As a small business owner you learn, sooner or later, that marketing is essential for your business success. In some cases, it may even be necessary to stay in business. Although marketing can be expensive, a business owner may be able to market on a shoestring with innovative marketing. It is always important for a business to know the audience and be able to market to that audience in a effective manner. Whether a business wishes to cater to young families or the elderly, the information provided here may help a owner take the right steps to building their marketing plan and moving forward.

Here, then, are 5 innovative marketing Ideas that can be started for low or no cost.

1. Market through the Internet

If you own a brick-and-mortar business, you may be under the impression that you can only market through expensive media like radio commercials, print advertising, billboards, or even television commercials. However, this is far from the truth. On the Internet, it is possible to build a simple website and do local marketing. You can drive traffic to these websites by using a number of paid advertising strategies, ranging from placing Solo Ads to buying advertising from Google or Yahoo.

2. Study Customer Satisfaction Reports

One way to immediately improve business success is by giving your customers more of what they want. However, it’s difficult to interview everyone who walks into your store or restaurant and find out what delights them. Still, using the Internet, it is possible to get this data without any problems using websites like Yelp or Open Tell Reviews. Here, you can find authentic reviews from customers. Only verified customers are allowed to share their reviews, preventing misleading reports from vested interests. Moreover, there are a large number of reviews, which can give a business owner a very good idea of what it is that customers want from a good business. If, for example, you run a Mexican restaurant, you can visit Open Tell’s Costa Vida reviews to find out what customers expect when trying out Mexican cuisine.

3. Create An Offline Network

When you can expand the number of people who know about your business, you tap into a large pool of people that they know. People like to do business with people they know, and the best way to get known is to join your local Chamber of Commerce, local community clubs, and so on.

4. Social Media Marketing

Besides meeting people by joining a variety of business or community groups, you can also do the same thing online, using social media channels like LinkedIn, Google +, Facebook, and Twitter. For instance, you can create a Facebook fan page or you can mention coupon offers on Twitter. Whether a person wishes to make new friends or watch a video, a social media website caters to their interests. A smart business would do well to observe the behavior of the target market and take notes for the future campaigns.

5. Content Marketing

There are a number of ways that you can create content around your business. Here are a few suggestions: start a blog and post articles about your business; write an informative how-to article for your local newspaper; write an article and publish it in online article directories; and write a book and give talks about it at local clubs.

Letting your voice be heard by the right people and in the right way can be a huge task for businesses but, if done right, can bring a company out of obscurity and into the limelight!