3 innovative and cost-effective marketing strategies
In all forms of business, marketing plays an important and integral role in the overall success of the company. It’s a key tool that, when effectively used, can help organisations to increase their market share, develop new revenue streams, and inform or educate their target market.
Almost every company will need to adopt an effective marketing strategy to ensure that they can compete effectively in an increasingly crowded global marketplace. However, in some firms, marketing efforts can be reactive or haphazard in nature, without a clear mission or purpose. Marketing strategies need to be effectively conceived and costed to ensure that the most value is gained from these promotional activities.
In this article, three specific marketing strategies will be considered. Each is proven to be a cost-effective way of advertising a company’s products or services to a wider audience and results in high levels of ROI when effectively implemented.
1. Social media marketing
With almost 80% of the UK population using some form of social media for information, education, or recreation, this channel can be a highly effective platform to market your organisation.
It can also be an extremely cost-effective way to promote your products and services. It’s estimated that paid social media marketing campaigns can cost as little as £430 per day to roll out. This compares favourably to other forms of online marketing, such as content marketing (£725 per day), and is considerably cheaper than traditional forms of marketing, such as television adverts which can cost between £15,000 and £50,000 in terms of their creation and production.
In addition, some forms of social media marketing have a cost that’s essentially free. A company can set up a channel on a platform such as Instagram and advertise new products or services which then link to the specific web page for what’s being promoted. This can then help to boost sales channels at minimal cost to the company.
2. Experiential marketing
As the name suggests, experiential marketing is about creating a memorable experience for the consumer, with the aim of modifying buyer behaviour or improving brand loyalty and recognition. Companies that choose to work with an experiential marketing agency can benefit from cost-effective and tailored marketing solutions. These strategies can have a significant impact on their overall marketing goals.
Some examples of experiential marketing include product sampling campaigns, where the customer is invited to try new or existing products with the aim of changing their preferences away from other brands. In addition, ‘pop-up’ marketing sites can be placed in commercial areas (often by placing a corporate-branded temporary structure) that immerse the customer in the company’s products and services. This modern form of marketing can be an effective and relatively inexpensive way to boost the customer base and encourage new sales.
3. Supporting good causes
As a brief final point, supporting good causes (such as a local sports team or charitable organisation) can be the ideal way to improve brand recognition and loyalty and increase goodwill amongst consumers. Ideally, you’ll want to choose to support an organisation that resonates with the values of your target market and supports the local community. Sports teams can wear apparel with your company logo, or your products can highlight the charity you support, thus improving your brand.
