by Osama Taha
Marketing is the core of success for any business, be it online of offline alike.
The main problem facing businesses when it comes to marketing campaigns, is definitely the cost. It is widely believed that any effective marketing campaign requires a sizable investment.
Well, that however, is not entirely true. You can still pull a very effective marketing campaign with a very small amount of money, if you follow these 4 money saving tactics:
Tactic # 1: SMALL is big
Sounds crazy, right?
well, it is not really, sometimes you can make a greater impact in your marketing campaign, simply by being smaller than all the rest in your league.
Imagine a well written two-line killer ad, compared to half a page of if's and when's, which pulls the reader more?
Right, the capsule ad, with the remedy inside.
Now, whether you run your ad in print, E zine, TV or radio, the smaller it is, the less money you pay, yet such a capsule ad can act like a dart, straight into the bull's eye.
All you need to do is to think small, avoid expensive media, use your imagination to come up with new marketing idea that don't cost you money, or not much.
Another way to grow bigger by being smaller is to concentrate on a small target market, define your niche market, eliminate the (not-so-sure) portion, and pound the rest with all you have.
The wisdom of this would be, in a small market you will stand tall even if you are a small business, or a one person venture.
Tactic # 2: Plan on Planning:
Planning saves you money, in fact, lots of money.
While marketing is considered the least well planned of all major business activities, a well planned marketing campaign can mean the difference between making profit and losing money.
Marketing money is often spend without a clear rational on how does it fit in the overall marketing strategy, in terms of results and efficiency.
On the net, planning a marketing campaign will not only save you money, but will save you both time and effort, which are the three major assets you consume as you do business online.
Conduct a thorough research, determine where, how and when to launch your marketing campaign, instead of wasting your precious time posting ads to free classifieds that never generate leads or to some E zine that fall far from the scope of your business.
I am not saying the above should not be done, but to be done according to a well tailored, well researched plan, so you will know where to place your ad, how big or small, and what to say in the ad, and above all when.
That can only be achieved through a comprehensive marketing plan with a beginning and an end, making room for a new plan, to cope with the new developments on the ever changing cyber world.
Tactic # 3: Creativity and imagination:
Some how, the majority of marketing campaigns are look-alikes, you saw one, you have seen them all, and that is probably among the main reasons why the majority of online businesses fail.
For your marketing campaign to pull desired results, you need to be different, to stand out and be unique from the competition, do not be the first among equals, be the first, period.
When it comes to marketing, no idea is too crazy or too wild, as long as it serves the purpose for which it was created.
Be innovative and creative, use your imagination, come up with something new, something no one else ever thought possible, test it on a smaller portion of your market, if it works, launch your campaign.
You may have or have not heard of the term "USP" Unique Selling Proposition as an essential element in presenting your product or service to beat your competition.
Today, I present to you the equivalent of that in marketing, "UMS" Unique Marketing Style, one that you have created. You will be amazed how well it would work for you.
Tactic # 4: Integrate your communications:
Most marketing campaigns diversify by using a variety of channels to communicate their message to the customer. Mostly this is done in an uncoordinated manner, so the messages are often inconsistent in both style and content.
Such campaigns often render very poor results, and they even might serve a blow to the image of the company or the business.
Integrated marketing communications achieve far more effective results than inconsistent, incoherent campaign. You can achieve such integration by applying the following two-step approach:
If you apply this method, you will be able to achieve a more effective marketing campaign, while saving a great deal of money that may have otherwise been wasted on inconsistent approach.
A final note:
In a nut shell, marketing is a game of intelligence, vision and imagination, the only stupid marketing idea is the one that has not been tested before applied.
So, test those 4 killer tactics and see if they would save you money, and achieve better marketing results at the same time, two for the price of one. And remember, thinking crazy is good, as long as you know what you are doing.
This article is written by: Osama Taha, © 2000
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