It is very common for businesses to have very small and tight budgets for marketing concepts. How do you market (which is not the same as advertising) with limited resources? That is the question that all business owners, small or large, ask themselves all the time.

Implementing a marketing strategy is easier and cheaper than you think. Even in tough times.

The first thing to do is to define the goals you want to achieve in your business. The goals must be clear, direct and, above all, measurable. Remember: what cannot be measured, cannot be improved.

Next, it will be necessary to define customer profiles. Who is your customer? is a fundamental question that not many businesses tend to ask themselves: what are their consumer habits, what are their concerns, what solutions can you provide, why did this customer decide to buy from us and not from the competition?

It is also necessary to select what our value offer will be. In other words, define what will differentiate us from the rest of the competitors. It can be something as simple as location, a specific product, or something as complex as knowing the first name of all your counter customers.

Facing a crisis means putting values and principles at stake
In the value offer, it is essential to detect which are your star products or services, and to discard those that you have no reason to continue offering, either because of low sales or low profitability margins.

Another determining aspect is price. We know that our products and services are usually driven by market costs, but on many occasions we do not know that we can maximize that price, either because the niche allows us to do so or the end customer sees an added value and is willing to pay better.

It is of utmost importance to invest energy, time and economic resources to the professional image of our business. It is not only about designing a good logo, or launching a 'catchy' slogan, but to develop a whole corporate image. The graphic DNA of the brand must be visible, attractive and have a powerful personality. In other words, what is known as branding, that is, the continuous communication of brand values through graphic elements and messages on different platforms.

Similarly, I think you need to spend time on the creativity of your business and connect that inventiveness with marketing. It is necessary that the way you present yourself, sell and serve your customers, has creative elements, marketing details that others do not have, come on, not only make a good impression, but that your brand and experience permeate the customer's mind so that they remember you in the near future more easily.

It is a fact that we must invest in technology, to the extent of our capabilities. Adding technology to our processes, both operational and marketing, will undoubtedly make us grow. Technology is much cheaper today than it was five or ten years ago; now is the time to take advantage of the wind at our backs.

Finally, promotion. We should never stop promoting ourselves according to the reality of our business. Whether with flyers, social networks, audiovisual productions, activations or traditional media. It is essential to adjust our services and products to the needs that the population lives today. Promotion, as long as it is well focused, becomes an investment and never an expense.