With all the focus on new technology and strategic marketing, we may forget some of the old basic marketing strategies. Expanding your business may seem extremely complicated or impossible with the evolution of digital technology and the growing competition. Before spending endless time on SEO strategies, social media campaigns or creating months worth of web content, try out these basics. They’re worth the effort because of the real world results and they can easily translate to an advantage on the web.

Focus on the product.

With all the focus and attention lately on having the biggest and best marketing campaigns we sometimes forget that the simplest way to expand is to be the best at providing what customers want. Make sure that you are always up to date on the latest news in your industry and update your products so you are giving customers the newest and best. If you run a service based business make sure that every single time you provide that service it is done at the highest quality. Once your core business is mastered then you might want to add on to your business by offering complementary products or services. You could be losing because you’re not offering those add-ons that make things more convenient for customers. If you are always be striving to improve and be at the top of the market, you won’t have to spend as much time or money on marketing. Your customers will be your biggest and best advertising campaign. With the help of social media those customers are commonly sharing how great you are with at least a couple hundred people. On the other hand if customers feel cheated they will spread that even faster.

Team up with other local businesses.

With the expansion of the internet we have seen some very niche markets expand beyond what was previously thought possible. However, being confined to a limited market can make it hard to expand. Sometimes they lose their core customers because they feel betrayed or sometimes the varied focus lowers the quality of their products. A great way to expand your business without worrying about any of these issues is to team up with another business. Hosting events, carrying different product lines, and placing advertisements can add up to a lot of overhead for a small business. When you combine your efforts all that cost can be cut down and everybody involved benefits. These relationships can then be converted over to the web. The links will help with SEO, the brands will all be exposed to a larger audience, and if it’s truly a unique partnership it could end up getting media coverage.

Give away freebees.

You could spend tons of time and money perfecting ads for your business but they still don’t generate the kind of talk that giving things away for free can do. Now obviously, you need to make some money and cannot survive by giving away everything. But you can find ways to give out extras without it killing your budget. Offering things like samples, no strings attached consultations, or branded t-shirts, pens or magnets for free are some easy ways to get people talking about you. If you are worried about what it will cost in money or time find ways to limit it. Only offer it to people that make large purchases, make it a one-time give-away, specify days and times, or only a limited supply. You don’t have to go nuts, just offer what you can afford. Nothing gets people talking more than free stuff and if you promote the offer through social media it will most likely go a lot further.

Get involved in your community.

All the experts are currently focused on local SEO strategies and gaining links and associating your business on the web with your local neighborhood. But it might be easier to make connections if you are actively participating in your real world community. People still connect faster and more intimately when they have face to face contact. There are a number of ways to get that valuable face time with other local businesses, community groups, and potential customers. Participate in local events, volunteer or donate to community groups, or support a good cause. Eventually this could lead to the same connections being displayed on the web. You could be linked to as a supporter on their websites, you could exchange links with other businesses or you could get coverage from a local blog.