Handbook / Marketing a small business

Marketing a small business on a budget: low-cost methods that work

Big marketing budgets are not required to win customers, especially for local and service businesses. What matters is a clear message, consistency and choosing channels where your customers already are. Most effective low-cost marketing trades money for time and attention. This guide sets out the methods in roughly the order they tend to pay off.

Start with the message

Before any channel, be clear on:

• who you serve
• what problem you solve
• why someone should choose you

Write it in one plain sentence, such as "I help independent restaurants keep their books up to date so they always know where their money goes." Use it on your profile, website, cards and introductions. A clear message makes every other method work better.

1. Your network

Tell people you know what you do and who you help. Send personal messages, not a mass announcement. Ask for introductions to specific kinds of people. Former colleagues and employers are often the first source of work.

2. Referrals

Satisfied customers are the cheapest source of new ones. Ask directly, make it easy, and thank people who refer. The guide to asking for referrals explains how.

3. Reviews

Reviews persuade strangers. Ask every happy customer, with a direct link, and follow the FTC rules on reviews. The guide to getting reviews covers the details.

4. Free listings

• your business profile on map and search services
• relevant local and industry directories
• professional association member listings

Complete every field, add photos and keep hours accurate.

5. Direct outreach

Contact well-chosen prospects with a short, personal message showing you understand their situation. Ten thoughtful messages often outperform hundreds of generic ones. Commercial email must follow federal email rules; the FTC's CAN-SPAM guide explains the requirements, such as honest subject lines and a way to opt out.

6. Partnerships

Complementary businesses serve the same customers without competing. Examples:

• a bookkeeper and a tax preparer
• a web designer and a copywriter
• a cleaner and a property manager
• a photographer and a wedding planner

Agree to refer suitable work to each other, or create something together, such as a joint workshop.

7. Simple content

A little useful content builds trust and search visibility:

• answers to the questions customers ask most
• short case studies of real projects, with permission
• practical tips relevant to your service

Google's SEO starter guide emphasises creating helpful, reliable content written for people, with descriptive titles. One good article a month that answers a real question is better than daily posts with nothing to say.

8. Email

An email list of past customers and interested prospects keeps you in mind when they need you again. Send occasional, useful messages with permission. The guide to email marketing explains how to start.

9. Local presence

• talks or workshops at libraries, business groups or associations
• sponsoring a local event
• networking groups where your customers or partners attend

Choose a few and show up consistently.

Paid options, carefully

Once your message works, small paid tests can help:

• set a monthly cap
• target narrowly
• send traffic to a page with one clear action
• track enquiries and sales from each test

Stop anything you cannot measure.

Track and adjust

Ask every new customer how they found you and keep a log. Even a simple spreadsheet with the date, source and outcome of each enquiry is enough. After three months, put more effort into the top two sources and drop what brings nothing.

A weekly routine

• one hour: outreach and follow-up
• thirty minutes: reviews and referrals
• one hour: content or email
• fifteen minutes: update your enquiry log

Free tools worth using

• a free business profile on major map and search services
• a simple website or single page with your services and contact details
• an email tool's free plan for a short newsletter
• a scheduling link for inquiry calls
• a spreadsheet to track leads and their source

Set each one up properly once, then keep the details consistent everywhere your business appears.

Say no to poor-fit opportunities

Not every low-cost option is worth your time. Skip directories nobody in your market uses, events with the wrong audience, and unpaid work offered in exchange for exposure. Spending time on the right few channels is cheaper than being everywhere.

Clarify your message, then use your network, referrals, reviews, free listings, direct outreach, partnerships and simple content, track what works, and spend money only when you can measure it.