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April 3, 2023Managing and growing a business is no easy task. For a brand to stand out from the competition and survive in the marketplace, it needs to be fully engaged and up to date on the latest trends and strategies. This is where the role of marketing strategies comes into play as they play the most important role in business growth.
A marketing strategy should focus on the value proposition of a business. The ultimate goal of an online and offline marketing strategy is to create and communicate a lasting competitive advantage over competitors. Both emerging trends and proven tactics must be incorporated into a startup’s marketing strategies to achieve significant results.
In this article, we will share some offline marketing strategies that can contribute to business growth and capture the attention of customers. But before we move on to that, let us understand the meaning and importance of marketing strategies for business growth.
What are marketing strategies?
Marketing strategies are precise, well-structured plans for a startup’s promotional efforts across multiple platforms and channels. They include objectives, audience demographics, content creation procedures, performance indicators, and various other elements.
A solid marketing strategy can help you identify your potential customers, their needs, and how you can meet those needs better than competing companies. The process of developing a marketing plan and identifying marketing strategies can help a startup uncover the hidden unique selling points of its brand.
It is a long-term vision that outlines the value a startup will provide. But remember, marketing strategies guide all marketing activities and do not specify the exact steps required for a campaign. Using a blend of online and offline marketing strategies can be beneficial for a firm.
Why do businesses need marketing strategies?
Marketing strategy is an important aspect of a startup’s growth. It serves as a roadmap that helps a startup make its decisions wisely. The path that a marketer takes to achieve the specific goals of his or her business is shown through the marketing strategy.
Marketing strategies involve segmentation, targeting, and positioning which gives a direction to a startup. They enable a startup to stay in touch with its customers, design the right products for them, and decide how to communicate information about those products to them.
Therefore, marketing strategies can be called a mantra for business growth as it helps in overcoming hurdles and forecasting upcoming challenges. Here are 10 effective marketing strategies that can boost your moving startup.
11 Marketing Strategies For Business Growth
As mentioned earlier, running a business requires absolute dedication and commitment. But with dedication, a marketer must also understand and create a roadmap to survive in the market and be relevant in the long run. Therefore, here are some offline marketing strategies that may not guarantee the success of the business, but can act as fuel to business growth.
1. Understanding the importance of CSR
Corporate social responsibility is a firm’s duty to be a good corporate citizen for its own benefit, the benefit of society, and the benefit of its stakeholders. It’s a commercial strategy in which corporations willingly take on social problems to spread awareness and influence the general public.
Companies that have a segment specifically devoted to CSR are always at a competitive advantage. Startups with a social conscience who allocate some of their limited funds from the beginning have an advantage. Participating enthusiastically and actively in such events promotes brand awareness and strengthens consumer brand loyalty.
The new image of your company will increase sales and lower advertising and marketing expenses, allowing you to make more savings.
A significant component of Procter & Gamble’s CSR is “Shiksha – Padhega India, Badhega India.” Up till this point, THE Shiksha program has assisted around 280,000 disadvantaged children in gaining access to their constitutional right to an education. Over 140 schools have been established and maintained by them throughout India. The Shower, a Hindustan Unilever water conservation film, makes a crucial point about how we can all do our part to save water.
2. Organize or Sponsor Events
A startup can increase its visibility and popularity by using events as a marketing strategy. It refers to the process of creating a themed exhibition or presentation designed to promote a product, service, idea, or organization. It connects with customers through face-to-face interactions.
Events are fantastic opportunities to promote your brand and showcase your products. Connect with other entrepreneurs and look for opportunities to move forward through collaborations. Businesses can also take the initiative to sponsor an event if their finances allow it.
Any type of business can benefit greatly from event marketing. Startups can organize marathons, cycling events, or a concert. Therefore, it can be a good marketing strategy for business growth.
3. Making use of Guerrilla Marketing
Guerrilla marketing is an unconventional way of advertising that relies on word-of-mouth, personal communication, and originality. Start-ups and small businesses that want to make a difference without investing much money often use it.
Most guerrilla marketing strategies are effective in metropolitan areas. Using innovative small business marketing methods, a company can make a surprising, amusing, or startling change in a place that immediately catches the attention of passersby.
Guerrilla marketing means captivating the audience with amazement or curiosity while delivering a compelling message. Like traditional advertising, guerrilla marketing does not have creative restrictions. Companies don’t have to worry about following any norms or guidelines established by the marketing business since they are employing out-of-the-box approaches.
An innovative advertisement for Anando Milk that was shown atop a skyscraper in Mumbai helped increase milk consumption among kids. The unusual creative shows a little boy using his incredible power to move a portion of the structure. The promotion of dairy products among kids through this guerrilla marketing effort was a big success.
4. Participating in Trade Shows
Attending and participating in trade shows is another strategy to increase your company’s visibility. Today’s biggest trade shows feature famous artists, breathtaking multimedia installations, exclusive parties, and exciting programming.
A trade show is an opportunity for an entire industry to show how important and relevant it is. Most companies set up booths with video displays, printed signs, promotional materials, and knowledgeable sales staff to showcase what is extraordinary and attractive about the company.
Despite all the hype, the main purpose of trade shows is to do business. Startups can attend trade shows to make new customer contacts, sign important agreements, and network with other professionals in their sector.
5. Engaging in Offline Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is among the most successful marketing strategies. In the offline affiliate marketing method, an affiliate marketer promotes goods or services to customers in a physical environment, such as a shop or office. Due to the opportunity for direct customer interaction with the goods or services offered, this marketing may be quite successful.
Affiliate marketing is a cost-effective option to increase sales without incurring high fixed marketing expenses like advertising. Affiliates are sufficiently motivated to promote your goods or services as they have a vested interest in doing so and are only compensated for successful advertising.
Nowadays, many startups rely on affiliate programs as a key strategy. It is beneficial for a startup as they can manage their affiliate program in the way that is most effective for their business.
An example of an affiliate marketing program is the Amazon Affiliate program, often known as Amazon Associates. Website owners and bloggers may sign up to be Amazon Associates for free. By establishing links, they promote items from Amazon.com on their websites. Customers who click the links and purchase anything from Amazon are compensated with referral money.
6. OOH Advertising
Out-of-home advertising promotes both a company’s products and services. Customers spend most of their day outside their homes, which makes this marketing strategy very effective. The goal is to attract new customers by using an effective marketing strategy to appeal to them.
The OOH marketing approach encompasses billboards, wallscapes, posters, signs in shopping malls, digital advertising on kiosks in airports, and any other advertising measure that a customer may see on the go.
The OOH marketing strategy is a highly effective visual creative for startups. It can be far more economical than television and radio advertising, which can require significant budgets. In India, the most common places to view digital OOH are malls, metro stations, and airports.
7. Investing in PR
Public relations varies from other marketing approaches because advertising and public relations are earned, not bought. To get people talking about a product or company, PR strategies for startups and other larger companies emphasize sharing remarkable editorial or social content.
One goal of public relations for startups is to have highly credible people, such as members of the press or thought leaders in a particular sector, speak positively about your brand or company. The premise is that word-of-mouth will spread and help you reach and attract new customers.
The main goal of public relations is to gain media attention. Audiences are influenced by what they say. Public relations promotes the expansion of your business and can be a key element of your content and marketing strategy.
8. Offering Discounts, Coupons, and Cashbacks
When companies offer discounts to their loyal customers, they imply that they are using this marketing strategy. Customers’ desire to save money while the use of coupon codes, vouchers, and other discount techniques reinforces shopping.
Even potential customers who have never heard of you will be interested if you make them familiar with the incentives. A startup can attract new customers by providing goods and services at reduced prices. This will allow customers to get to know the brand.
A cashback option is where customers are guaranteed a certain amount of real or virtual money for their purchases. Customers can use their reward funds toward their next purchases. Cashback incentives increase retail and online sales while protecting brand value.
9. Referral Marketing
Referrals are among the most effective methods of acquiring new customers. It is a marketing strategy in which items or services are promoted among friends and family of existing customers. It is similar to word-of-mouth marketing, but not the same.
Startups can encourage their customers by simply asking them to share their positive experiences with your brand or invite people in their network to try your goods and services, rather than spending a lot of money on advertising to market your business. A single positive comment from a satisfied customer praising your product can quickly get a large number of responses.
Dropbox’s referral programs are well-known and regarded as one of the greatest applications for growth. One of the most well-known online storage providers, Dropbox, started a referral campaign by giving both the advocate and the person being recommended 500 MB of free space.
10. Creating pamphlets and flyers
Distributing free printed promotional materials is another way to reach your target audience with your brand’s message. Flyer printing may be an outdated strategy, but that doesn’t mean it’s not effective, especially if you’re attending a trade show or want to increase awareness in your community.
With so many design options, flyers are much easier to develop and can be printed with the highest quality using techniques like our offset or digital printing.
Flyers and brochures can be used in a variety of ways to capture the interest of your target audience. Flyers can look better aesthetically when printed with the best technology and quality. To grab readers’ attention, startups can use catchy headlines, bold colours, and vivid images.
11. Digital Marketing
A digital marketing strategy is a plan for creating an online presence using tools like social media, sponsored search, organic search, and other web-based platforms like your website.
The purpose of digital marketing tactics is to raise brand recognition for your company and draw in new clients. When developing a digital marketing plan, a business must consider owned, paid, and earned media.
Earned media and purchased media are external communication channels, whereas owned media comprises the organization’s communication channels.
The largest coffee store in India is Cafe Coffee Day (CCD). This company’s rare use of print, television, radio and other traditional media forms of promotion is one of its most unique features. Their marketing strategy is heavily centred on digital media, particularly online and social media advertising.
Major Takeaways…
- As a startup or small firm, you have a wide range of possibilities to develop a strong marketing strategy, even on a limited budget.
- Focusing on CSR, incorporating marketing strategies like guerrilla marketing, referral marketing, and using affiliates, and public relations work as fuel for business growth.
- Being more visible and gaining the positive attention of prospective customers is the key to effective marketing strategies for business growth.
- Marketers should make a road map and find which blend of marketing strategies works well for their business.