Digital solutions consulting is defined by a couple of harsh realities. One is that having a great product alone isn’t enough — you might have a few customers already, but it’ll take a lot more to fuel your business’s growth. The other is that your budget won’t allow you to run an extensive campaign.
So how do you get your brand the recognition it deserves? The truth is that you don’t have to think big with regards to your marketing initiatives. There are various strategies you could use to gain exposure without breaking your small bank.
Network
This is about cultivating meaningful relationships with others in your business community. Your contacts could range from clients and journalists to fellow entrepreneurs. What’s important is to leverage the connections you forge to create buzz around your brand.
Make no mistakes that networking will require a huge time commitment. Also don’t expect it to provide instant gratification. In the long run, though, networking will greatly boost your industry credibility, which’ll in turn empower the rest of your marketing efforts.
Collaborate
Who’s to say that you cannot run promotions hand-in-hand with other brands? This might seem ill-informed in today’s competitive landscape, but logic dictates that two heads are better than one. And two plus two equals five.
Okay, the latter’s a bit of a stretch. But pooling your budgets with other businesses is a great way to maximize value for money. You’ll also be glad to know that a cross-promotion can be run across a handful of channels. A typical initiative will usually include:
-A social media campaign
-Email marketing
-Offline promotions (e.g. sharing booths at local trade shows).
The key to a successful campaign is to work with brands that are synergistic with yours. Also be sure to iron out every little detail before committing yourself.
Content Marketing and SEO
You’ve already studied the market and narrowed down a pool of prospective customers. You’re now wondering how to introduce yourself and start meaningful conversations with them. Only problem is that consumers have become so inundated with advertising that they’ve learnt to tune out.
This is where content marketing comes in. Essentially, it’s tool for communicating value to the public in a softer, less ‘salesy’ manner. Instead of promoting your product(s) directly, you serve information that addresses potential customers’ needs in the hope of influencing their purchasing decisions.
Obviously, that’ll only happen if your content catches their attention in the first place. SEO will serve as the primary mechanism for building your visibility online. In other words, it’s the one area where a digital solutions consulting agency could make all the difference.
