No matter how big or small your business is, there are challenges when it comes to promoting and marketing your brand.

KissMetrics noted from a recent report into the Return on Investment (ROI) in digital marketing, that lack of budget was stifling innovation.

A smaller budget doesn’t mean that you cannot sell or promote your business well and reap the rewards with more customers. But it certainly makes it easier to have a larger marketing budget!

That said, if big budgets are not yielding big results, it does raise some interesting questions on effectiveness and reach, and whether it is money wasted.

Money AND Time

Success via any marketing strategy or tool is not just about how much money you can throw it – it is about time too.

In effect, you want an ROI on the money you spend targeting your customers and generate sales in the least amount of time. So, when looking at the following tactic, consider how quickly they would reach your customer demographic and how quickly they would generate sales.

Knowing What And How To Measure ROI

Return of Investment (ROI) is what your business gets back in terms of income after expenditure on marketing activities.

It sounds simple enough but here’s the rub – businesses often don’t know what ROI measurement they are measuring, nor how to go about it.

Thus, when creating a campaign, what is it that you want it to achieve?

Other businesses with successful marketing campaigns have turned this question on its head. They have experimented with certain marketing tools and promotional activities for a length of time and monitored them closely – which ones worked, what was the ROI and why was this the case?

Colour Graphics… has managed to group for us the best advice on how to get marketing ROI with a limited budget.

#1 Look For ‘FREE’ Opportunities

We always think of marketing and raising brand awareness in terms of how much money we can throw at it.

But this isn’t always the case. For example, there is a school of thought that customers are more likely to buy from a brand that they have connected with. This could be connecting via social media channels or being aware of the brand, the logo, the firm and what they do.

If your brand has a great reputation, people are more likely to remember it and turn to it when they need a product.

This takes times, especially to build a positive reputation and brand awareness that means customers turn to you automatically like people turn to Nike when they need trainers.

Upping thought leadership is a great way of creating and generating ideas to push the marketing and promoting of your business without spending cash.

Local newspaper and magazines, both in print and online versions, are always looking for news to fill their pages. If you have something remotely newsworthy, get it out there.

The ROI on this is long term and is about building your brand so that people recognize it. However, with a concerted effort, regular news articles coupled with adverts, the paying customers will come quicker than you think.

#2 Connect With Key Influencers

You will have no doubt come across the term ‘influencer’. Usually associated with social media, they can be found across all sectors and industries.

They are the people who are considered by many to be experts, the ‘movers and shakers’ in the industry. This can be because of their knowledge, or their status. It can also be a self-gained title by being prominent, leading the discussion and enticing debate.

As their influence gathers pace, they are the people to whom other players in the industry look and this makes them an ‘influencer’.

Get them on your side by reviewing a product, interviewing you for their blog or other communication channels, and you have the avid attention of customers and fan everywhere.

#3 Be Strategic

There is no doubt that any company, business or organization that have had a successful marketing campaign on their hands have planned and strategized, executed and reviewed the campaign with one eye on the fine detail.

They have tweaked the campaign when they could see it running in the wrong direction. They have been proactive and engaged. It has been an all-consuming campaign and one that they have driven.

And yet, too many businesses still think that throwing an advert out there every now and then, followed by a tweet or two and an update on Facebook is enough to bring a massive ROI on a marketing campaign.

Marketing needs to be strategized, with a cohesive plan that joins all the strands together.

Do you know what ROI metrics you are measuring and why? How successful are your marketing and promotional plan?