Marketing On The Cheap: Join The What?

Your local Chamber of Commerce.

Now before you stop reading, I assure you this really works, and no, this is not an advertisement for the Chamber of Commerce although it may read like one.

What seems now like a hundred years ago I owned and operated a company that was made up of three components: a monthly magazine that we converted over to the Internet (http://www.sbmag.org); a graphic art studio; and an advertising agency. While we were in our infant stages, one of the tools I used to build a client base was a one hour consultation for new business start-ups on how to get business with little or no advertising budget.

This program was very successful, and we ended up with a number of excellent clients that stayed with us for years. Most, if not everything that I suggested in that one hour session many years back, is still valid today.

The first thing I would recommend for a new business owner was to become a joiner. If your business is a mama-papa business, you should both join an organization or two, but not the same ones. Spread it out.

The first organization I always recommended joining was the local Chamber of Commerce. Your Chamber of Commerce should be the number one advocate for business of all sizes in your community. Most are structured about the same way with a variety of committees that deal with specific issues related to different aspects that make up your community. Make sure you become active in the committee that has the closest relationship to your business. If you are a retailer, join the retail merchants committee; if you are a contractor, you may want to join the government affairs committee or the transportation and traffic committee, etc., etc. If the opportunity presents itself, you may also want to consider chairing one of these committees or gaining a seat on the board of directors. This will add instant credibility and more exposure to you and your business. But be selective and don