Effective online marketing on a budget is certainly possible. But to get positive results you have to take a structured approach. Whether you’re a start-up business or an established one experiencing lean times you can maximise “bang for buck” by following my tips.
Marketing should obviously be structured to grow with cash flow. This means getting your online marketing off to the best possible start is essential otherwise no growth is possible.
Below you’ll find my five best tips on how to create low-spend online marketing campaigns that will generate cash flow.
Know your market
It surprises me how often small companies in particular fail to get to grips with knowing their market. This isn’t about demand stats or market share (which you should also know) but rather actually getting to grips with who your customers are. This means profiling your customers by tapping into customers’ persona. Learn how customers search, why, where and when and who they are. How old are they? Where do they shop? Do they have high disposable income or low? By the end of this process you should be able to describe in detail who shops for your product.
Set and reset goals
You know the old adage fail to plan, plan to fail. Even a one person business needs a plan. You must set goals and revisit them on a regular basis. You need to calculate your current cost per conversion and what you want it to be in the future. How many leads/sales do you want? Most companies benefit from a lower number of better quality leads that generate high conversions. Generating high volumes of leads can be self-defeating but it ultimately depends on your market.
Set a budget
You’ll end up running out of funds if you don’t plan for marketing to grow with cash flow. Starting big on a whim isn’t effective. 
This means making smart choices with regards to what marketing activity is the most appropriate. Little and often is better than too much too soon. Marketing has to be sustainable over the long term and not stop-start.
Brand
Branding can be confusing for small businesses in particular. The best way of looking at it, is to consider whether your name and offer is memorable. Competition is rife even in niches. Here customer research can help you determine whether your usp’s cut the mustard. It’s cheaper to get feedback from customers and prospects than to go down the brand or design agency route.
Traffic
Your online marketing efforts will live or die by the quality of traffic you get. Note, I didn’t say quantity. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. It’s vital you know where traffic is coming from and how each source of traffic is performing in terms of conversions. A good analytics package is essential. Take the time to understand the reports available from Google Adwords, Facebook and so on.
How I can help
As you have probably calculated, finding the right path is important. I don’t advise spending big sums with any online marketing consultants until you understand the basics. Plenty of companies will take your cash and not worry about the results they generate for you
To get you started I offer a one-off consultancy service for just £120. You get 40 pages of tailored knowledge and analysis giving you all the information you need to take control of your online marketing. This package pinpoints who your customers are and how you get in front of them. You can then set your budget and start planning. There is no upselling on my part. I won’t contact you after I email the report to you. But I am here if you want help with implementation or training or further explanation. I believe you won’t find better value for money if you have limited funds or can’t afford to make mistakes.