Marketing and Advertising are integral in surviving and thriving in today’s economy. As people have less and less to spend, it is imperative that those dollars are spent with you. However, fewer people spending money means you have less money to spend drawing those people:  a vicious cycle that has led to many businesses going out of business. By using strategic and out of the box adverting strategies you can stretch your advertising budget and bring a significant return on investment.

First of all, keep out there. Do not spend yourself out of business but don’t disappear. You may not be able to throw tons of money at supporting constant promotions, but maintain an on air presence, so you are the first business someone thinks of when they have money to spend. Optimize your media plan. Do not stretch yourself thin trying to keep up with past years exposures with a smaller media budget. Reuse spots, brand and highlight the things that make you different.  Do not try to be everywhere, choose the best station, the best programs and own it. Negotiate every spot as if it were your life. Do not be afraid to ask for more, they can only say no and they might say yes.

Secondly, explore out of the box and free ways to market your products or services. Look for ways to cross promote your business with other businesses. Develop incentives to keep customers returning. Go old school: distribute flyers, hand out coupons and get involved with community services to build your PR.

Lastly, take advantage of the new advertising opportunities social media has created. Generate buzz with blogs, a following on Twitter and Facebook groups and fans. Offer couponing through couponing websites. Most of this is just an investment of time or a coupon offer.

Staying ahead of the game and being aggressive with a minimum investment is mandatory to thrive in this economy. It is important that you maintain a presence and top of mind awareness. The economy will eventually recover and you want to be the first place people go to spend that money. In the meantime, there are cost effective and efficient, even free ways to draw business. You cannot afford to ignore the public, shy away from pavement pounding and elbow grease or not take advantage of the new and exciting buzz generating opportunities the internet has to offer.