Grassroots marketing techniques offer great ways for your startup business to get some marketing traction while you’re trying to get off the ground, because they’re typically cheap – and they can be highly effective.
Actually, grassroots marketing makes tremendous sense for whatever phase your small business is in. Nothing shows off your products, services and brand like being right in the customer’s face.
We’ve assembled five grassroots-marketing techniques used by entrepreneurs who understand how to do them right.
Dress up your own mascot
Your business doesn’t have to be McDonald’s, with Ronald McDonald, or Borden, with Elsie the Cow, to have your own marketing mascot. A little imagination to create a character, and someone to sew a simple costume, will do nicely. Your own mascot can be a big winner, especially if your products or services involve kids.
Omega Farms created a Meg the Cow mascot that appears at stores and community events promoting the dairy’s new product line with omega-3 fish oils. “This has gotten us some really good attention at events,” says Cindy DiFerdinand, staff nutritionist of the Haward, Calif.-based business. “We’re going to do this in each market where we launch over a few weeks.”
Don’t be afraid to do cold-calling
Few people like to drop in on potential customers or phone them without greasing the skids a bit.
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