When you first get out of the start-up phase, it’s not uncommon to be strapped for cash. Your company may be on its feet, but there’s still a long way to go before that footing is stable.
Bootstrapped companies learn to go without. Trimming the budgetary fat involves making some difficult decisions. It’s important that those decisions don’t cause you to sacrifice something vital, like marketing. Too many companies function under the assumption that marketing can wait. Marketing is what builds your business to begin with. The thing to figure out is how to do it “on the cheap.”
Marketable Bang on a Shoestring Buck
We’ve collected three tips to help you launch and sustain an affordable marketing campaign. A small business line of credit can be used to back any of the following ideas:
Tip One: Leave your advertising organic. There are two schools of thought on internet advertising:
- Let your company be found through unpaid search results (organic)
- Pay for advertorial space on other sites (native)
Google’s algorithm update, Penguin 2.0, has made it clear what kind of advertising curries favor with the search engine giant. Native advertising tactics will remain under close scrutiny for any regulatory violations; editorial and organic searches will remain untouched. Which tactic strikes you as the smarter investment?
If you don’t know much about how Search Engine Optimization (SEO) works, use your small business line of credit to invest in the tools that will help you learn and succeed.
Tip Two: There’s power in analytics. Ever wonder how companies in the big leagues attract and retain a swath of loyal customers? It all comes down to reading your audience. Luckily, the right information can insure that nothing gets lost in translation.
There are over 200 dimensions and metrics of collectable information on your customer base. These statistics cover areas of interest including:
- Browser Type
- Mobile devices
- Click behavior
- Geography
- Other variables
These trends allow you to tailor your website and content to specific user preferences. Let’s face it, you’ve worked very hard to attract web traffic; these are tried and tested ways to keep traffic coming back.
Tip Three: When in doubt, ask. Loyalty begins with listening to your customer base. It always has and it always will. The opinions can be solicited or unsolicited. You can create natural opportunities for these opinions to be shared through reviews, comments, and social media. If you’d rather, you can ask for it directly through surveys and digital feedback tools.
Some of these tips require financing; others don’t. A business line of credit is unrestricted. This makes it the perfect solution whatever your marketing strategy turns out to be. Test out a few of these tips and adjust their application for your company.
Advance Funds Network offers different types of unsecured funding that will help your business achieve its desired outcomes. We can assist your business in furthering your goals and objectives through a small business line of credit.
