For businesses that sell products, marketing is everything. Advertising campaigns do not need to consume your entire company’s budget, though. Here is how to do wholesale marketing on the cheap.
Participate in Online Forums
There is an online forum for virtually every industry and interest. Find the ones related to your wholesale business, and become an active member on them. Contribute to the forum in a way that adds value but is also related to your company. On many forums, you can set up alerts that will email you when specific phrases are mentioned. Join in on the discussions about these phrases, and you will reach both the people participating in the thread and anyone who comes across it later.
Create YouTube Videos
YouTube videos benefit companies in three ways. First, they are an engaging medium for communicating additional information about your products to customers and prospective customers. Second, they show up in Google’s search engine results as a separate entry, often in addition to a blog post or homepage. Finally, they have a positive impact on search engine optimization.
You may want to take advantage of this medium. Many people are surprised at how easy it is to make and upload a short video. In fact, you may have an employee who already knows how to do this. If you are struggling to come up with topics for videos, show your customers how to use, care for or market your products.
Surprise Customers
Everyone enjoys receiving a surprise, which makes a great way for showing your appreciation for existing customers. Periodically, send your customers a little thank-you gift or a special bonus for their loyalty. The gifts do not need to be expensive--even a thank you note will go a long way. They should be physical gifts, though. A physical gift will be remembered long after an email is deleted.
Make Cold Calls
Cold calling may be one of the oldest marketing strategies, but it is still effective. Even with the advent of emailing, text messaging and social media, nothing has replaced an old-fashioned phone call.
To increase your conversion rate, consider purchasing a list of qualified leads. If you cannot afford such a list, simply start calling companies that might want your product. Look up online who you should call at each company, or simply call the main number and ask who you should speak to.
Contact Influencers on Social Media
Social media gives people the power to contact anyone directly, so why not reach out to the most influential people in your industry? Look for “influencers” on social media platforms, and ask them for input on your business. Influencers will be people who have a large number of followers on Twitter, Facebook pages with many likes and well-connected LinkedIn profiles. Be careful to ask them for input on your business, which makes it clear you want more than a purchase from them.
You may make a direct sale by talking to someone on social media, but you are more likely to increase your brand recognition through this strategy. If an influencer responds to you, then their followers or fans will see them talking about your company. A number of those people may want to investigate your business and products for themselves, and hopefully a few will become customers.
Market without Money
There are many ways to market a wholesale business, and a number of them require little or no financial investment. All of these five strategies can be done for free or very little. At most, you may need a postage stamp to send a thank-you card. Try out some of these strategies today, and see how they impact your business.
