How can I reach my target audience with a limited budget?

Framing the Frustration

Small businesses often have limited marketing budgets, making it challenging to compete with larger companies that have more financial resources, staffing and advanced tools for their campaigns.

Business owners often feel pulled in different directions to wear multiple hats, they have to be the sales person, team manager, finance controller and can end up throwing money in lots of different directions to try to generate new opportunities.

The Reason We Get Stuck

Nearly every time we encounter this instance it is because there is no marketing plan and ringfenced budget.

This is often due to the need for thoughtful planning, the prospect of producing a potentially dull document, and the commitment to spending money without a guaranteed return.

Often however, money is being spent. A bit of sponsorship here, an event or two there, and perhaps a few adverts in the magazine with that chap you liked when he rang.

Looking for shortcuts does not help clarify the following:

• What we are selling and who is buying it
• The most cost-effective route to market for your products and services
• A financial model of the cost per new sale and the tactics to achieve it 

The Solution

Customer Research

Spending time to understand your customers will not be wasted, if you have existing customers then build a script and hit the phones or take them out for a coffee.

Not only does this research give us great insights into our offering, pricing and delivery – it also tends to deliver nice testimonials from customers and a feeling of connection to your brand.

Route To Market

With an understanding of where your customers are, it’s now time to think of how you will get in front of more of them.

Examine your buying behaviour, nearly all of the time customers are on search engines looking for products and services, so Google Ads or SEO would be a sensible starting point if budgets are thin (the former produces quicker short-term results).

Pay Per Click Advertising

For pretty much instant lead generation, advertising is the way, and unlike the old days of mass media advertising, is very affordable.

Budget

You’ll need a minimum budget of £300/month in ad spend for most platforms. If you’re new to campaign management, budget for at least £500/month to include a management fee from your chosen supplier.

Management

If you go yourself, there is a Google support team to help you get set up, often these are less experienced than agencies that have been delivering Ads since long before they existed.

AI is also taking over some campaigns and options within the Google Ads platform, so the future looks more plug-and-play for businesses.

It is likely you will spend a pound or two for every click, and you’ll require many clicks per enquiry, as a rough idea, it takes around £20-£50 per enquiry, so you need a product/service that can absorb this expense.

Conversion Rate Optimisation

Be aware that the strength of digital ads is dependent on the website, to convince a potential customer that you are the one for them needs more than just clicking an ad, the website needs to look great too.

For instance, if you’re an electrician, creating a page relevant for the advert is far more likely to convert traffic to enquiries. Create a specific landing page for a “Full house rewire” rather than a generic homepage that says “all aspects covered”.

The great benefit of digital is the ability to track not only the overall effectiveness of a campaign, but also the individual stages, so you can continue to refine and develop the keywords, messaging and landing pages.

Outcomes

With a quick way to advertise your products and services your small business will benefit from increased enquiries.

Ultimately, this approach will create a consistent and sustainable foundation for growth and give you the confidence to think through other audiences and campaigns in your marketing.