8 Low Budget Ways to Scale Your Business in 2021

Hey, you! Yeah, you. Looking for ways to scale your business in 2021? Look no further. Today we’re talking low budget methods for the best scalability tactics in the market today.

But why go low budget when scaling? Well, funds won’t last forever and we want to help stretch your dollar as far as it can possibly go. Whether you’re a startup looking to scale, a small or medium-sized business that has been stagnant for a few years, or you’re coming in from the ground up, (thankfully) scalability is something you can pursue without a lot of heavyweight capital behind it.

Now you don’t want to go too quickly, as this can be detrimental without the proper systems in place, but if you’re waiting for the phones to ring and you’re ready to take on more clients, more work, more shipments, or more whatever you do, you’re probably ready to scale!

But failing at scaling is real and you shouldn’t take it lightly. Make sure you have a well-equipped team and bring in someone who knows what they’re doing when it comes to scaling up.

Today, more businesses are relying on digital channels than ever before so you need to be ready to stand out and differentiate. Sometimes, that’s simply through the volume of communications, and other times it’s through the actual content. Either way, being ready to go digital or revamp your digital channels is a big part of our strategy for you.

Speaking of, what’s on deck for today?

Scaling through Digital Marketing

  1. Create with SEO in mind
  2. Incorporate social media marketing
  3. Add a sprinkle of PCC
  4. Content marketing is not dead
  5. Consider adding a newsletter
  6. Google Adwords is your best friend

Scaling through Changing Markets

  1. Going online
  2. Shipping overseas

Let’s explore each of these recommendations a little further, shall we?

First, we should mention that the first six (6) low budget tips for scaling your business are related to digital marketing. Contrary to popular belief you don’t need a huge budget to incorporate digital marketing into your strategy, as long as you use it correctly.

The last two tips for scaling your business effectively are by means of changing markets. We’ll explain what this means when we get there but for now, let’s get started.

Scaling through Digital Marketing

1. Create with SEO in mind

By creating an SEO-focused website and requiring that all content created to have a component of SEO included you can maximize your “findability” by organic methods. This means having proper SEO descriptions and tags for all your products. Sure, it might be a big project, but organizing your inventory or site architecture this way you will ensure that you’ll rank for at least a few keywords in your industry and might even discover a few more.

For those of you unfamiliar with SEO, Search Engine Optimization is required in order for your business to be targeted as part of searches when customers are looking for similar businesses or products via Google.

This method is super low budget as SEO is the gift that keeps on giving because the content created on your site lasts forever and will keep directing traffic your way (as long as you keep it up there). You can check out the SEO packages here for the best deals to start your SEO journey.

google analytics  - more traffic to your website
Photo by Myriam Jessier on Unsplash 

2. Incorporate social media marketing

Adding social media marketing doesn’t necessarily mean posting your life’s story on Instagram for the entire world to see. It more means that by creating a social strategy (including what platforms to post on) you can achieve a purposeful presence on channels where your audience is most relevant.

For example, if you have a more image-heavy brand you may want to pursue Pinterest or Instagram for its traffic and cataloging capabilities. Like SEO, effort spent on Pinterest can go a lot further than some other social media channels for certain businesses.

3. Add a sprinkle of PCC

PPC and boosted social media posts often get confused. And for good reason. They are basically the same thing.

Pay Per Click or PPC is the act of spending ad dollars in order to buy a certain number of clicks (or other actions) either on social media or on Google.

It is inexpensive if you’re good at targeting, and most often, social sites will actually give you lookalike audiences that should be almost exactly what you’re looking for. It depends on the industry but ideally, you can get traffic from people interested in your products or services for as low as $0.10 per click. 

4. Content marketing is not dead

Many marketers have been saying that content is dead but that is very much NOT the case from our perspective. Content marketing is alive and well and is the art of creating content (images, videos, Reels/TikToks/IGTV/YouTubes etc.) in order to promote or sell products.

This can be free or relatively low cost if you do it yourself but can get very expensive if you pursue agencies or certain influencers for this type of creation.

You can even use sites like inncelerator to find content marketing influencers at a reasonable cost.  

social media marketing
Photo by Hello I'm Nik 🎞 on Unsplash

5. Consider adding a newsletter

Adding a way for your customers to subscribe to your updates is never a bad idea. Even if you only talk to them a few times a year, reminding customers of your existence and whereabouts can be a good idea for sales.

In the age of eCommerce, adding a newsletter to your website is almost essential. And while there will always be some “unsubscribes”, people expect updates from their favorite companies and they want them in their home telling them about it. Tracking these methods can also provide good insight towards how certain processes may evolve and change over time depending on what is successful.

6. Google AdWords is your best friend

Utilizing Google AdWords to rank on the first page of Google is not uncommon. In fact, many people like this option!

Now, this is not some “too good to be true” magic Band-Aid for your brand. In fact, it makes sense that by paying Google, more people will see your company! While SEO is a long term play, AdWords' method is often used by companies looking to drive traffic to themselves during the early phases as it delivers results almost immediately. 

Scaling through Changing Markets

7. Going online

If you run a Brick and Mortar store, going online should be something you’re planning on doing this year (the sooner, the better!). Making a website opens your business up to a sea of customers and opportunities. There are even free services that offer to make websites for businesses that don’t have time to make them during the pandemic. Even if you do not sell your products or services online, having a website can help potential customers find you especially in times of lockdowns where people are trying to get from point A to B as soon as possible and chances of coming across your physical store may not be as high. Inncelerator.com has made information based websites super affordable for all businesses looking to go online. 

Going online can also mean selling over social media like Instagram or Facebook shopping! Both of these apps allow businesses with professional pages to sell their products online through the apps.

going online and ship overseas
Photo by rupixen.com on Unsplash 

8. Shipping overseas

Whether you are a brick and mortar or an eCommerce store, by shipping overseas (or across new borders) you can broaden your reach, especially if you’re selling goods that are unique or hard to find in other countries.

It’s easy to offer this as an additional option through your website and very low-cost implementation. This one is both low in physical cost and in resources since you can have customers pay for their own shipping without having to factor it into the price of your goods.

Tapping into new markets is great, just make sure you have the infrastructure and capabilities to do so with your current operation.

Conclusion:

If you’re considering implementing any of these low budget strategies for scaling your business in 2021, take a look at inncelerator.com ─ they have cost-effective options with their low-price services, saving you even more on your implementation. The a la carte / modular option for services is great for beginners. Whatever your strategy, Inncelerator makes it easy for startups to scale their businesses, even when everyone else is cutting back! For all those with more established businesses, they can contact them for customized packages.

Good luck on your entrepreneurial journey. 



Cover Photo by Diana Parkhouse on Unsplash 

Leave a comment