This document discusses low-cost marketing strategies for small businesses. It defines marketing as providing the right product or service, at the right price and place, to the right customers for a profit. The document recommends understanding customer profiles and communicating benefits rather than features. It provides examples of low-cost and free marketing options like partnerships, websites, freebies, search engines, publicity, testimonials, and networking. It also presents a case study of a small business that uses effective low-cost methods like a good name and logo, an informational website, understanding its audience, free listings, testimonials, a customer database, and PR.

1. Marketing on a Shoestring !
… low cost marketing that really works
fruitful marketing for business

2. Would it be useful to know…
What Marketing is and what it isn’t?
How to attract the right customers?
How to communicate the right message?
Learn some low cost (+ FREE) marketing
methods?
See how these have worked for a local small
business?
fruitful marketing for business

3. What is Marketing?

4. It isn’t just …
Advertising
Your logo
Glossy printed leaflets and flyers
BUY
ME
A quirky website NOW!
fruitful marketing for business

5. What is Marketing?
In simple terms, it’s all about . . .
Providing the right product/service,
at the right price,
at the right time and/or place,
to the right customers,
at a PROFIT to your business
fruitful marketing for business

6. Understanding your customers

7. Which customers do you want
to attract to your business?
Not all customers are created EQUAL!
Make sure you don’t treat them all the same in your
marketing
You need to understand your ‘Customer Profiles’
Who?
Where?
When?
Why?
How?
fruitful marketing for business

8. Communicating the right message
to your customers
aka how to stand out from the
crowd!

9. ‘BENEFITS’ are better by far!
All of your products & services have a range of
FEATURES …
BUT features don’t make me want to buy!
You need to identify the need, desire, pain or
problem your customer has…
Turn FEATURES into powerful BENEFITS
Give the customer compelling reasons to buy
fruitful marketing for business

10. How many ways are there to
promote your business?

11. This is not one of them!

12. Nor is this!!

13. …Low cost and even no cost !
It’s all about what combinations of marketing
work best for your business and your customers
You have to invest to succeed
If customers don’t know about you …they can’t buy!
There are many low cost and even FREE
options to market your business
Mass advertising is probably the least
effective for small businesses
fruitful marketing for business

14. There are many options available
…
Partnerships
Website
Freebies
Search engines
Publicity & PR
Free advertising
Testimonials
Recommendatio
n Intro Letter
Competitions
Demo or event Networking
fruitful marketing for business

15. Case study:
‘Real life’ low cost marketing
…. that works!

16. Introducing… xxxxxxxxx
A small local business – specialising in
bookkeeping, payroll, training and secretarial
work
Run by Anne Simmons
Trading for over 10 years
Now has 25+ regular clients – Surrey/Hants
Has 11 bookkeepers
Uses marketing very effectively
to grow the business and strengthen the company
name fruitful marketing for business

17. …Low cost methods that really
work!
Good company name and logo
Developed an information (brochure style) website
Understand their target audience really well
Uses free listings such as Yellow Pages
Uses testimonials to add ‘punch’ to their marketing
messages
Invested in a small business list/database
Uses PR to gain exposure – more powerful than
traditional ‘paid for’ advertising
Uses specialist help
fruitful marketing for business

18. Sign up for our FREE monthly
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at
www.orchardmarketingassociates.co.uk
Orchard Marketing Associates
m: 07799 473006
e: sarah@orchardmarketingassociates.co.uk
fruitful marketing for business