All businesses look for effective strategies to increase exposure and sales. It's crucial to do so. Small business entrepreneurs have the added challenge of devising and implementing their marketing plans solo, and usually on a small budget.

There are many stratagems you can use that are low or no cost. The tips below are meant to stimulate ideas and help you get started.

If necessary, tweek or combine ideas to customize and turbo charge your campaigns.

Mailings - include flyers, info, newsletter, or small mailable samples in the envelope with regular customer mail such as invoices.

Reciprocal Back Scratching - offer to include the card or flyer of a non-competitive business in your mailings in return for them doing the same for you.

Rotate Tactics - it's a good idea to keep things fresh and up to date. Shake up your plan of attack, use different methods to keep your clients reading your ads. If you do the same thing all the time, your campaign will cease to be interesting.

Easy Responder - once your interesting ad or information has caught a customer's eye, make it easy for them to respond to you. Make sure your contact info is easy to find and read, supply a form (online or offline), splash page, whatever will make it easy for the client to make a split second decision to ask you for more.

Create a Club' Feel - come up with some special deals or incentives that are exclusively for existing customers, give them advance notice of new products or services first. Make your customer feel elite, rewarded, and special for dealing with you.

Referral Contest - offer monthly prizes as an incentive. Whoever refers the most wins.

Tiered Price Ranges - you could be missing sales by offering one package at one price. Try offering smaller or partial versions at the lower end of pricing, perhaps breaking the package down into components (if possible) to span lowest to highest dollar wise. Naturally, you will want to offer a comprehensive deal for those customers who have the budget and desire for it.

Creativity is your best marketing strategy. It's interesting, readily available, and free!

Learn more about this author, Shirley Anderson.
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