Looking for ways to energize your sales without breaking your marketing budget?
Here are 10 easy and low-cost marketing ideas for promotional product distributors:
1. Contact customers who haven’t purchased from you in 12 – 24 months. Let them know how they can benefit from any new products and services you’ve added. You can also offer a discount or other special offer if they place an order within a certain time frame
2. Say thank-you to your active clients. This can take the form of a quick personalized email, phone call, handwritten note, or helpful article. Consider sending your top accounts a nice thank-you gift or exclusive offer.
3. Find ways to stay on your prospects’ radar. This may be monthly email blasts, quarterly newsletters or weekly blog posts. Make sure your content is informative and helpful, and not just a sales pitch.
4. Use direct mail. It may seem old-school, but it works. You can send out a postcard, flyer or sales letter highlighting a special promotion, new product or key advantage you offer.
5. Ask happy clients for feedback and use their testimonials throughout your marketing materials, including your website and brochures.
6. Share client success stories through social media or your blog or newsletter.
7. Solicit referrals. Whenever you complete an order, ask the customer to refer you to a colleague if they were satisfied with your service.
8. Enter an industry or business award contest. This can be a great way to get some free publicity. It can also get you thinking outside the box, which often leads to new ideas and initiatives that can drive sales!
9. Don’t overlook what’s worked in the past. With all the focus on the latest and greatest marketing methods, it can be easy to ignore the tried and true efforts that have paid off before.
10. Be a thought leader. Write articles that demonstrate your expertise and contact the editors of your local paper and business publications to see if they’re interested in running them. You can also use the articles on your website and social media outlets.
What low-cost marketing efforts have worked for you? Please share in the comments!
