We all operate on limited resources. Whether that’s time, money, labor, access to information, experience, etc. There is always something we are missing when it comes to growing our businesses and ourselves. Small companies are no exception and have to deal with an ever-changing landscape of demand and technology with few experiencing consistency within their industry.
This is where human creativity can be exercised greatly. Though I hardly consider myself a creative person (in a traditional sense), I do like finding solutions to problems; and marketing has a slew of uphill battles that create fun problems to try and solve.
Though this isn’t an exhaustive list, I have researched quite a few ways to creatively grow your business during times of limited resources.
Creating Helpful Content Online
Whether that is a blog or a YouTube channel, there are many verticals that have missing information, unanswered questions, or audiences that haven’t found a personality that they can easily connect with. Even if you’re covering the same information as someone else, you will cover it differently and have a different perspective on how you approach the subject.
Just make sure you speak about something with authority. Strong opinions liter the internet from individuals and groups that have no clue what they are talking about.
Though this is a slower approach to growing your business, it can be a great way to be considered an authority within your industry (even if you service a smaller town or area). For example, if you start a YouTube channel, be sure to have some backlogged content you can pull from to show YouTube your channel is serious about getting new viewers. Start with five videos that answer popular questions. You can easily start your research by looking at the “People Also Ask” on Google’s search results pages. Just ask a question and see what other questions are being asked to form a topic cluster you want to cover.
Ask Influencers To Review Your Product
When I was doing my internship for a health supplement e-commerce brand, I did this frequently because the company had tons of product but almost zero advertising budget.
I went first to local gym owners and gave them some samples to be reviewed by their members. It was an easy sell because we had the case studies to back our product when it came to its benefits. From there, I started reaching out to fitness enthusiasts across the United States to try our product for 30 days and review it.
The online response was initially disappointing but became more lucrative as more people’s curiosity was sparked – I also learned a lot about cold calling/DMing during this time which helped me in my sales capabilities.
It resulted in more sales for the company. Even with a small number of negative reviews, people still explored our products. It just goes to show that even negative publicity can still drive awareness. And thankfully, our reviews were mostly positive.
Hyper target Smaller Audiences Online
If you do have a small advertising budget, you can still drive awareness about your products and services online. You just have to get a little creative. If a few thousand dollar search budget isn’t in the plan, then try building a smaller look-a-like audience based on your current website visitors or customer lists on Google, LinkedIn, and/or Facebook. For as little as $300/month, you could get some really good traction just by leveraging technology that is easily accessible.
It’s not going to blow up your sales but it will add additional leads that you can work with.
Ask previous customers for reviews
Lastly, you can reach out to previous customers and ask them to review you on Google, Yelp, and Facebook. Word-of-mouth marketing has always been the strongest form of advertising and, with online networks, it is one of the biggest forms of reputation management you can start leveraging today.
It takes time, but with consistent effort, you can rank higher in places that drive customers to your businesses just by boosting your reviews.