Designing and manufacturing a great product is only half the battle. The other half of the real challenge is getting your products into the hands of your customers. This can be difficult — especially if you’re in a crowded niche with lots of competitors or if you’ve created a completely new product that people are not familiar with. But it’s not impossible. In fact, there are lots of ways to grab the attention of your target audience without spending a lot of money! We’ve listed several cheap but effective marketing techniques below:
Marketing is an integral aspect of successful product design. However, for cash-strapped startups, it can be difficult to work out an effective strategy. That said, there are lots of ways to grab the attention of your target audience without spending a lot of money! We’ve listed several cheap but effective marketing techniques below:
Build A Website
One of the best ways to market your product is to build a strong online presence, and one way to achieve this is to have a website. No matter what your business is, having a website is a necessary investment in the modern economy. A well-managed online presence is a very cost-effective way to attract attention to your product and provides a platform from which to sell it.
Many customers nowadays use the internet to do pre-purchase research and, when your business is hard to find on the web, they won’t get the information they need. If someone hears about your product somehow, the first thing they’re likely to do is run you through a search engine. That might be about as far as consumers will be willing to go to find you, so you’d better be findable that way!
There’s no need to fret since creating a basic website isn’t that expensive. There are all kinds of services out there now to help entrepreneurs create their own unique websites without needing any coding skills. By getting a basic web design and development package, you can come up with a site that reflects your business’s ethos and provides the information that your target audience need.
Be Active On Social Media
This is one of the cheapest yet most efficient ways to promote your products. Signing up with a social networking site is free (although you’ll need to pay if you decide to take advantage of premium features), and it lets you reach out to a large number of people. Social media has re-written the rules of marketing. Direct outreach and brand engagement are important tools, from the smallest businesses to the largest corporations.
A word of warning, though: don’t just post pictures or articles of your products on your Facebook or Twitter page! Most social media users nowadays are looking for value and get annoyed at companies who do nothing but promote themselves. Give value to your followers by posting articles about the latest news and updates in your niche, how-to video guides on using your product, and other content that are useful or entertaining to your target market.
Contribute To Other Websites
If you can manage to do so without being spammy and obnoxious, contributing content to other websites can be a great way to increase your brand awareness and boost the SEO for that website we talked about. While it’s important to develop your website and blog and make them grow, it’s also essential to extend your reach and collaborate with other website owners. For instance, if you’re making a health-related product, you can write an article for an online health magazine. If you’re creating a consumer electronics product, you can contribute a fun and informative video to a tech website. Don’t just send form emails to everyone, though: it’s annoying (trust me). Find websites that fit, and only get in touch if you actually have content that would be relevant to them.
How does this help? Many websites allow you to link your website in your blurb, so those who read your article or watch your video can make their way to your site. Even if linking is not allowed, you can still give your products and business plenty of exposure and raise brand awareness in the process.
Use Email Marketing
Email is definitely not dead! Ask any successful business owner or marketer, and you’ll most likely receive positive responses on how email has helped them promote their products. So, if don’t yet have an email marketing plan, it’s time to create one now.
Start by building an email list of your target customers. Doing this is important since it ensures that you’re sending your marketing emails not just to random people but to shoppers who are interested in your products and are likely to buy them. There are many ways to build your list, such as offering free content (e.g. informative whitepaper, an interesting podcast, or for information pertaining to your upcoming product) in exchange for the customers’ email address.
Once you have a list, you can put your email marketing campaign together. There are lots of ways to go about this — the only limit is your creativity! You can send “Thank you” emails to customers who buy your product and include a discount voucher on their next purchase to encourage them to purchase again. You can also use email marketing to inform your target customers about upcoming events or announce the latest addition to your product range.
Use The Power Of Video
Humans are inherently visual creatures, so it’s not surprising that most people respond well to videos. You can take advantage of this fact that making videos a big part of your marketing campaign. For instance, you can create informative videos that introduce customers about your product as well as video guides on how to use it. Take a look at some successful Kickstarter campaigns. Notice how they all have videos? You can then post these videos on your website, your social media accounts, and video sharing sites like YouTube and Vimeo. Don’t forget live streaming services like Periscope, Facebook Live, and YouTube Live: they help you interact with your target audience in real time and build instant connections with them.
You can then post these videos on your website, your social media accounts, and video sharing sites like YouTube and Vimeo. Don’t forget live streaming services like Periscope, Facebook Live, and YouTube Live: they help you interact with your target audience in real time and build instant connections with them.
You can then post these videos on your website, your social media accounts, and video sharing sites like YouTube and Vimeo. Don’t forget live streaming services like Periscope, Facebook Live, and YouTube Live: they help you interact with your target audience in real time and build instant connections with them.
Offer Free Samples
It might seem counter-intuitive to give your products away. After all, your number one priority is to make sales, right? However, in many cases, allowing customers to use your product without any charge is one of the best ways to turn them into followers. Of course, free samples are only really an option for certain kinds of products. If you’re dealing with something that is a bit too involved for free samples, though, you can think about working in offers for early-adopter discounts or other similar promotions.
A lot of people are hesitant to try a product that they’re not familiar with or switch from their trusted brand to a completely new company. By giving them a free sample, you’ll remove the cost from the equation and encourage them to give your product a try. If they realize that your product does give better value than your competitors’, these people won’t hesitate to purchase from you and recommend you to their family and friends.
Host Interesting Classes And Workshops
This is an excellent way to generate buzz about your business and raise awareness about your products. Your classes and workshops don’t have to be complicated; they simply have to teach people a new skill or introduce them to a new concept that they’re really familiar with. For instance, if you sell designer furniture, you can talk about furnishings and interior design or teach people about furniture repair and maintenance. If you’re a jewelry designer and retailer, you can talk about selecting the right accessories for different outfits or teach people how to personalize their own jewelry.
Take Part In Local Events
If most of your target customers live in your town, city, or county, it makes sense to get involved in local events. This way, you’ll increase brand recognition and establish yourself as an important part of the local industry. You might even get media exposure if the event is covered by local radios and newspapers! Sponsoring a charity fun run or a popular annual festival is just one of the strategies you can use.
Final Thoughts
Marketing your product doesn’t have to be expensive! By using the right strategies, you can get people talking about your product without having to spend a fortune. One of the most important tips for marketing is to do your research. There are many sources of information, some good, some bad. It’s important to do your homework!
There are lots of online resources — including this blog! Check out some of our other articles for more product marketing tips.