Loyalty programs and discount coupons, promotional marketing

Rewarding customers for their continued support with loyalty programs and discount coupons helps small businesses cultivate long-term relationships and drive sales growth. 

Offer personalized rewards, promote exclusivity and leverage digital platforms for easy redemption. Regularly communicate with customers via various channels to keep them informed about upcoming promotions and exclusive offers, fostering strong customer engagement and customer loyalty. 

12. Community marketing: events, workshops, tutorials and donations

Organizing local events transforms your small business into an active member of the community. Whether a street fair, workshop, giveaway, charity fundraiser or local conference, events are golden opportunities to introduce your small business to potential customers, drawing them into the marketing funnel. They help put a face to your brand while building relationships that no digital ad can match. 

Don’t forget about virtual events—everything from webinars to Reels can be effective ways to engage with your audience. If you don’t fancy holding an event, you can still show your community that you actively give back by sponsoring a local team, making a donation towards a local cause or collaborating with other local businesses to raise funds. Or co-host events or workshops with other local or small businesses to share resources and split costs. This allows you to reach a broader audience while sharing the financial burden of hosting.

Try finding mutually beneficial partnerships with other small businesses, like exchanging goods or services. For example, a restaurant could offer catering services in exchange for marketing collateral from a local graphic designer.

13. Word of mouth and referral marketing

Harnessing the power of satisfied repeat customers to spread positive recommendations can significantly enhance brand credibility and attract new clientele. Encourage customers to refer friends and family by offering incentives or rewards for successful referrals.

But remember, the only way to truly maximize the benefits of referral marketing is to ensure that the reviews customers leave are positive. Prioritize delivering exceptional customer experience to increase the likelihood of positive word-of-mouth endorsements.

14. Direct mail marketing

Direct mail marketing remains one of the best tools for small businesses to attract new local customers. Highly effective for targeting specific neighborhoods and demographics, it offers a tangible and personalized approach that stands out in a digital world.

Experiment with different mail formats to create eye-catching and informative material. Track the effectiveness of your campaigns by including unique codes, UTM links or URLs for recipients to redeem offers, allowing you to measure ROI and refine your future mailings accordingly. 

15. Guerrilla marketing

Guerrilla marketing campaigns are about creating bold, creative and unconventional shareable moments that grab attention beyond your local area in a way traditional marketing can’t. Done right, the campaign can go viral, allowing small businesses to make a big impact without a huge marketing budget.

To ensure your guerrilla marketing campaign is a success, you need to:

• Know your audience: Make sure it resonates with your target audience. What are they likely to find funny, surprising or engaging?
• Be clear with your message: While creativity is important, don’t let your message get lost in the spectacle. Remember, the goal is to promote your business.
• Think through the location: Choose a spot where you’ll get maximum visibility and your target audience is likely to be.

Small business marketing costs

Small business marketing costs can vary widely depending on the industry, demographic, geographic location and specific marketing strategies employed.

The exact percentage may vary depending on these factors:

• Business goals
• Industry competitiveness (more competitive sectors may require higher marketing expenditures)
• Target market demographics
• Competitor strategies (to be used for benchmarking)

It's essential for small businesses to carefully budget and prioritize their marketing expenses. By investing strategically in marketing activities that align with their objectives, small businesses can both maximize their return on investment and achieve sustainable growth.

Small business marketing examples

These small businesses built on Wix use effective marketing tools and ideas to connect with their customers. 

CICADA Goods

CICADA Goods who sells paraben-free, vegan candles effectively taps into ethical impulse buying. Understanding the psychology of selling, CICADA uses the feel-good feeling of earthy, clean ingredients and effectively markets her products to the right audience. What’s more, her products and brand perfectly align with the overall concept of ethical and clean products. For example, all CICADA products are hand poured and crafted in small batches in her Tucson-based studio and are packaged in wildflower seed paper—a biodegradable eco-paper made with post-consumer and post-industrial paper waste.

The brand also leverages holiday marketing ideas. Owner, Stacey McClure, says she always includes her best-seller Cactus blossom candle, “Memory Number 5” in all her curated holiday boxes. This adds a personal touch and shows she knows her product offering well, but also genuinely cares about her customers. What’s more, she hosts pop-up events like a “Valentines Sip and Shop Event” to gain brand exposure and develop meaningful relationships with shoppers.

Sol Cacao 

Founded by three brothers, Dominic, Nicholas and Daniel, Sol Cacao strives to create the finest quality of chocolate. The brothers are involved at every level and have a thorough understanding of each detail—including the manufacturing process, from growing the cacao pods to the actual crafting of the chocolate bars.

They are clearly aware of their best selling products and know both their products and their clients. The brand found co-branding opportunities with other small businesses like their collaboration with Russ and Daughters, a New York culinary and cultural icon, by adding their chocolate into baked goods. They also joined DoorDash’s Accelerator for Local Goods with tens of other local businesses to make their product offering more available.

Sol Cacao has booths at various exhibitions and pop ups, they also hold workshops and tutorials on the history of cacao and chocolate making.