103 small business marketing ideas and tips for success, the 2018 guide

The universal goal of all small business is to market their goods and services to as many people as possible this is why we created the small business marketing ideas and tips guide.
Give us a call, we can assist you with almost all the marketing services below.
When the business is well positioned to the target audience with a product aimed to solve some problem, the business is destined to grow. Small business marketing, however, is a challenge for most businesses. The smartest thing any business can do is to develop a marketing plan and execute it in a way that will set the business apart from the rest. The marketing plan can include many strategies and elements that work together to drive the business towards a growth path.
Small businesses have so many ways to promote their growth amidst competition. You can identify a few of the many options to work with. The most effective marketing manoeuvres a small business can implement can be paid or even free. Here is a list of 100 ways to market a small business.
- Building signage

2. Social Media Marketing

3. Tradeshows

4. Having a website

5. Pay Per Click

Even with the developments in technology, cold calling is still a viable way to market your small business. Just pick up the phone and call targeted customers from the directory or your collection of business cards. You can explain to each prospective customer what you offer and convince them to buy from your business. You will be reaching one customer at a time, unlike the mass marketing avenues, but it will be a personal conversation which many people will appreciate.
7. Flyer distribution services


There are so many small business marketing opportunities available for any business at any stage in its life or growth stage. Using feather flags can create a brand loyalty where customers display your flag at their places, therefore increasing the exposure your business gets. They are easy to carry or fix at any location. Create attractive feather flags that people will want to be associated with and help you display to maximum business exposure.
I know finding small business marketing ideas can sometimes be a difficult task and you may think success it out of reach but keep positive the results are near.
9. Outdoor events

Such as walkathons and state fairs: get a custom tent and brand yourself. Take advantage of local events to let more people know about your business. It is not expensive to get a tent at a state fair and brand your presence from tents to T-shirts to giveaways aimed at expanding your brand awareness among the locals. When people have come out to enjoy a social day away from the stresses of everyday life, they are more likely to have time to listen to your marketing and can convert to customers.
However, during a work week, they will have no time to even think about what you have to offer.
10. Direct mail

11. Business cards


You can take your time and call your current customers and past ones who may have taken long before buying from your business. It means a lot to a customer when you call them to explain any new products or changes in prices. Creating a closer relationship with your customers is one way to ensure customer loyalty and business growth. It is the one small business marketing tactic that ensures you protect your already acquired customers as you seek new ones.
14. EDDM

15. Blogging and content writing

16. Guest speaking

17. Internet citations and directories Sites

18. Vehicle wraps


Spend some money and involve your business in charitable work like donating computers or your product to a needy organization, individual or cause. Be found in photo ops with both influential people and with those you want to help. Give the impression that your business is also interested in social issues apart from making money. Use every opportunity to involve the business in local activities and charitable causes as long as your finances permit.
With 103 Small Business Marketing Strategies Ideas your sure to see a boost in your sales and client base.
20. Outreach on sites like LinkedIn and Facebook

21. Email lists

22. Ringless voicemails


Whether its banners or full-color screens. Internet marketing is growing, and with the increase in the percentage of people with smartphones, the focus has now shifted to mobile marketing. Internet access from mobile devices has now surpassed desktop users, hence the growing popularity of mobile billboards. It is a cost-effective way to spread your message using pictures and videos to capture the interest of your target audience.
24. Ask for referrals

25. Traditional billboards

The regular billboards have been used for decades and are still valuable regarding increasing your reach. When done correctly, the investment in billboards can pay off, resulting in tremendous business growth. Not many small businesses know they can use this method, instead of leaving it to the big players. Every business can gain from the investment even though it is ambitious; the returns will also be on the same level.
26. Chambers


Business networking groups around the world have helped many businesses get their footing and grow even in tough economic times. This group and others like it operate by sending referrals to members’ businesses through their local chapters. With such kind of support, member businesses of the private networking groups can help each other grow customer bases and experience revenue growth.
28. Host events and open houses

This may require intensive planning to pull off, but a simple event at your local business center will contribute greatly to raise public awareness about your business. The exposure will result in sales to catapult your operations to another level. Once you have been recognized as a significant player in your region, others will view your business differently, and this is what brings about business growth.

Creating press releases are easy and can be used to promote your small business cost-effectively. It is easy to get your press releases accepted in the major distribution sites for press releases. You can achieve increased business exposure through press releases and improve your online visibility. Contact local media, newspapers, and magazines and get their editorial guidelines and ask if they can publish your press releases. You can be surprised at the results of the initiative to publish press releases about your business.
30. PR company


As a company, you can set aside some money from your marketing budget to sponsor a cause, a local soccer team or any activity that touches the heart of your target market. You will get a lot of free exposure from the mainstream media as a result of your sponsorship. It makes the small business be seen as a part of the community, and the corporate social responsibility activities will bring you more customers.
32. YouTube videos

33. SBA Loans and Mom and pop grants

34. Send samples

Set aside a few samples of your product for selected prospective customers. This will entice them to make large orders if the sample meets their specifications. For example, a learning institution that makes large order can sample your supplies and see the price difference before they become your customers. You can extend this to your regular customers in the case of a new product or product updates that you would like the customers to try out.
35. Outside sales people

36. Contests

37. Bartering

38. Magazines

One of the most effective targeted small business marketing avenues is magazines. They are in specific fields and professions and those you will be marketing to are almost strictly people interested in a particular field. If you sell plumbing tools, advertising in a magazine dedicated to plumbing articles will be a wise decision. You will talk directly to those in that industry who will take note of your presence and products in that location.
39. Local newspapers

40.Product Remarketing

Brand your packages with big labels that promote other services to the customer and anyone who sees it. When you have a product that sells well, you can brand it with another product or service that you want the customer to notice and buy. It costs you nothing to create awareness of another product. All you need to do is redesign the packaging to include the new details.

By spending just a little more to finance promotional products, you can attach these to other common products. They will increase sales for the old product and create awareness of the new product you want customers to try for free. This small business marketing option has been used by both small and large businesses with great success.
42. Uniforms

Design uniforms for your staff to wear at work. If they can be proud of the apparel quality and brand, you will find that employees will wear the uniform from home, therefore, marketing your business to anyone they meet along the way to work. This free form of marketing is effective since it has a human aspect to it.

When you do well a small business in a given niche, you have a high chance of winning certain awards. This will give your business the much-needed exposure and present you as an authority in the industry. With such a platform you will gain respect and customers will want to buy from the expert. Being professional in serving your customers is a sure ticket to gaining more customers one way or another.
44. Network with industry partners

45.POP: ads on counters and signs

46. Media coverage


Get a famous actor, sportsperson or athlete to be your brand ambassador. Their popularity will bring more traffic to your business within a short time. It may cost you a bit, or in the case of supporting a cause, you may get the brand ambassador to work with you for free. The interest he creates will make people want to be associated with your brand hence business growth.
48. Word of mouth


Facebook and LinkedIn groups are rich source customers as long as you present yourself as an expert in the group. With groups for every imaginable profession and industry, you cannot fail to get somewhere to fit your skills. Join subgroups relevant to your business and help others by answering member questions, engage with others, therefore raising awareness of your expertise in the field chosen. Group members will be tempted to follow you outside the group, click on the links you leave behind and overcome their curiosity to know who you are.
50. Interactive content: things such as quizzes and contests

Create interesting interactive contents on your site or social network page to make more people interested in your business. Putting a prize for a quiz or contest will create a buzz, and many people will get to know about your business at just a small cost. Give out an interesting prize that most people will want to win and they will actively participate. When the buzz dies down, you will have acquired more customers, and even more, will have bookmarked your site for future visits when they are ready to purchase. It is very easy to set up a contest on Facebook, Twitter or other social media sites and gain in additional page likes.

Take pictures of your product and post them on Pinterest. Others will share them easily, therefore raising interest in your business. Be active in this social media with regular posts and within a short time, visitors to your site will increase, customers will make calls to your shop asking more questions and eventually place orders. This is one of the simple, cost-effective small business marketing strategies.
52. Go door to door

Podcasts still have the power it held years ago. You can reach so many people and increase the awareness of your brand or business hence increased business revenue. Podcasts are effective at spreading a marketing message and giving small businesses the power to grow at very low marketing costs.
54. Host a webinar

55. Affiliate marketing

56. Become an industry expert Put out videos, articles on various sites


Make efforts to get more reviews on Google and Yelp as they increase user trust in your products and business. Encourage your customers to give you a good rating on these review sites to raise your profile in the eyes of prospective clients. Before someone makes a purchase, in most cases, they look for what others have said before them, good comments and a high star rating will increase the chances of a purchase.
58. Search engine optimization

Even with the best website design and the greatest content, it is useless if no one can find it on the internet. Continually optimizing your website and monitoring your web statistics is the only way to stay on top of the very competitive online arena. Continually refine your site and align it with the Google SEO updates and technological changes. Focus on creating content with specific keywords and adequate quality backlinks from authority sites.

Organize an interview with local or major media companies to get your opinion on various industry issues. It doesn’t matter where this interview will end up as long as people know about your business, what you have done and what you plan for your town and industry. It is one avenue to get noticed as an authority on certain topics.
61. Newsletters

62. Tag related people to increase engagement online.

You will increase your brand awareness when influential people in your industry are tagged in your posts. Their network will know about you resulting in an increase in user engagement. The more others talk about you, the higher the chances of a sale happening from those forums.
63. Get and feature testimonials

Customer testimonials are known to create confidence among new customers, especially for online sales. When prospective customers see positive testimonials from previous customers, they will trust your brand and be your customer. Ask your customers to give you their testimonials from their user experience o you can place on your site.
64. Branded signatures

65. Use trending hashtags and join in the buzz

Have a social media strategy that uses trending hashtags that are relevant to your business. Be a part of the internet buzz o that whenever someone clicks on a given hashtag, your business will be among the results. The more you post with your hashtags, the higher the chances your business will become visible on the internet.

They often can send business your way. Your suppliers can be your best source of business if you build a close relationship with them. Since most do not sell retail quantities, they can refer inquiries to your shop, therefore, increasing both your customer base and your revenues without spending on marketing. In business, relationships are crucial for survival and business growth.
67. Include flyers, brochures, etc in your packaging

68. Offer discounts, coupons, free extras

69. Find niche platforms

70. Answer questions on Quora, google+ and forums
Be active and ready to help others in your area of expertise. When you answer a question and make contributions, users will gain an interest in you and will check out your profile from where they are bound to get your website address or business location.
71. Rebrand your business

You may take a smaller cut, but you can create hundreds of sales people with recurring income. Being a wholesaler means you deal with a wider retail clientele spread afar. When you manage the business as desired, your customers will help market your business at no cost.
73. Respond and engage with your blog, social media content, reviews on Google and Yelp
Be active on all your social media and internet sites. When a customer or visitor asks a question, be prompt in responding and if someone complains about your services or product, handle it professionally.
74. Sign up to get free media opportunity

75. Create viral content


Sell on sites like Amazon, eBay, Etsy. You may pay more in fees, but it will brand your business outside of areas you may never reach. You are certain to increase your turnover over a short period. Gain access to customers all over the world and position your product to be competitive on a global scale with other competing products. Even with smaller margins, you will see a growth in your business due to increased volumes that come with economies of scale.
77. Reach out to influential people

78. Partner with other companies

79. Encourage people

80. Add a newsletter signup to your website

Other than the regular posts to your website’s blog, give your visitors the option to sign up to receive periodic newsletters to update them on what you are doing and where the business is headed. Newsletters are usually detailed and large giving you enough space to say more, give offers and educate your customers. This small business marketing tactic is viable and will only cost you in the time it takes to craft the newsletter or the cost of paying someone to write it professionally.
81. Use programs like constant contact to manage your emails

With email management programs like constant contact, you can collect, categorize and manage thousands of emails efficiently. You can schedule weekly or monthly emails targeting various customer groups with offers, discounts, new trends and many other types of information to help grow your business. With such a program, you can see how many subscribers are added per week and how many have left. Keeping them updated is much easier than when you do it manually.
82. Create free tips

83. Offer live chat on your website

When you integrate chat features into your site, customers and prospective clients will find it easy to talk with you and ask questions related to your business. It is an instant communication medium that gives the visitor real time information and can mean the difference between a conversion into a buying customer or just a site visitor. Chat features are not expensive; in fact, there are free options you can integrate with your site to make it easy for users to reach you anytime.

Your site can be well optimized for search engines, but without a proper landing page, your efforts will be all for nothing. Create an attractive landing page with all the relevant information that will convince the visitor to be a customer. Make it so convincing and easy to read that they will not turn back but will want more. Include videos, pictures, and short descriptive texts to make it easy and interesting to consume in the shortest time possible. No customer wants to spend much time on any website.
85. Add a simple thing


87. Add autoresponders to your emails


89. Radio advertising

Almost everyone listens to the radio, whether it is FM radio or internet radio. It is an affordable form of advertising for many small businesses. It presents a wide reach and can be placed at specific times during the day to align with when the target audience listens to the radio.

As long as you have a voice or can hire someone with a great voice, you can create wonderful audio adverts. All you require is a simple audio editor, and your advert is ready to air.
Groupon is a network of merchants where you can offer deals, market your products and focus your online small business marketing to certain targets without breaking the bank. It gives you the opportunity to learn about your customers and closely monitor feedback. It features a vibrant campaign management tool to make your work easy.

Take advantage of events to create a step and repeat banners showing your branding to raise awareness. Since events bring people from diverse regions and backgrounds, you will have a great chance of expanding your reach to areas never marketed to before. The media coverage will also extend your brand awareness in whatever media the event is covered.
This is a fun way to share photos of your products and the services your business offer. You can show lots of photos that create interest among the target market. Make use of every opportunity like when launching a new product, when conducting a sale, promotion or when hosting events to share with your groups.

Calendars are used at home, offices, businesses, and institutions. Giving away branded calendars to customers and their friends expand your reach and ensure you get daily exposure for the next 365 days. Customers and their visitors will all get to know more about your business, therefore creating loyalty only at the cost of the print.
95. Wall graphics improve the visual appeal


If you have that kind of brand people will support you for free. With a good brand, your customers and friends will freely stick your business bumper stickers on their cars at no cost. Make them want to be associated with your business, give free samples or special offers, treat them like family or some other skills and they will pay back by marketing for you.
97. Sidewalk signs

98. Arrow spinners

99. Live broadcasts on things like Periscope, Facebook live and YouTube live

Take advantage of live broadcast and the availability of fast internet to share your marketing message with a large audience. Lately, there has been a lot of interest in live broadcast and it has been shown that it is more effective than traditional video at reaching target audiences.

101. Create and or join Meetups

With Meetup, you can develop a group of friends or create a group that serves a specific interest. Just like other social media networks, it requires regular updating and actively engaging with your friends brings out your expertise and can be a marketing channel for your small business. You can share your Meetup n other social media networks so that your friends know what you are up top
People love free big guides for speciality ideas which create a big email list of leads
As a way to get more sign-ups on your site or additional freebie to your existing mailing list, create a free eBook with helpful tips in your industry. Since people like free stuff, they will not resist downloading this and if you make it a habit of releasing one every few months, your customer list is sure to grow.
Spend some little money designing and producing thank you cards for your clients. You will succeed at keeping them close to think of you whenever they want to purchase. They will feel appreciated and will want to come back for more and even recommend a friend to your business.
Whether your here in Miami (Doral), Florida or across the country, give us a call or send us an email and we can assist with all your printing and online website marketing services.










