Five street marketing tips to help grow your business

street marketing
Outdoor empty informational board placeholder with a road and taxi car behind; white blank city billboard mockup; vertical blank advertising banner template on the sidewalk with the crossroad behind

In a hyper-connected world, businesses are increasingly reverting to street marketing to cut through to potential customers. This tactic is an authentic way for small businesses to generate impactful word-of-mouth without dishing out big bucks.

Street marketing includes any grassroots promotional activities that take place outside the business premise, including putting up posters around town, handing out flyers, and leaving pamphlets in high traffic areas.

Street marketing is a highly efficient means of delivering direct messages to potential clients. These messages are less likely to get lost in the noise, increasing the likelihood of new customers inquiring about your business and its offerings.

Here are my top five street marketing tactics to grow your business:

1. Set SMART objectives

Setting objectives is a crucial aspect of any marketing activity. Applying the “S.M.A.R.T.” goal-setting method implements a structure and enables trackability to these objectives. For example, rather than stating that you would like to “increase website traffic”, set a more structured and concise achievement by aiming to “increase website traffic by 20 per cent by the end of May”. This will allow you to keep track and better evaluate your achievements.

2. Be recognised

For the best business results, focus your efforts on a particular area or market segment. If you would like to target young consumers, hand out flyers near a university campus. Once a regular presence is established, you will become a familiar face to these consumers. Familiarity is crucial not only for business recall but for building rapport and trust in your relationship with the community.

3. You are the face of your business

You are the biggest reflection of the brand. As such, you should ensure that you are presentable and polished throughout your street marketing efforts. Branded t-shirts and merchandise can help grab the attention of passers-by.

4. R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Aggressive street marketers have previously given bad rep to the tactic. While executing street marketing, be mindful of others’ time. Keep your pitch short and sweet as you only have a small window of opportunity to engage with your potential client.

Always respect personal space by keeping a healthy distance when approaching people. Don’t forget, respecting the community also means respecting the law. If your marketing materials attract any litter complaints, it will poorly reflect on the business.

5. Place ads where they will be read

Investing time in creating a compelling offer for your customers will be wasted if they don’t notice and read your message. Be sure to carefully plan the areas where placements of your brochures, flyers and other printed materials will be seen to ensure that the right people pick up the information to find out more about your business.

Melissa Haywood, Head of Vistaprint Australia