|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Looking for a great way to drive traffic to your business? No million dollar ad budget last time you checked? The solution may be to harness the power of grassroots marketing.
Grassroots marketing is simply taking the unconventional approach to getting people interested in what you offer. It's driven by creativity and energy-the stuff we entrepreneurs have a lot of. And it doesn't require a lot of money-the stuff we have the least of!
To get started with grassroots marketing, consider these three ideas:
1. Get trendsetters to be customers, even if you have to offer freebies. When everyday people see the "cool" people buying in, it can transform them into customers. Reach out to performers, celebrities and athletes. Depending upon your product or service, identify local people who are high profile-like the popular kids, the "early adopters" who have all the latest gadgets, or fashionable women who others copy.
2. Sponsor local events where the audience is strategic for you. Buy a big banner and make sure it's hanging in full view at the events. Studies show that familiarity alone can positively influence people's buying decisions.
3. Ask local merchants to cooperatively promote your offering. Find the ones who are not competitive with you but whose customers fit your target market. Print up inexpensive fliers and locate them at their cash register. Or, provide merchants with a coupon they can offer when someone makes a purchase. That becomes an incentive the merchants can use to close sales, and it gets your marketing material-the coupon-in the hands of consumers who've proven they are spenders.
When it comes to grassroots marketing, you're limited only by your imagination and your tenacity.
Our bottom line:
To make sure your business is as verdant as it can be, fertilize your grassroots marketing.
For more information about Richard Sloan and the Sloan Brothers, please visit StartupNation.com.
Are you willing to fail your way to great marketing... Read More
It was probably first discovered out there in the caves... Read More
The fight for your customer's attention at a tradeshow has... Read More
Face it, writing any article can be a tedious and... Read More
Great graphic design looks effortless, but it requires lots of... Read More
Celebrities are the tastemakers that drive brand awareness and usage.... Read More
For many of service-based businesses out there, it's not that... Read More
The steps to creating an effective marketing plan begin with... Read More
"Brochure" is French, and it comes from brocher, meaning to... Read More
Second in a series of three articles:What if you could... Read More
Remember the baseball cards kids traded while... Read More
How to Take Your Law Firm to the Next Level... Read More
Today's business marketing rules are different than they were in... Read More
It was a real eye-opener to hear the perceptions people... Read More
Brochure printing can be easy if you first identify your... Read More
Peek a Boo - We See YouDoes your company have... Read More
The "Matures" are the generations that came along between 1909... Read More
As we study the demographic regional variations for small service... Read More
After a friend was bitten by a spider, I decided... Read More
If you've got a mailing list of at least a... Read More
You want your prospect to make the decision to buy... Read More
No, customers aren't bloodsuckers (well, maybe a few are!) and... Read More
I am a great believer in the keeping to the... Read More
Ever try to be something for everyone and find no... Read More
I just collected my mail. As usual, more than 80%... Read More
What is a Marketing Plan? Marketing is to do with... Read More
How to Create Strategies That Work In Today's Markets. Of... Read More
There's just no time to waste in a cyber day;... Read More
Give away your knowledge, and you'll make money. How does... Read More
Sounds pretty harsh, doesn't it? Well, I can tell you... Read More
Email CampaignsEmail marketing can be a tremendously valuable tool for... Read More
Mailing lists may be the cause of more heartbreaks than... Read More
Many people ask me, "What is a postcard campaign, exactly?"... Read More
Yellow Page users are the hottest of all prospects ?... Read More
With so much money invested on innefective advertising, it's time... Read More
Yesterday I received a phone call from an acquaintance that... Read More
There are four parts to a marketing system and they... Read More
I often talk with business owners who tell me how... Read More
Heavily branded websites like amazon.com are household names and carry... Read More
Lanyards are fast becoming the new "must have" promotional item.Events... Read More
You know those bad habits we get. Like raiding the... Read More
Thousands eyes were fixed. Hearts were beating hard against the... Read More
THE GREAT BRITISH TRADITION OF STREET MARKETS IS UPHELD AT... Read More
It's crucial to know your prospects if you want to... Read More
Easy Direct Marketing Methods for Insurance AgenciesThis Month: Strategies for... Read More
December is a month in which many organizations make plans... Read More
In the fundraising profession, appeal letters that you mail to... Read More
If you want to double your business, then you need... Read More
What if -- every time you had a networking appointment... Read More
All small businesses can benefit from inexpensive off the shelf... Read More
Marketing |