branded promotional apparel as something worth more than just discounts when in reality, they would be worth less than offering discounts.
When your employees and customers wear your promotional apparel, they become your brand ambassadors. Be sure to design your promotional apparel in simple but attractive ways, so they would feel comfortable wearing it everywhere. Other practical promotional items include mugs, backpacks, and pens.
These four inexpensive promotional strategies are proven effective and easy to implement. When you’re a newbie at the business scene, you need all possible low-cost solutions, so consider any of these strategies to gain more customers and increase your sales.