Signworld is all about helping sign shops get started faster, smoother, and for less. Today’s post shares some novel ideas on how to shrink your marketing budget early on to reduce start-up costs.
Cut Costs By Making The Most Of Free Marketing
It’s been said before that marketing is the key to monetization, and that’s certainly true of many businesses, sign shops included. And while you should have no problems securing some beautiful on-site signage to anchor your marketing campaign, relying purely on traditional physical signs is a mistake. Know this: your competition is running multi-media advertising campaigns that target your audiences via multiple channels. If you’re not doing the same, your message and brand might get lost in the shuffle!
Granted, money’s usually tight during the start-up phase. But spreading the word about your new business doesn’t have to cost a lot if you make the most of free media!
Below we list a few ways to stretch that start-up marketing budget a bit further.
1. Optimize Your Organic Website Marketing
Websites are a big source of revenue for Signworld partners. Some make up to 50% of their sales revenue via website transaction alone, some of which are driven by effective (and free) organic marketing.
Organic marketing via informative blog posts (or sharing pictures of jobs-well-done) goes a long way towards getting your name out there, especially when you sprinkle in some local keywords to show up in city-specific searches, and it only costs effort. Try to think up questions your consumers might have, then write blog posts or FAQ posts that answer them. Beyond providing free online visibility boosts, these documents can serve as reference material when customers call with repetitive questions.
2. Pitch Your Story To Local Media Outlets.
Local newspapers, televisions, and radio stations are constantly hungry for stories. Before you think about buying ads, give local reporters a call and pitch them stories about your business. You might get lucky and get yourself a free feature! You can view some examples in the Signworld Press Release section, which showcases stories about some of our owners’ impressive jobs.
3. Leverage Your Business Network For Free Referrals.
Referrals are one of the best ways to secure more sales while cutting out the cost and effort of traditional marketing altogether. If possible, try to cultivate a local network of businesses that passes jobs back and forth–a sign business alliance, you might say! Outsourcing work to other companies lets you say “no” to clients less, set yourself up for similar referrals to your business in the future, and potentially even collect an affiliate marketing or referral fee. Signworld partners frequently work together in this way, passing referrals via the Owners Forum or direct contact.
Contact The Signworld Business Alliance
The Signworld business alliance is all about saving owners money during start-up. That’s why we offer supply discounts, cost-effective training, all-in-one equipment packages, and a sleek business model that minimizes your overhead from day-one.
Visit the Signworld business partner website or call 888-765-7446 to learn more about how we help owners cut costs and get their doors open for business fast via our streamlined start-up process.
