When running a home business, budgets can be tight.
Below are several different marketing tactics that will not break the bank but can bring you plenty of business. Choose one business marketing idea from the list to start, then add some of the others so that you have several different ways to promote your alpaca business.
- Greeting cards - Sending greeting cards to good customers keeps your business fresh in their mind and creates goodwill. It’s a nice way to remember customers who have purchased from you. Send at birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries and other well know holidays.
- Holiday Discounts - Speaking of holidays, this is a great time to run specials. You’ve seen them before with larger stores. Memorial Day, Labor Day, etc. sales.Or celebrate lesser known holidays. Did you know National Alpaca Farm Day was designated by AOBA to be the last weekend in September this year (Sept. 29th-30th 2007)? Great way to promote alpacas by celebrating a national alpaca day with a sale. You could promote alpacas with a sale on National Farm Animals Day, too.
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Giveaways - Give a small novelty item, such as a key chain, with your business name and website on it. People love to get things for free and seeing your business name everytime they use it will keep your business name in front of them frequently.
- News Event - A great alpaca marketing idea is to create your own news event. Did you start a new product line with your fleece from alpacas? Did you do something for the community or are you holding free felting classes? Announce it in the local paper or local penny paper. Call your local paper and see if you can get them to interview you for the business or home section.
- Community Service - Offer free knitted or felted hats from alpaca fleece that would otherwise go unused to people who are going through chemo or are homeless. You could probably find local knitting groups that would be willing to knit them up at no charge to help.
- Seminars - Hold free seminars on your farm. Host alpaca 101 classes or “how to” info seminars for people interested in alpacas. You could do seminars on how to skirt alpaca fleece. Or hold some short seminars to introduce felting with alpaca fleece. Think up your own useful seminar for your area.
- Farm Day - Have a farm day. Invite the community to come see what alpaca farming is like. Let people lead alpacas, touch fleece, and try their hand at felting. You could have small items for sale or do your giveaway promotion at this event.
- List - Have guests at seminars and farm days sign a guest book with address and emails. Send catalogs and brochures from this list that you have built.
There are lots of other low cost alpaca marketing ideas. Business cards attached to all correspondence or handed out to everyone you meet. Your business name or website on a sticker or placard on your car. None of these cost a lot but these low cost promotion ideas can help your business succeed. Get creative and think of a low cost way you can promote your business.
