A business’ ability to be successful at marketing does not have to rely on numerous paid advertisements or a consultation by a search engine optimization team. Small business entrepreneurs know how to make the most out of a tight budget. Instead of breaking the bank, pay for a quality marketing strategy with your time and effort!

There are literally hundreds of ideas on different marketing strategies that you can work on during your free time that are at little or no cost. As a small business, you should commit time each week to working on your marketing program. Marketing efforts are all about consistency.

There are many Do-It-Yourself (DIY) marketing projects that you can try out. In order to evaluate which campaigns are worth your time, make sure to be tracking in your doggie daycare software how your new customers heard about you.

Pick a handful of the ideas below and try them for a few months. If they are working, do them more. If they are not, try some of the other ones. May the force be with you!

1. Volunteer at animal shelters and pet adoptions.

These are major spots to generate new customers because you will meet new pet owners! Several of these pet adopters will be first-timers who have no idea where to go for the best pet services. Assert yourself as a pet expert and approach all of these potential customers with business cards and a friendly smile.

2. Take flyers and business cards to all your local veterinary clinics.

Six-Figure Pet Sitting Academy author Kristin Morrison recommends vet marketing kits. To make one of these kits, include several business cards for vets to pass along to their clients, flyers, an event calendar, and service discounts to make it easy for the vets to share your information with the many pet owners who pass through their doors.

3. Word of mouth is best. Social media just takes it to the next level.

Modern dog training software solutions allow you to easily integrate with your social media, like Facebook. Your software can be set up so that when a customer books an appointment or makes changes to their pet profile, they will be asked to write a referral about your facility using their Facebook account. They can share their experience, add pictures, and best of all, their positive recommendation will show up on their Facebook newsfeed for their friends (and potential customers) to see.

4. Offer free white papers, ebooks, blog articles, and pet care tips.

Creating these takes more time and editing, but they are reusable and can apply to many people in the pet industry. Using these resources on your website will also up the traffic, which will boost your overall search engine rank. See, you don’t need an SEO team! You just need creativity to generate ideas and an understanding of what your customer wants to know about the pet industry. When writing web content, make sure to include your keywords (the words that you think people are typing into Google when they are looking for services you provide).

5. Do demos at community events or at pet retail shops and other pet businesses.

Seek out local events that draw pet owners (who might be interested in your services) and offer to do demos or have an information table. People like to meet you and see what you do—not just be told. Identify which locations in your community would be best for you to host a demonstration in and practice these demonstrations in front of friends and staff members so that you cover every point and are prepared for questions.

6. Place visible signs on major intersections near your business location and for bulletin boards around your community!

If you have a dog park near your location, even better! It is important to make sure your signs are eye-catching, your business information is legible. If they are going to be larger signs that need to be read quickly as people drive by or stop at a street sign keep them short and make sure your customers can quickly identify what your business does and how to get in contact with you. If you are making them for bulletin boards, make sure to put your contact information both on the flier and have small tear offs at the bottom so they can take a copy with them.

7. Speak at tradeshows and have booths at pet fairs.

You will be able to network with professionals and pet owners. These are great locations to advertise your brand on your booth, show demos, and flaunt your pet expertise and credibility. Look up where these tradeshows are being held months in advance so that you can make sure your facility is covered in your absence and you can mentally prepare to present.

8. Run social-media contests and offer referral programs.

You can run short-term contests on your social media sites that only run for a few hours and require a “Like” or “Comment” on a post. Tip: If you run a fan-favorite picture contest, to make it easier on yourself, create a hashtag (#) on the Instagram app and people can easily post to that site and advertise your contest to their Instagram friends.

Referral programs give customers a great incentive to tell their friends about your business! Perhaps a free organic bath for every referral? Or even a free night stay for every three referrals. Feel free to try out several promotions to see which one works best.

9. Sign up for contests!

Companies and publications host contests year round. This is a great way to advertise your brand as you join in on the fun. If the requirements entail taking pictures, then ask your pet photographer business partner to snap a few shots of your pet or company mascot in front of your shop. Get creative and make sure your picture entries are shot somewhere in your facility, like the doggie playground or the pet grooming salon.

Websites like BlogPaws also has the “Nose-to-Nose” Social Media and Pet Blogging Awards. If you have an active and well-maintained pet blog, then try to boost your blog community engagement and ask your followers to vote for you. Also, a lot of cities run annual “Best of” contests. You usually have to nominate yourself so find out what the steps are and make sure your name gets on the list.

10. Car magnets and bumper stickers are effective ways to place your brand literally in front of potential clients.

Eye-catching designs on the back of your car will definitely garner attention. Just remember to add your phone number and location so that they know where to find you!

11. Wear your name proudly!

Have a few sweatshirts or T-shirts made for you and your staff. You can iron-on your own brand logo to plain white polo shirts. We’ve tried this and they come out great! Just make sure you have a high resolution picture before you print it on the iron-on transfer paper.

If you have a little more leeway on your budget, splurge for high quality merchandise to represent your brand. Buying in bulk will save you more in the long run and you can save the extra shirts for giveaways. Wear your shirts around town and ALWAYS to local pet events. If you can have a group of people wear the same t-shirt, it will likely catch the eye of local potential customers.

12. Finally, spend time nurturing your relationship with your loyal customers.

Your loyal customers are the people who will generate the best word of mouth with the most flattering stories. Offer them family and friend discounts as well so they can share the wealth and spread the word.

Take Action

Marketing is an area of running a business that is loved by some business overs and loathed by others. Regardless of which you are, we know you are busy so we want to urge you to take time to commit to doing at least one of these ideas. Write it down! Put it on a sticky note and place it somewhere where you will see it often. Assign marketing projects to your employees and to yourself—deadlines included! Set goals for your marketing strategy and new customers will be sniffing at your door in no time!

Throw Us a Bone!

What shoestring budget marketing campaigns have you had success with?