Free Unconventional Promotional Tips For Small Businesses

Have you exhausted all of your marketing budget on strategies that you thought for sure would work, but you didn’t end up seeing any return?

Maybe you’re looking for some new and fresh ideas to stand out from your competition. Whatever the reason, there’s no harm in trying something new and spicing up how you meet your goals.

Here are some unconventional promotional tips that you can incorporate into your business at no extra cost!

Hold A Contest

Hosting a little healthy competition between your customers is a great way to get them to tell their friends about your business.

If you own a bar, you could have a signature drink competition, in which everyone has to create their best cocktail that tells a story about them, and the prize is that it gets to be featured on your menu for a month. If you own a furniture store, you could hold a DIY competition in which everyone has to use a set of specific tools and the same amount of wood to create something.

The possibilities are endless, as long as you keep it true to your business and what you want your customers to take away from the experience.

Incorporate Guerilla Marketing

Do you remember that scene in “Night In The Museum” where there was a news story covering dinosaur tracks that were leading up to the American Museum of Natural History in New York? That stunt caused so much free publicity for the museum that visitors crowded the place the next day, fascinated by all of the cool exhibits.

This is an example of guerilla marketing, which is a tactic in which public space is utilized to promote a specific business. This can be done in a variety of ways, from coming up with a creative-looking billboard that utilizes real-world objects, to putting a decal on your car that creates a sense of hyper-realism concerning your product.

You don’t have to go completely outlandish with your campaign, but giving something for people to stop and stare at will at least get them thinking about your product and hopefully earn a picture on social media.

Create A Loyalty Program For Returning Customers

Returning customers make up 80% of your profit. It’s important to show how much they are appreciated by giving them an incentive to come back to your business.

Some businesses utilize punch cards with the promise of a free product after a certain number of holes punched or a simple program that occasionally sends out texts with discount codes or other promotions. You can simply copy those methods, or even better, come up with something more creative like earn points by posting certain pictures with the brand on social media.

However you want to style your perks for your most valued customers who continue to bless you with their business, the more engaging and creative you can be will net you the best chances for success.

Have Fun With It

It doesn’t necessarily take a lot of shock value for people to want to visit your small business during their busy schedule. As long as the perceived value outweighs the underlying costs that will be expected from them, they will come to you.

Even if someone sees one of these creative campaigns that you just launched and they think it isn’t for them, they will almost certainly share it with someone else whom they know will be more interested and curious enough to see what it’s all about. There will be some hits and misses, but the most important thing is to be resilient and never give up.