How to Expand Your Marketing Without Spending Any Money

How to Expand Your Marketing Without Spending Any Money

Dr. Linda Hancock

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Hancock has written a regular weekly column entitled “All Psyched Up” for newspapers in two Canadian provinces for more than a dozen years. Over the years, her readers and clients have said that they have benefited from her common-sense solutions, wisdom, and sense of humour. Dr. Linda Hancock, the author of “Life is An Adventure…every step of the way” and “Open for Business Success” is a Registered Psychologist who has a private practice in Medicine Hat. She can be reached at 403-529-6877 or through email office@drlindahancock.com

Published

January 12 2011

Most of the time we think that marketing involves spend advertising dollars. There are many things, however, that you can do that will not cost you money as follows:

1. Provide excellent service - Word of mouth is an extremely strong way to bring new clients into your business. Every week I have people tell me that a friend or family member has recommended that they see me to help them with a problem. If clients are happy with your work they will tell others about it and, even if the others do not need you at the time, they are helping to build your reputation for you.

2. Ask your current clients who might need your services. Many times a simple question can get their minds stimulated to the idea that you are open for new business. You will need to be careful about not being aggressive or inappropriate but planting a tiny seed can result in a good return.

3. Talk with other business people about your services. Many times the other people in your circle of contacts do not know exactly what services you have or the fact that they can refer their acquaintances, friends, family or clients to you.

4. Set up a blog or write articles for the internet. There isn't any financial investment but you will need to invest your time into developing web presence. The results, will, however, likely provide very positive results that will reward you tenfold. Think, for example, about the client who does an internet search and finds your information through that activity. If you charge $200 per hour and the person attends six sessions, you have now made $1200.00!

And if one person finds you through that avenue, there are likely others who will do the same. If you don't have the skills or time to set this up you might want to ask a teenager to do it for you. You see we live in an age where adolescents have grown up with technology as a very important part of their lives. It would be a very simple task to put a blog together for you. If the teen is your child, you might be able to trade this service for privileges!

Besides having a Business Plan you need to have a Marketing Plan for your business. Remember that this does not require a huge budget if you are creative! It will, however, take a time investment - but will be worth every minute!