What are some good marketing techniques?

What are some good marketing techniques one can apply in small towns in Africa to scale up a business?

• My family own a small shop of construction materials and I would like to apply some marketing techniques to scale it up. I can't do advertising because it gonna take a lot of money. Basically am looking for good techniques that won't cost a lot.

• Answer:

  Hello, There are plenty of marketing strategies that you can use for free or very little cost, they will take some effort on your part though and may take some time to start being effective. Online Marketing You can start by creating a blog on your company website. You should write articles that give value to your customers. You could write about construction techniques, materials, building tips, reviews of tools, local community construction news and more. This will improve your SEO and give you more visibility on the web. Including articles about local things will help customers find you when they search for your location plus construction or home improvement. You should try to find any websites with local target customers and become a part of the community by posting comments and participating in discussion boards. You should start using social media to reach customers and give them an easy way to share your content with their friends. You can also post any promotions, discounts, or special offers and give customers incentive to keep up to date with your social media presence. I would suggest choosing one or two of the most active social media platforms in your area and concentrate on building a following there. Pictures are worth a thousand words, take advantage of as much digital media as you can.. Offline Marketing You should also try to find any local communities or organizations that are filled with your target customers. Maybe you can work with the local union, a community center, or somewhere else to give classes about home improvement or building techniques. If you can't find an outside organization to work with you could hold classes or demonstrations at your store. Start a Saturday home improvement workshop. You would probably want to spend some money printing flyers, but it wouldn't cost much. Bring people to your store, show them your expertise and excellent customer service, and they will become loyal customers. Charity is another way to get exposure, it may cost more on your part, but it could be very effective. Maybe a local organization like the Boy Scouts, need materials and help with some building projects. By donating your time and product, not only would you be doing something good for the community, you would be building relationships with potential life-long customers. If there is a lot of competition in your area, you will have to do something to make yourself stand out, you can't win just on price. Outstanding customer service should be a given, but maybe you could try some more creative idea to drive customers to your store. For example, you could offer free home delivery on any orders over $500, or give a small emergency preparedness kit for the first 50 customers on a certain day. Marketing is daunting for small business owners, because there are so many other things to get done every day. But your marketing efforts will be worth the time and effort in the end. If you show your customers you value them and take the time to engage with and go the extra step for them, your business will grow faster than you ever thought possible.