Big isn’t always best when it comes to marketing, and this rings true when it comes to small businesses.

Support for small businesses is going through a renaissance, with customers turning their backs on giant corporations in favour of the smiling faces of owner-operators, and a more personal approach (that isn’t the result of AI collecting your data). This is good news for small businesses and it provides an opportunity to get your name out there in an authentic way without a hefty marketing budget. So where do you start?

Here are three ideas for securing that first customer (family members not included):

Take it to the streets

From farmers’ markets to local fairs and industry-specific events, peddling your wares from behind a stall is a great place to start. Chatting one-on-one with prospective customers will give you valuable insight into how they feel about your product or service – which is simply not possible through online purchasing.

Join groups likely to be interested in your product

From Facebook groups to physical meet-ups, reaching out to people who might need or are interested in your product is a great way to build awareness. While spamming multiple groups to hustle your wares isn’t recommended, try to find a genuine angle or a need that you can help with.

Social media influencers

The half-million-dollar fee of a Kim Kardashian Instagram post isn’t starting small, but seeking out smaller influencers in niches related to your product or service is. Smaller influencers (or micro-influencers) are more receptive to sampling, posting about or giving away your product. Often provision of the product itself is the only cost, which can be a great return on investment.

Interested in learning more small-scale marketing tactics? Read the article.