When starting out, entrepreneurs often feel that their business is doomed to fail because it does not have the same financial backing as its competitors. While big brands can afford expensive marketing campaigns, small business owners need to get creative with every budget dollar they spend. Here are 10 cost-effective marketing tips that small business owners can use to reach more potential customers and get the most from every cent.

Establish a brand identity that attracts customers.

A consistent brand experience can help you gain loyal clients, build trust, and help people remember your business. Get started with small business branding by:

Using the same visual branding (colors, logo, font, etc.) across all marketing channels.

Using the same tone of voice for social media, customer support, and beyond.

Sending the same key messages in all your marketing campaigns.

A drip campaign is a sequence of emails that send automatically on a scheduled timeline when triggered by a preselected online action that you choose. For example, if you own a dance studio, you could have a welcome email instantly sent when a new lead subscribes to your email list. Over the next week, they may receive emails introducing them to your instructors, describing your class offerings, and offering a free first class.

Drip campaigns keep leads engaged when they’re actively in need of your product or service—and they’re easy to create. Email marketing tools like 

, which offer automation with their free plans, can guide you through the process of creating each email in your sequence and setting up your trigger. After that, emails will engage your leads without much extra effort on your part.

Re-engage customers with email newsletters

Build loyalty by regularly updating customers on your business, current promotions, industry news, and more.

Optimize your website for the best results

Make sure your site is mobile-friendly, your navigation is well-organized, and your web pages load fast.

Start conversations with social media marketing

No digital marketing conversation is complete without mentioning social media, which 

. From Facebook and LinkedIn to Twitter and Snapchat, social media platforms drive conversations, which help build brand awareness and relationships with clients.

Beyond publishing social media posts that offer value to your followers, make sure you’re engaging with your potential clients. Respond to comments and direct messages (DMs), share posts you’re tagged in, and join trending conversations relevant to your brand.

Consider partnering with other brands to generate referrals. You can refer leads who are in need of complementary services by sharing exclusive referrals. For example, a carpet cleaning company may partner with housekeeping and window cleaning services.

You can organize your client contacts, past interactions, and a lot more on CRM. Using this software, you can offer seamless, highly personalized client experiences. When a client reaches out to you as a result of marketing activity, anyone on the team can instantly look up the information to provide a highly personalized service.

Micro-influencers can be more effective than big-name influencers at promoting products. They usually have niche audiences—often more so than big-name influencers—who trust their recommendations. And micro-influencers are affordable. You can spend as little as $100 to reach 10,000 users. Some micro-influencers may even be happy to accept a commission or complimentary products or services instead of monetary payment.

Generate word of mouth with a referral program

Word-of-mouth marketing is a powerful tool of the 21st century. More than 80% of consumers trust recommendations from family or friends, which means direct referrals can help you get some of the highest quality leads.

The video market should continue to grow for years to come. Plus, Facebook and YouTube—two major platforms for video—are the world’s most popular social networks, while TikTok is quickly rising.

Give followers a behind-the-scenes look at your business

Business Marketing Tips That Can Improve Your Small Business Today

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