In these economic times, marketing can and should be recycled when possible. There are many way to “recycle” marketing. Here are five ways to recycle marketing:
- Copy proven marketing techniques
When you see effective marketing methods being used in comparable marketplaces, why not try them within your marketplace? For example, if your business receives a last minute cancellation for service, use a targeted email or Twitter to fill your unexpected vacancy. This gives your customers the opportunity to fill the vacancy, possibly at a reduced price, so they get a good deal and your slot doesn’t go wasted. Everybody wins! - Share marketing resources
Reach out to your network. Team up with other companies in your community to pool resources for marketing purposes. At the very least you’ll benefit from getting another (potentially more objective) perspective on your marketing ideas. It can be very helpful to share ideas. - Barter your product for marketing services
If your product or service is something a local marketing company could use in their business, try bartering your product for their marketing services. I’ve bartered my services for many service providers, such as accountants and consultants. - Re-use graphics or marketing elements
Hopefully your marketing efforts are targeted. If so, there could be opportunities to use parts of your marketing campaign for new target prospects/customers. There’s no law against reusing graphics, images, or templates from previous campaigns, just make sure you change enough of your collateral so your marketing effort is distinguishable from past promotions. - Re-distribute your content
One of the most effective marketing tactics is providing relevant and useful content. When writing content, you never know if that content will be a viral hit. Redistribute popular content through other channels (e.g. – website, mail, email, syndication, speaking engagements) or package content in a new way (e.g. – offer a Top Ten Blog Posts for signing up to your e-newsletter or link back to past content as I did in this bullet).
There are numerous ways to recycle your marketing. Use these suggestions to lower costs while increasing sales. Hopefully, this post will help get you jump-started in finding your ways to do just that!
How have you recycled your marketing? Please share your experience or send me a message.