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Tag: best marketing strategies for startups

  • OYO Marketing Strategy: How Is OYO Positioning Itself to Dominate the Market

    OYO Rooms, also known as OYO Hotels & Homes is the third-largest hospitality chain by room count providing a comfortable room stay and ensuring the acceptability of the services by the OYO’s customers in more than 80 nations. Incorporated in 2013 by Ritesh Agarwal (one of the youngest Indian entrepreneurs, the founder and CEO of OYO Rooms) it has established itself as the fastest-growing network of hotels offline and online.

    Headquartered in Gurgaon, it has expanded its reach worldwide within the span of 10 years and has employed over 17,000 employees globally. However, this is not the only reason why OYO has recorded such a huge success. Its excellent marketing strategy shows that it continues to be a leading hotel chain.

    Oravel to OYO Rooms
    Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning of OYO
    Marketing Mix of OYO Rooms

    Traditional Marketing Strategy of OYO
    OYO Digital Marketing Strategies

    Ritesh Agarwal started his journey at the age of 17 and is considered to be one of the youngest CEOs in India. In 2011, Ritesh moved to Delhi with the intention of starting his own business. Soon, he started traveling extensively across India and stayed in PGs or budget hotels. These unpleasant traveling and stay experiences led him to launch Oravel Stays in 2012.

    Ritesh has been one of the judges in Shark Tank India since Season 3.

    Ritesh Agarwal - Founder & CEO, OYO Rooms
    Ritesh Agarwal – Founder & CEO, OYO Rooms

    Oravel to OYO Rooms

    Oravel Stays Pvt.Ltd was Ritesh’s first startup. Oravel was designed to enable the listing and booking of budget and premium accommodations.

    It was meant to be a destination for short and midterm rentals for bed and breakfast joints, private rooms, and serviced apartments.

    Oravel was then transformed into OYO Rooms in 2013 when Agrawal realized that a combination of bed and dinner was not sufficient. He proposed to make it an affordable and standardized accommodation.

    OYO rooms are India’s largest branded network of budget hotel chains. It currently operates across 400 Indian cities including major metros, regional hubs, leisure destinations, and pilgrimage towns, and was valued at $9.6 billion in 2022.

    They offer the hotels to their clients and retain a proportion of the profits.

    OYO Rooms is a budget hotel aggregator in India. In order to standardize different measures in each room, OYO Rooms partners up with hotels, including free wifi and breakfast, flat-screen televisions, spotless white bed linens, toiletries with a brand name, 6-inch showerheads, drinking cups, etc.

    OYO Success Story | Founder | Business Model | Funding | Acquisitions
    The growth of OYO is incredible, and the story of its founder is truly inspiring. Know about OYO startup story, history, founder, growth, revenue, funding, acquisitions & more.
    StartupTalkyBharath

    Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning of OYO

    OYO uses a mix of demographic, geographic, and psychographic segmentation strategies to understand the changing needs of the customers in the competitive market. OYO segments the market in the following manner:-

    • OYO Townhouse targets Millennial travelers
    • OYO SilverKey caters to the needs of corporate travelers
    • OYO Vacation Homes targets people who come on vacation at the beach or a villa on an exotic island
    • OYO Life provides residential space

    Targeting strategy is the cornerstone of the product development process. OYO uses a differentiated targeting business strategy for different product categories.

    • Corporate tie-ups for airline travelers
    • Tours and travels
    • College students or working professionals who are in search of fully managed homes on long-term rentals at an affordable price

    OYO uses a value-based positioning strategy for its customer by providing:-

    • Standardized budget hotels
    • Luxurious productive place
    • Open grass greenery
    • Better room service

    Marketing Mix of OYO Rooms

    As OYO Rooms concentrate on co-branding, they operate differently from OTAs (Online Travel Agency). They state that they are working with zero-to-2-star hotels and guest houses, ‘standardizing’ them and getting them customers through their website and apps. Usually, other hotel aggregators simply connect the customer with the hotel by listing hotels on their website and taking a commission as their revenue. They would work out a deal with the hotels with a minimum order guarantee per month and are able to provide discounted rates and deals on the room rates compared to the rates provided by the hotels directly to a normal guest.

    OYO’s market coverage has swiftly increased because of being listed with travel aggregators like MakeMyTrip, clear trip, and hotels.com. Their aim is to target small business travelers and budget tourists to eminently swift-cash and that works in favor of OYO because revenue gets realized quicker too.

    Product in the Marketing Mix of OYO

    Oyo has a wide range of products and services that they offer to their customer as per their need. OYO Rooms, OYO Hotels & Homes has a multi-brand approach. These include:

    • OYO Townhouse
    • OYO Home
    • OYO Vacation Homes
    • SilverKey
    • Capital O
    • Palette
    • Collection O
    • OYO LIFE
    • YO! HELP

    Promotion/Advertising in the Marketing Mix of OYO

    • OYO prefers to promote via various social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. With its exclusive offerings and reduced costs, OYO uses the digital platform to draw new customers.
    • OYO organizes several online campaigns such as #AurKyaChahiye on YouTube, #OneForEveryone contest, #OYOnauts, Father’s Day Celebration campaign, etc.
    • Many of the promotions have featured artists from Bollywood to make them more appealing. Sonu Sood is the brand ambassador of OYO.

    Brand Endorsement by Sonu Sood

    Pricing in the Marketing Mix of OYO

    • The strategy of OYO Rooms is to attract customers with a lower room price than the hotel’s base price.
    • The primary objective is to provide an unequaled price that suits the user’s budget. The room price varies depending on the location and luxury of the hotel, between Rs. 399 and Rs. 4000.
    • Overall OYO Rooms follows a very sensible approach, aimed at providing rooms with outstanding facilities at a moderate rate and generating customer loyalty.

    Place in the Marketing Mix of OYO

    • Oyo rooms work fully online where one can book the available hotels at an approximate cost either via an app or through online platforms.
    • Once booked with a confirmation one can avail of the service on reaching the booked hotel on a specific date.
    OYO Rooms Online Booking
    OYO Rooms Online Booking

    People in the Marketing Mix of OYO

    • Oyo team comprises 25000 young and professional people who deliver maximum both for the company and individual growth.
    • With a dynamic team, OYO provides excellent customer service, creates a positive experience for its customers, and in doing so markets its brand to them.

    OYO Business Model | How OYO Makes Money
    Discover OYO’s business model and how it makes money through commissions, franchise fees, room bookings, leased properties, and additional services, offering affordable and standardized accommodations globally.
    StartupTalkyVivek Dev Jacob

    Traditional Marketing Strategy of OYO

    OYO started with traditional marketing to make people aware of its brand. It used billboards, TV ads, print media, flyers, and even taxi ads, especially in cities and tourist areas. These methods helped OYO reach travelers who were not very active online.

    OYO Billboard
    OYO Billboard

    OYO also focused on local marketing by working with travel agents and sponsoring events. This helped build trust and made OYO a familiar name among different types of travelers. However, while billboards and ads caught people’s attention, they couldn’t engage customers like digital marketing. That’s why OYO later shifted to online marketing, using social media and personalized ads to connect with more people in a better way.

    OYO Digital Marketing Strategy

    OYO has shifted its business model from hotel aggregator to the fastest-growing chain of franchises offering OYO hotels (OYO flagships, townhouses, studio stays Collection O, Premium), living spaces (OYO Life), and workspaces (OYO Workspaces).

    Marketing Approach Adopted by OYO Rooms

    Prices in the real estate sectors are rising day-by-day still OYO has managed to provide the best places to people at an affordable price. The Internet brought the world closer and digital media became a huge marketing platform. In today’s digital and connected world, it is important to stay ahead of the competitors. OYO makes use of a 360-degree marketing strategy. OYO used all forms of digital as well as traditional media to reach its customers. Traditional media include both print and television whereas digital media include Google search ads, social media ads campaigns, and OYO’s own website and app.

    Assi Reach Gaye? | OYO Rooms Official | Roadtrip

    Search Engine Optimization For OYO Rooms

    Search Engine Optimization is done to ensure maximum traffic to the website by using particular keywords that have the highest searches from their customer. They understood their customer’s needs and intentions and updated their website accordingly. This ensured people searching for hotels would be redirected to their website.

    Social Media Marketing Strategy of OYO

    OYO uses Facebook to share location-based posts, promotional posts, and posts related to the detailed progress of the organization. These posts helped people to browse destinations to travel, and regular promotional posts provided customers with offers and discounts, encouraging them to book OYO.

    OYO reposts pictures taken by travelers and users of OYO on their Instagram handle. Along with this strategy they implemented Facebook marketing strategies to Instagram. This strategy leads to an engagement rate and encourages people to tag OYO in their posts.

    OYO Marketing Strategy
    OYO Meme Marketing Strategy

    OYO often works with influencers who create content around travel. This is either done via posts or re-posts. These posts are about the experience these influencers have during their vacations and not about their stay at OYO. The core idea of OYO’s influencer marketing is that you will need a place to stay whenever you go out for a vacation and here comes influencers’ experiences.

    OYO tweets as well as retweets informative content such as award wins and events, news as well and companies’ CSR activities which adds credibility to the brand in a not-so-obvious manner.

    Ritesh Agarwal’s Journey from Oravel to OYO
    Discover the inspiring story of Ritesh Agarwal, founder of OYO, from humble beginnings to global success. Explore the journey of innovation and determination that shaped his remarkable story.
    StartupTalkyshifa ali

    Conclusion

    OYO is a well-established online portal for hotel bookings in India that can grow tremendously with the right digital marketing practices and the use of resources. The OYO marketing strategies put up in this article are for a better understanding of the reader. And, also to help the reader shape their ideas into creative campaigns that could be utilized in their business.

    FAQs

    What are OYO Rooms?

    OYO Rooms is India’s largest branded network of hotel chains offering standardized rooms to their customers at an affordable price.

    How are OYO Rooms different from online travel agencies?

    When you book OYO Rooms, you get a guaranteed OYO experience across all the hotels unlike an online travel agency or marketplace where end-user service is not standardized.

    What is OYO marketing strategy?

    OYO uses a mix of traditional and digital marketing. It started with billboards, TV ads, flyers, and local partnerships to build trust. Later, it focused on digital marketing, using social media, personalized ads, and influencer collaborations to reach a wider audience.

    Does any payment need to be made at the time of booking?

    Customers have the option to either make an advance payment or at the time of the hotel’s check out.

    I am a hotel owner. How can I partner with OYO?

    In order to partner with OYO Rooms, you have to visit partner.oyorooms.com and fill up a simple OYO rooms registration form by stating your name, mobile number city, and property type i.e. home, commercial, and hotel and click on Become an OYO to submit this form.

    How much does OYO pay to the hotel owner?

    OYO Rooms charges a commission of 22% from its hotel partners. However, this commission does vary according to the services provided by the brand.

    What is OYO full form?

    The full form of OYO is On Your Own.

  • The Ingenious Marketing Strategy of Too Yumm

    When we are hungry or bored, we always feel to munch something. There are a lot of snacks available in the market. Some snacks are imported, some are locally made or some are Indian brands. The element that makes a snack popular is taste.

    But not all tasty snacks are healthy. So, to prove this, Too-Yumm was launched, as a healthy snack which is tasty too. In this article, we will share how Too-Yumm found its place in the Indian snacks market.

    To munch guilt-free, read the whole article.

    About Too Yumm

    RP-Sanjiv Goenka group launched their products in the packed food sector in the year 2016. Talking about Too-Yumm, it is owned by Guiltfree industries which are led by Shashwat Goenka, son of Sanjiv Goenka.

    There was an initial investment of Rs.10, 000 crore. This is an overall investment, which is distributed over a period of 5 to 7 years. The company aims that they will become a snack giant in the upcoming years of establishment and gain huge success. Talking about the current scenario, they are already achieving the targets set and winning the hearts of people by giving them a guilt-free snacks.

    Too Yumm provides a healthy snacking experience. They have a wide variety of snacks namely wheat thins, foxnuts, multigrain chips, quinoa puffs, veggie sticks, etc. The speciality is not just the packaging and healthy ingredients, they also have a very good taste.

    Key Marketing Strategies of Too Yumm

    Too-Yumm took the advantage of the market by launching a healthy snack that other companies failed to provide. Below is the strategy used by Too Yumm to stand out amongst the existing snack sellers.

    Proper product allocation

    Initially, after the production started, they distributed the products in metro cities first to get to know the response. They supplied them in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi NCR and Chennai. When the snacks were a hit, they increased their production and started supplying them across India.

    Promotion strategy

    They promoted the product with a very popular sports player, Virat Kohli, in the advertisement, the cricketer himself eats the chips and says that you can eat this guilt-free. They also started giving social media ads. It also promoted its products in web television series.

    This way there was quite an advertisement of the products among the public. They were much aware of the product. This awareness and promotion strategy created a demand for the product in the market.

    Affordable pricing strategy

    It is often a mindset of consumers that a healthy snack is equivalent to a costly snack. Too Yumm took an opportunity to break this mindset. They launched their snacks ranging from Rs 5 to Rs 40. It was the range that is affordable to most the type of consumers. They gave trial packs worth Rs 5 so that people would taste them and choose what to buy more.

    Correct packaging placement

    They placed the products in the market very strategically. They placed the small packets at small shops or vendors and large packets at large places. This means that their products were available at most of the places and jolts.

    Targeting the correct audience

    The strategy of targeting the age group of 15 to 35 years worked wonders. Mostly this age group is very particular about their diet and eating. They are mostly considering fitness and health. Also, India is a country with a maximum youth population. Targeting the youth gave a terrific response.

    Advertising in Indian Premium League (IPL)

    IPL is a cricket series that the whole world watches. Players around the world play these matches and there are different teams that are apart. So, advertising in the stadium where IPL is played and in between the overs and innings gave Too-Yumm popularity that it needed.

    Unique Features of Too Yumm’s Marketing Strategy

    The company with the help of celebrities not only created awareness but also promoted sales. They came up with slogans creating brand awareness. Twitter played an important role here.

    This is how Too-Yumm found its place in the Indian snacks market. Slowly it is becoming a very popular healthy snack in the country.

    Conclusion

    Today, Too-Yumm has achieved an outstanding position in the market. The product quality and taste have remained consistent since the beginning.

    It has been breaking the records since its launch of the product. The sales of the product have reached 200 corers per year and are constantly growing by 12% to 15% every month.

    The future plans of the company include acquiring a plant in Gujarat and increasing production to meet the market needs. Also, they are trying to add various new flavours to the product list.

    So, in this article, the strategy was explained and it was clear how Too Yumm found its place in the Indian snacks market.

    FAQs

    Who is the brand ambassador of Too Yumm?

    Indian cricketer Virat Kohli is the brand ambassador of Too Yum.

    Which strategies do Too Yumm adopt for an increase in sales?

    Too Yumm appointed Indian Cricketer, Virat Kohli as its brand ambassador which boosted its sales.

    Is Too Yumm an Indian company?

    Yes, Too Yumm is an Indian company founded in 2017 by RP-Sanjiv Goenka group.

  • Ingenious Marketing Strategies of ShareChat

    India has the world’s second-largest internet user population, with more than 350 million users connected and counting. According to the reports of Statista analysis, roughly 71 percent of these users come from small, lower-tier cities. This figure is unsurprisingly appealing and thanks to increased awareness and information access, these people are the next set of consumers. But how can one organization get in touch with them in the most efficient way?

    About ShareChat
    Key Marketing Strategies of ShareChat
    Covid-19 Marketing Strategy of ShareChat
    Unique Features of ShareChat Marketing Strategy

    About ShareChat

    ShareChat, India’s own social media platform, seems to have succeeded in finding the answer and showcases its regional skills. It is one of a kind platform that supports 15 Indian languages and dialects but not English. It strives to provide a welcome place on the internet for individuals to communicate their ideas, thoughts, and emotions without any language barrier, not just for those who want to use this space in their mother tongue but also for those who are new to the internet.

    Users can exchange films, jokes, songs, and other language-based with other users via the company’s app, which includes private messaging, tagging, and personal messaging options.

    ShareChat engages with local brands with local languages and also helps esteemed and established brands reach a wider audience. At such times, when brands are trying their best to keep customers busy in meaningful ways, sharing chat helped them discover that paying attention to local issues and communicating in local dialects is a big help in fixing the gap.

    ShareChat does not ask its users to pay any money to use the platform. It earns revenue from Advertisements, financial transactions, and sponsored campaigns.

    Key Marketing Strategies of ShareChat

    Targeting the Language-based Audience

    ShareChat approximately has 60 million active users per month and supports around 15 Indian languages. It is an apparent appeal for advertisements as an average user spends about half an hour per day on the ShareChat app. Brands are interested in partnering with ShareChat not only because it offers advertising solutions, but also integrates unique capabilities to help them achieve optimal reach.

    ShareChat assists local businesses to reach out to a much more language-specific audience and also addresses a wider issue that global businesses face when they attempt to engage individuals in tiny areas.

    Any brand that engages with ShareChat does so intending to leverage the app’s success among language-based internet users and connect better with localized audiences. ShareChat allows well-established brands to strike down their ideas and campaigns and build them according to regional values and flavours.

    It has received support from many social media apps worldwide and has taken measures to reach out to a more wide audience.

    ShareChat uses Appnext Recommendation Engine to reach its target audience. Appnext is a pioneer that provides app suggestions to mobile phone users. Customers are guided by app next via their suffocatingly packed app stores.

    The platform provides users with individualized suggestions for apps. With their collaboration with Appnext, ShareChat’s daily activity has increased significantly allowing users to find a ShareChat that provides easy content discovery through on device and in device app placements to its users.

    ShareChat is mining the market and audience in small cities, similar to what Tiktok once did in India when it wasn’t banned. According to the reports of “App Annie”, a worldwide analytics and market intelligence organization, India ranks number one in terms of downloading apps. India’s downloads increased by 190%, between 2016 to 2019, the greatest rise around the Globe. In comparison, global downloads saw an increase of only 45 percent, while China, which ranks second climbed at half the rate, increasing by 80%.

    Covid-19 Marketing Strategy of ShareChat

    Striking down even further, for the vast majority of potential downloaders; the internet is an entertainment zone, and time spent on such apps increased by 80% in India between the year 2017 to 2019. This data tells us a tale.

    In these times of uncertainty, it takes on greater importance. According to a survey by BARC India and Nielsen on digital consumption, India’s average mobile phone usage is approaching nearly four hours per day which is a 12.5% increase from the pre-COVID period.

    This has been a brilliant opportunity for ShareChat, which moved to make sure that verified information is visible at the head of its feed, prioritizing COVID fact check related content in more than 13 local languages and also increasing the promoting of law and government accounts over its platform. ShareChat also aims to build partnerships with various organizations.

    This leading platform is expanding its avenues, both advertising and revenue and they’re also seeking a balance between the user experience and the business.

    Unique Features of ShareChat Marketing Strategy

    ShareChat is also testing a new ad strategy called splash entries, which is described as the first thing a user sees when they tap the app icon; a vertical ad that is up to 4 seconds and cannot be skipped. The ad appears as the initial post and blends with the user feed, one hundred percent and twice the impressions are all guaranteed with this stunning entry. It also has recently launched a 360-degree solution which is called Divas.

    The platform is based on powerful AI potentiality that relies on first-party user data to ensure that users see only the content that they want which increases in-app usage time.

    ShareChat is also introducing ShareChat TV, which will be the ideal space for long-term content and commercials, giving advertisers new ways to reach their desired audiences. The platform is also planning to launch the ADs platform which is currently in its beta phase, which will allow brands and advertisement agencies to set up, monitor, and target the campaigns on their own.

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    Conclusion

    ShareChat’s popularity and profitability are drawing good investment as well. The platform was part of   100 million dollars funding led by Twitter. According to reports from a Zinnov, 81 percent of tier-2 and 80 percent of tier-3 people prefer to consume content on their mobile phones, and ShareChat has a wide range of content, including love, entertainment, and outstanding user-created content, it is safe to say that the app has direct access to India’s heart, with over 160 million users and increasing day by day.

    FAQs

    What is the marketing strategy employed by ShareChat?

    ShareChat uses Appnext Recommendation Engine to reach its desired target audience.

    Who is the founder of ShareChat?

    Ankush Sachdeva, Farid Ahsan, and Bhanu Singh are the founders of ShareChat.

  • Top 10 Low-Cost Marketing Strategies for Startups

    In marketing, you have to spend money to make money. However, the rise of social media and digital marketing has made it easier and quite inexpensive to market a business. Even small business owners can be creative with their marketing ideas and strategies. They can reach targeted customers with effective and low-cost marketing ideas for startups.

    Creative marketing strategy is very essential for any business, be it a large corporate or a local business. Advertising is the core of marketing, so it becomes important for the decision-maker to form such a marketing mix that leads to maximum profits and a large volume of sales. Advertising is often considered to be an expensive approach to reach a wide customer base.

    Learn Low-Cost Marketing Technique by Dr Vivek Bindra

    In this article, you’ll find the best low-cost marketing ideas for startups that could help to market your business.

    1. Google My Business Account
    2. Content Marketing
    3. Business Cards
    4. Be a Sponsor
    5. Social Media Marketing
    6. Search Engine Optimization
    7. Build Your App
    8. YouTube
    9. Participate in Social Events
    10. Referrals

    Conclusion
    FAQs

    1. Google My Business Account

    Creating a Google My Business account can make your business show up in Google searches and people can easily find you. Your business will also be visible on Google maps which is a plus. Moreover, it will help you to have a market without spending a penny.

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    2. Content Marketing

    Content marketing is one of the least expensive marketing strategies that is focused on creating, publishing, and distributing content for a targeted audience on the internet. And it is often used by businesses to attract and generate leads, expand their customer base and increase their online sales. It does not require a large chunk of investment. There are many approaches you can use, such as setting up a blog for your business where you can add new and interesting content every few days that keeps your readers informed and entertained.

    Infographics, videos, podcasts, ads in newspapers, posters, etc. are such startup marketing ideas that pertain to content marketing when they are uniquely and interestingly used to grab the attention of the customers. For example, Amul uses clever ways to bring up social topics in their promotional posters. The use of social commentary is a very engaging tactic as people have opinions about them. They react more and that leads to increasing engagements which are very beneficial for a business, even if the reaction is controversial.

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    3. Business Cards

    Having a business card for your business shows professionalism to your customers. A creative business card is necessary to make you stand out in comparison with others. A smart businessperson always carries a reasonable amount of business cards with them and hands them out while meeting new clients and potential customers. You can distribute business cards in the hands of anyone who can help you in your search for new leads/clients. This increases the rate of recommendations and thereby resulting in an increase in customer engagements.

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    4. Be a Sponsor

    Depending upon your target market, you can choose the type of event you want to sponsor. It is highly effective and allows your business to shine. For instance, college fests are an appealing measure to promote your venture. You are allowed to set up stalls in a space that guarantees you a young crowd. The stall can be of food, jewellery, clothing, games or even contests that pertain to your business. The departmental fest also uses sponsors where you are featured on its posters, online campaigns and even sample distribution at their campus.

    A cultural event happens often in auditoriums that facilitate a huge audience. You can use that event’s sponsorship to promote your business. It is a considerably low-cost idea of advertising that yields a lot of engagements and promotion.

    5. Social Media Marketing

    When it comes to low-budget marketing ideas, one cannot ignore social media marketing. Social media is a huge platform that provides you with the potential of accessing a customer base that can reach even millions, for free. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Reddit has allowed you to find out your target audience and build your community.

    The cost of setting up an account/page on these platforms is zero. All you need is to put up content that is relevant, interesting, creative and engages audiences. It is the cheapest form of advertising that exists out there, and if you tap into it with the right advertising strategies then the sky is the limit.

    People spend a lot of time on social media and so when they see an attractive ad about a shoe or trousers, they are instantly captivated and interest is aroused at that very moment. If the deal is offered at a tempting rate/quality/design then there is a high rate of a sale taking place. You can link the ad to your website or your app which we will discuss in the next point.

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    6. Search Engine Optimization

    Search Engine Optimization (SEO), one of the cost-effective digital marketing strategies for startups of getting pages to rank higher in Search Engine Result Page (SERPs).

    In other words, it is a method to grow your business by the efficient and effective use of available resources thereby improving the quality of your website. It is a bit technical but you take a course on it in order to understand the basics and how it works. SEO is the best way to increase the visibility of traffic to your website.

    You have to identify keywords that could attract high traffic to your website. You can avail of online consultancy for the same. The reason, it is smart advertising is that instead of cash investments it requires effort and time. To understand, comprehend and formulate strategies that are unique compared to your competitors. Also, understanding the latest trends and updates regarding the search engine algorithm updates.

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    7. Build Your App

    Having an app for your business results in building a good brand image and trust of the customer.  People will be resistless in making the final purchase. It requires very little expense to set up a mobile application, and today there are tremendous amounts of apps that people use. You can infuse it with your creativity and make it unique. But make sure to optimize it for your audience.

    So, when you have your app in addition to a website, the traffic on your online website can have prior experience and knowledge about your startup and then resorts to downloading your app, which results in many benefits. Like you have now access to some information of your customer, i.e. their email address or contact number, and can notify them about your offers or discounts.

    It also leads to a direct relationship with the customer, and now you can monitor their purchasing patterns, and they can scroll through your attractive offers now and then. It will also build trust with your customer because the online method in an app is safe. Building an app is expensive if you hire a professional for it. But if your friend has app-building knowledge, you can partner with them by offering shares of your startup.

    8. YouTube

    Now that we are exploring our way through e-commerce, let’s discuss this appealing option as well i.e. YouTube, the second-largest search engine after Google and one of the low-cost marketing ideas in India.

    Many businesses engage in advertising on YouTube. They get in contact with other YouTubers and enter into a contract where the influencer will talk about its product/service and the number of viewers is the potential customers. Usually, the investment is high, but not always. For a comparatively smaller startup, you can reach out to regional YouTubers that have a considerable amount of subscribers, not necessarily in millions, and make them promote your business.

    YouTubers upload creative content on the platform, and there are creative ways to sneak in product placement in a very interesting manner. Even a small influencer can lead to a lot of benefits to your business. It is an unarguably cheaper way of advertising than paying high profile actors to do an ad campaign that airs on TVs. You can even create your own YouTube channel where you talk about your product/services, its benefits and usage, etc. and make the audience aware of your business.

    9. Participate in Social Events

    Actively volunteering for social events can make your brand look better and people can get to know you better. It’s almost like marketing with no budget. If you have a big warehouse or office, giving it out for these social events once in a while can make you popular in no time.

    10. Referrals

    A good “word of mouth” is possibly the best form of promoting your business. A satisfied customer is bound to think well about your brand and will often be glad to refer it to his friends, family and other acquaintances. You can invest in referrals by doing follow-ups of your existing customer base. Ask them for feedback and if they liked it then suggest it to others as well. It increases the good reputation of the business and the customer feels important. It is a long term advertising strategy as a satisfied customer will most probably make another purchase in future also.

    Conclusion

    Now that you know various low-cost marketing strategies to grow your business, you can apply these ideas to increase your customer base and can generate more profit. But before proceeding, it is important to understand your audience, their behaviour, and the nature of your business and accordingly apply the one that suits best.

    FAQs

    What is the cheapest form of marketing?

    Digital marketing or social media marketing is the cheapest form of marketing. You can reach a larger target audience in a cost-effective and measurable way.

    What are the low-cost marketing strategies for startups in India?

    The low-cost marketing strategies for startups are:

    • Google My Business Account.
    • Content Marketing.
    • Business Cards.
    • Be a Sponsor.
    • Social Media Marketing.
    • Search Engine Optimization.
    • Build Your App.
    • YouTube.
    • Participate in Social Events.
    • Referrals.

    Why is marketing strategy important for startups?

    Marketing strategy helps the startups for the following reasons:

    • To amplify the visibility of their business.
    • To be able to hook their target audience.
    • To establish a digital presence.
    • To increase sales.
    • To generate profits.