Marketing Strategies on the Cheap

**amhenn** · 04-07-2008 01:43 PM

I was looking to compile of list of marketing strategies for a small business that can't afford more than $500/ month in advertising. This is a Pooper Scooper service, so there is a huge need for our service, we just need to get the word out there to a lot of people. We have tried holding signs on the side of the road which works okay and putting flyers door to door is too inefficient. We looked into a billboard, but they are too expensive for the time being. What are some cheap ways of spreading word of a company to a lot of people?
Thanks.

**jasaunders** · 04-07-2008 01:46 PM

Where is your business located? Urban or rural? Who is your target audience? What are the most effective ways to reach your target audience?

If you can answer these and provide more information on your business, I could help provide some ideas that might work.

**amhenn** · 04-07-2008 05:11 PM

The business is located in a Reno, NV about 280,000 including surround areas. The demographics are generally adults above 30 and there is no correlation to income as we have equal number of poor and rich customers. Most of the customers are in the urban setting but some customers on the outskirts are in a rural area. So far we have tried the newspaper classifieds, craigslist, sign on street corners, and flyers at pet shops.

**Resro** · 04-08-2008 03:25 PM

Hi all,
Are you a new business venture established in USA???..and looking to make it reach a large audience online????…place your business cards on Its Business Baby and have people come at your business doors. You can advertise your business here for people to find you via your Business Card. It special offers on submitting business cards. Hope this will work out for your business development.
Good luck!

**Richard Burton** · 04-10-2008 07:05 AM

facebook ads are incredible - but i'm not sure if they're great for your demographic

**jasaunders** · 04-10-2008 07:43 AM

Why do you think facebook ads are incredible?
From my experience, facebook ads have extremely low conversion rates.

**rossco1** · 04-10-2008 08:51 AM

hey mate.. I recommend building brand image people will remember you by... Get a cool logo, website, do some promo work in newspaper / street signs. But make sure it's all working towards building the brand image. All the touchpoints and marketing communications are consistent throughout. Simple things like consistently using your brand logo and brand colors on all marketing communications. Ultimately I think your best form of advertising is through word of mouth with your type of business. However you will not build strong WOM without putting in the time and money building a strong brand image.

All the best!

**Yiie** · 04-10-2008 07:39 PM

Not sure what exactly your service would be, but have you tried marketing to public councils who govern parks and public areas? You can try to put a case study or tender together to gain contract jobs around the community. It's thinking big, but if there's a need for your service, I don't see why you can't give it a shot.

A good website is a must as most people would like to find out more info through a website rather than calling up. It's convenient and quick. If you're service is quite niche, you might even come up on google searches. There won't be amazing traffic, but it's a start. You can also try to advertise on free service directories. In Australia, we have hotfrog.com.au which is quite popular and your business would appear in google searches.

**Mills** · 04-14-2008 08:58 AM

People starting to work from home have become extremely broad. Home based businesses are easy to learn. There are so many varieties of home based business. To name a few there are businesses that sell products, some sell additional health benefits such as medical, dental or prescription coverage and those that sell information. There are so many others. The list is just endless.

Now that you have come up with the great idea of setting up a home based business, what has to be done next? The best rule of thumb to choose a business for you to pursue at home is to select the one you would like or would use. When you like something it is very sure that you will be thrilled or very enthusiastic about it. Liking your product will make it easy for you to work on it. So choose a home based business that appeals to you, and you will have taken the first step to becoming a successful work at home entrepreneur.

**gofrugal** · 04-15-2008 04:09 PM

I think you will get most out from your own home work.
Just keep posting on forums, search engines, blogs, bookmarking sites, craigslist etc.

**invertabritt08** · 04-15-2008 05:43 PM

Originally Posted by amhenn

I was looking to compile of list of marketing strategies for a small business that can't afford more than $500/ month in advertising. This is a Pooper Scooper service, so there is a huge need for our service, we just need to get the word out there to a lot of people. We have tried holding signs on the side of the road which works okay and putting flyers door to door is too inefficient. We looked into a billboard, but they are too expensive for the time being. What are some cheap ways of spreading word of a company to a lot of people?
Thanks.

Have you considered volunteering at your local humane society? If that's a possibility for you, it's a great way to connect with people (and animals) and it creates opportunities to talk about your business. Here's the link: Nevada Humane Society | Welcome

Also, there is an e-book you can purchase at: Starting a Pooper Scooper Business
It has a step-by-step guide on starting a pooper scooper business.

Hope this is helpful!

**Shahab814@yahoo.com** · 04-16-2008 09:46 PM

Do Google adword, or send out flyers.I think a flyer thing is the cheapest way to go for a service like that

**matthewjskarr** · 04-16-2008 10:08 PM

Try your local chamber of commerce, if it is a good one, that is a great way to network. Also consider parks where people walk dogs, make conversation with those folks. Perhaps also consider partnerships with pet stores close to your area where dogs are being sold.

**invertabritt08** · 04-17-2008 02:40 PM

You can also try and coordinate with local landscapers. Their focus needs to be on the landscaping, rather than the "droppings" that might be in the way of a job.
i.e. You could go in and clean up a job site an hour before the landscapers plan on being there. Both parties would benefit.

**n/a** · 04-17-2008 03:54 PM

Flyers are pretty cheap but I think you already tried that. You can get a 1000 of those puppies for 145 at print1000s.com (had to plug there haha)

Have you tried hiring college students to hand out those flyers? Pay them 10 dollars and they are stoked. You can cover a huge area with that.

Get Tshirts printed of the business on the back and on the front have a really cool design. Hand them out for free and get advertising for many months to come.

These aren't the best ideas what ideas are other people coming up with? Cheap is the hard thing to get around.