Did you know that more than 50% of small businesses fail within their first 5 years? So how do you make sure your business in Hong Kong doesn’t become a part of that statistic?

1. Building Your Brand On A Shoestring Budget In 10 Steps At A
2. Building Your Brand On A Shoestring Budget In 10 Steps Involved
3. Building Your Brand On A Shoestring Budget In 10 Steps For A
4. Building Your Brand On A Shoestring Budget In 10 Steps For Beginners

Building Your Brand on a Shoestring Budget in 10 Steps Elicia Putnam. CEO and Co-Founder of Brand Genie, an online platform for women entrepreneurs. The big day has arrived. 21 Tips to Build Your Brand on a Shoestring Budget By Liz Dennery Sanders in Branding One of the most common questions I get from friends, clients and strangers alike, is how to build a powerful brand with little to no budget. 10 Ways to Market Your Small Business on a Shoestring Budget. Famed author Mark Twain once said, “Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising.” But advertising can be expensive, and in a tight economy, many small businesses cut their marketing budgets first because of cash flow concerns. Step #1 — Understand Your Target Audience Implicitly. The first step in building a business on a shoestring budget is to understand your audience implicitly. Know them down to the very last detail. From their age and their gender, to their geographical location, their needs and their problems, and even their hobbies or traits. Boost Your Brand Awareness On A Shoestring Budget. Here are five tips for marketing on a shoestring budget: 1. When building a business from the ground up, your focus is likely to be on.

Staying afloat in business means having positive cash flow. When you’re just starting out your business, you may not have access to much capital, be it debt financing or equity financing. During this phase, it is imperative to know how to bootstrap and not run out of cash while you grow your business.

Here are some great tools for growing your business on a budget.

1. Toolkit for Business Startup

As you dive in into the world of being a small business owner, you may feel overwhelmed by the amount of information out there. Thankfully, the folks Entrepreneur.com, have created a collection of business startup kits. They have kits for over 20 different kinds of businesses, which will guide you through all you need to know as you get started.

2. Business Planner

As you start your new business, you’re going to need a plan. Whether or not you’re looking to raise funds, your business plan will help give you a clear idea of how you’re going to move forward. If you are brand new to the business playground, this can be a daunting process. The Business Model Canvas is a neat online collaborative tool to keep you guided and focused, saving a ton of time for anyone new to business model creation.

3. Start proper accounting from day 1

Small business owners have countless things they have to juggle. One thing that often gets put off is accounting. Many business owners put off accounting to the day when relevant tax authorities come knocking on their doors. Don’t make that same mistake. It doesn’t cost much to get started with proper accounting and we cannot stress how important it is to keep your books in check from day 1. The longer you hold off on it, the messier it gets and the harder it will be for you to keep track as days move along. You can get started with a free 30-day trial on Quickbooks, or just use one of these free accounting templates from Frugal Entrepreneur.

4. Build your own web presence easily and cheaply

Building Your Brand On A Shoestring Budget In 10 Steps At A

Even if you are building a brick and mortar business, you still should have a website for your business. This doesn’t have to cost a lot of money – check out these free website builders you can use to get your web presence up quickly and easily.

5. Freemium cloud based software

Many of the apps around us such as Gmail, Google Drive and Dropbox that we use as individuals have freemium business versions. Make the most out of our cloud-based era and save on all the unnecessary costs you would incur by setting up offline alternatives. What’s more? Storing your documents on a reliable cloud service means you will never have to worry about your hard disk crashing and losing your information. Check out a convenient list of Freemium small business apps here.

Remember: cash is king. So whenever you can save without it affecting your business operations too, go for the savings. Your business bottom-line will thank you.

Famed author Mark Twain once said, “Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising.”

But advertising can be expensive, and in a tight economy, many small businesses cut their marketing budgets first because of cash flow concerns. However, when times are tough, it’s even more important to keep your business brand front and center.

During an economic downturn, clients, customers, and consumers have less money to spend. This means that when they’re ready to buy, you want your brand to be at the top of their list. Social media is undoubtedly one of the most effective and affordable ways to engage your customers and keep your brand top-of-mind, but it’s not the only way. Here are ten tried and true marketing strategies that can help you market your business on a shoestring budget.

1. Craft an elevator pitch

You should be marketing all the time — wherever you are. Therefore, you need a compelling elevator pitch. Research shows the average attention span of an adult is about 6 to 8 seconds. That’s all the time you have to grab someone’s attention. If you successfully engage them, then you only have a little over a minute to really sell them on your product or service. Invest the time to craft a killer elevator pitch. The return on your investment will pay huge dividends in terms of creating business opportunities.

2. Leverage your community

You don’t have to think big when it comes to your marketing efforts. Think locally. What’s going on in your community? Sponsor a Little League team or a 5k charity walk/run. Print bookmarks and leave them at the local library. Get to know your ideal customer and think about how and where they spend their time. Then search for opportunities to get in front of your customer with your marketing message.

3. Collaborate

Put together a group of synergistic, non-competitive businesses in your area and agree to cross-promote. You can use coupons, fliers, reciprocal website links, bundled promotions or social media platforms. (Okay, I had to add a little bit of social media to the mix.) By collaborating with each other, you can expand your customer base because you’ll be reaching new people.

4. Network

Building Your Brand On A Shoestring Budget In 10 Steps Involved

I’m a huge fan of networking. I don’t think there is any better way to build a business than to get out there, shake some hands, and get to know people. Networking requires a time commitment and it doesn’t provide instant gratification, but a strong network is one of the greatest assets any business person can have.

5. Give a speech

A lot of people hate public speaking. However, there are many organizations looking for qualified, subject-matter experts who can present to their groups. Take a deep breath and volunteer. You don’t have to be a pro as long as the information you share is helpful to the audience. And the upside — the more you do it the easier it gets. Plus, it positions you as a credible authority in your field.

6. Create buzz

I started my corporate career in the field of public relations and the business has changed significantly because of technology. Today, a small business owner can accomplish a lot without hiring a professional firm. Subscribe to Help a Reporter Out www.helpareporter.com. You can respond to reporters’ queries that are looking for story ideas and resources. Some are small media opportunities, but others are major media outlets that use this service too.

7. Ask for referrals

Don’t be shy about asking for customer referrals. The majority of people say they are willing to provide a referral if asked, but very few take the initiative to do it on their own. Referrals make it easier to get in the door with new customers. If you aren’t asking for them, you are missing opportunities.

8. Build relationships

Building Your Brand On A Shoestring Budget In 10 Steps For A

It is a lot less expensive to keep a customer than it is to get a new one. That’s why establishing strong relationships with your customer base is crucial. One of the ways you can do that is by launching an email campaign. Make your communications informative and helpful — something your customers will look forward to receiving. Social media campaigns are another way to keep the communication channel open (and there I go again.)

Building Your Brand On A Shoestring Budget In 10 Steps For Beginners

9. Offer coupons

Coupons are a good way for many businesses to attract new customers. Research shows that people will go out of their way to use a coupon, proving that this method is successful in expanding your customer base. Coupons can also generate return visits. For example, if you give a customer a coupon for a discount to use on future business, there’s a high probability they’ll be back.

10. Give it away

If someone has the opportunity to experience your product or service, chances are they will want to purchase more. Don’t be afraid to give someone a free trial or a sample. In today’s economy, people are more comfortable purchasing something they have been able to experience first.

These ten, inexpensive marketing strategies will help you engage customers, build relationships, and ultimately keep your brand top-of-mind. It’s not always about the money you have to spend on marketing, it’s about the time and effort you put into it and above all, the relevance it has for your customers.

Do you have another inexpensive, successful marketing tip that has worked for you? Tell us about it below.

About the Author: Alvin Merrifield is THE Small Business Expert. Sign up for Alvin’s Success Tipsr and get info on how to grow your business