So you want to start a business on your own. You want to sell a product that you think is on par with others in the same category or maybe it’s better than the others. The only hitch is, that you don’t know how to market the product simply because you are starting your venture on a shoestring budget and therefore, you have very little or no money for marketing. In a case like this, how would you promote and advertise your product so that it builds equity in the market?

As a common practice, the marketing budget should be about 2% to 5% of the overall gross sales, but this is not the same for all markets and products. So the first thing you need to do when you start a business is to figure out what your marketing budget would be for the first six months.

You could use the following promotional activities to begin with – events, aggressive advertising, internet marketing, word of mouth, strategic partnerships, public relations and direct marketing. For a low budget start-up unit, the following marketing tools can be useful:

Newspaper write-ups – You can get articles that talk about your product in a broader perspective, published in a newspaper. For example, if you are selling a sauna belt, the article can be about the effects of sauna treatment for weight loss. The article can also have a word or two from a famous personality who religiously believes in the sauna treatment.

Direct marketing – Instead of going for expensive marketing techniques when you start a business, go for direct marketing. Keep your target audience limited and specific to reach them in the most effective and the cheapest way. For example, fliers inserted in newspapers and informative emails are two inexpensive direct marketing tools.

Word- of- mouth publicity – Get your friends and colleagues to spread the word about your product. This is the most effective and economical way to advertise. Get your friends and colleagues together for a small gathering and introduce your product to them. Keep in mind not to sell it too aggressively!

Internet marketing – Get people familiar with your product through internet write-ups and blogs. Most enterprises depend upon blogs to garner awareness for their products. This is again an extremely cheap and hassle free exercise. Similarly, market your product via social networking sites. Keep people intimated about new schemes, discounts, product enhancements and other new developments.

Make a website of your product – This is a relatively inexpensive option. Making a website of your product gives you a better chance to display your product and explain its features to millions of eyeballs everyday.

While all these could be effective marketing techniques that you can use when you start a business, you would eventually need to have a more consolidated and planned marketing strategy to promote your product and services. Therefore, keep putting aside a small part of your profits every month for your marketing budget. Use your marketing budget judiciously and keep a track of the results on each front. A marketing tactic that does not give you the desired numbers should be dropped.

All in all, make sure that every penny of your marketing budget is used to effectively project and promote your product. Follow a strategy that convinces your target audience to follow the lead and lets your business grow.

For more information and to learn how to work with Maryjean.

Starting a home business or any kind of business can be a difficult task.  Having little or no marketing budget can make it that much more difficult.  To find out more about starting a business without a marketing budget or other internet marketing strategies, contact Maryjean Howe.
Maryjean Howe is a professional internet marketer and business coach based out of Oceanside, CA. She works with people to help them start a business and continues to help them use training materials to effectively run a successful business. Maryjean has worked with people from all different backgrounds to help them start a business without any experience. For more information, contact Maryjean.
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Does your business card whisper or holler? If your business cards speak to your potential clients very quietly, then your marketing tool is not doing the job it is supposed to be doing for you.

They might be speaking so softly that your potential clients cannot even hear it, or worse, they do not say much at all. A potential customer would never learn about you, your bestselling product, or even the most excellent service representatives you have in your company.

Your marketing budget for printing business cards gets lost in the wastebasket and your prospects do not get to know the award-winning service you can provide. You end up unknown and a failure.

Indeed, your cards can do more than communicate your most important information of your company and business. More than anything else, your cards can convey who you are and what you can do to your target clients. A dirty, perforated and low quality printed business card therefore is not a good spokesperson for you. A low quality one that looks cheap screams of only one thing – that the company who printed it is an amateur and has no business being in business.

Therefore, no matter how many wonderful and miracle-induced services or products you can offer your target customers, your brand image can only go so far with a low quality and unprofessional marketing tool. However, clean, creative and professionally designed and printed marketing tool can definitely give you that first impression that can last long after the initial meeting is finished.

So how do you add shrewdness and professionalism to your otherwise bland and unimpressive business card? One strategy is to add text that is market-oriented in addition to the usual contact information placed in your card.

You have to remember that it is first and foremost a marketing tool. As a marketing tool, it should be able to work to promote your business so that your target clients will remember and recognize your brand image. Hence, your business card should be able to tell people how good you are and how easy it is to be in business with you. By adding text that communicates a marketing message can go a long way in getting your business the success you want to achieve.

Text such as “Coupons accepted,” or “No appointment needed,” makes it simple for your target clients to recognize that business with you is trouble-free – easy to pay, easy to make an appointment with, easy to purchase – everything is easy.

So add a tagline and a slogan – a marketing text that tells your target clients how simple and effective it is to contact you. Your card will be more than just a piece of paper with your contact information, but more than anything else, an effective marketing tool that convinces your prospects and customers to ask for your business.

Know more about the print business cards or business card printing technologies used by businesses for their marketing and advertising campaigns.

Katie Marcus writes information about printing company and printing technologies.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-tips-articles/giving-your-business-cards-additional-value-1642281.html

B2B and B2C relationships have recognised the benefits that could be gained by a company giving gifts to existing & prospect customers. Promotional merchandise is now used globally to promote brands, products & corporate identity.

Here at www.codepromotional.co.uk we can help you to pinpoint your requirements for all the promotional products you need for that special gift, thus ensuring your suppliers and customers are your first point of call for that valued repeat business. Review those special gifts that with your embedded logo are frequent reminders of your company services including promotional clocks, photo-frame or letter openers.

Before any business considers a marketing outlay, it is only correct that they investigate the commercial case for the outlay.  The purchase of promotional gifts can use a substantial share of any marketing budget but is equally used for both a growing company and the established corporation. Understanding why promotional merchandise is still an established part of marketing is down to the commercial business case supporting it. 

The key to remember is what are you doing with your budget?  Is the promotional product a giveaway or a gift?  Decide then allocate the budget accordingly.

Considering promotional merchandise as part of your marketing plans?  Then you’ve made a great choice! Code Promotional Merchandise has extensive capabilities to support your businesses search for all the promotional gifts, promotional items and promotional products that businesses of all sizes can benefit from.  From the ever-popular promotional pens, promotional mugs and promotional clothing right through to exhibition giveaways including promotional keyrings and promotional bags, Code has a great selection of over one thousand products to guide you. 

And if the Corporate Gift you are looking for is something a bit out of the ordinary, simply call us on 0844 879 7323 and we’ll be happy to contact as many suppliers as we have to until we find something that is right for you and your business.

Code Promotional Merchandise is an online supplier of promotional products and business gifts to businesses, charities and the public sector via www.codepromotional.co.uk

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-tips-articles/business-gifts-an-insight-1547749.html