With the rise of thousands of companies, the sale of products and services has become more competitive. Business owners and advertisers, more than ever before, continue to strategize and tactics to get their offers into the minds and ultimately into the pockets of existing and potential customers or customers.

Large companies allocate a large annual budget for their marketing campaigns; while small businesses often find it difficult to make themselves known in the market.

However, this trend has forced thousands of small businesses to close their doors, while others have turned to cheap or free advertising and promotion to keep costs down. You find them on online forums, blogs, pay-per-click, classified ads, banner exchanges, social networking websites, online directories, and even small business meetups.

I have thoroughly researched and compiled 101 marketing strategies that large companies use to advertise and promote their businesses. Surprisingly, as small business owners, we can put this tool to good use!

1. Use a direct mail campaign to sell your offers
2. Send personalized bulk SMS to your target audience.
3. Create a blog and start posting.
4. Advertising in newspapers and magazines
5. Print and distribute quality business cards
6. Distribute corporate memorabilia
7. Write professional articles about your products and services.
8. Issue press releases in both print and electronic media.
9. Advertise on billboards and street banners.
10. Sponsor or co-sponsor special events
11. Join social networking websites, for example, Facebook.com
12. Design a beautiful website for your business.
13. Join and participate in online forums eg Nairaland.com
14. Establish mutual community relationships
15. Address your audiences well
16. Attend trade shows/exhibitions
17. Organize traveling presentations
18. Distribute quality flyers
19. Paste quality posters
20. Have an efficient client/customer contact center
21. Offer discounts on your products/services.
22. Make a documentary about your business
23. Distribute annual reports to your stakeholders
24. Be open to criticism
25. Advance a dress code for your employees
26. Use a consistent brand identity in all promotional materials.
27. Include contact information in all outgoing communications.
28. Share your purpose statements and core values ​​with all stakeholders.
29. Treat your employees with respect and admiration.
30. Start corporate social responsibility programs
31. Hold annual general meetings
32. Advertising on TV and radio
33. Arrange site tours for your stakeholders.
34. Always provide an opportunity for customer feedback.
35. Regularly publish a journal/newsletter from home
36. Create events around new products and services
37. Use store/open market display stands
38. Mark your vehicles
39. Use roll-up/pop-up banners inside your business premises and at major events.
40. Beautify your business premises
41. Partner with other businesses to sell your products/services.
42. Recognize and appreciate loyal customers.
43. Always use word of mouth
44. Always offer quality products/services
45. Greed and win prizes for your company
46. ​​Use a good business name/brand
47. Internet advertising
48. Rebrand your products/services if necessary
49. Meet and discuss with other entrepreneurs at events.
50. Ask your existing customers/customers for referrals
51. Third Party Written Endorsement Request for Your Products or Services.
52. Maintain an open communication policy with journalists.
53. Partner with your local and state governments on development issues/projects.
54. Publish a book/magazine
55. Establish branches in strategic areas
56. Drive a fancy car (for Nigerians only!)
57. Maintain a high dress sense.
58. Use the latest office equipment
59. Have only smart employees on your payroll.
60. Only employees with good communication skills should answer phone calls and make corporate speeches.
61. Post and abide by all warranty statements for your products and services.
62. Use beautiful packaging for your products.
63. Offer the best product/service at a reasonable price.
64. Initiate market research for an existing or new product/service.
65. Use email marketing
66. Embrace new technologies
67. Always smile
68. Organize a press conference when necessary
69. Tailor your product/service offerings to different segments of your market.
70. Schedule a visit with clients/potential clients
71. Use a strong slogan to drive your message home
72. Pay courtesy calls to traditional rulers, regulatory agencies, the media, and other important audiences.
73. Avoid lawsuits and respect the rule of law.
74. Put your customers first when formulating policies
75. Have an in-house PR expert or consultant on your payroll.
76. Focus on offering superior products/services
77. Empathize with your clients/customers
78. Set new and challenging marketing goals regularly.
79. Recruit ad-hoc sales people for sales promotion
80. Maintain a non-discriminatory hiring policy
81. Manage your internal and external crisis well
82. Never speak ill of your target audience
83. Submit your website to search engines and directories.
84. Submit your articles to article submission websites.
85. Position and reposition your products/services against your competitors.
86. Relevant discussion but controversial issues about the media
87. Always insist on a quality print job.
88. Build a great relationship with your target audience
89. Offer a free delivery service when appropriate
90. Give customers the opportunity to buy and pay for your products online.
91. Pay your creative agency/department well to do a quality ad in newspaper, TV and radio.
92. Say “thank you” every time a customer or customer patronizes you.
93. Display your statements of purpose, beliefs, and awards inside your business premises.
94. Maintain and update a mailing list of your target audiences
95. Offer free services as often as you can.
96. Provide a toll-free phone number for client/customer feedback.
97. Have customer relations officers respond to inquiries on time.
98. Pay your taxes regularly.
99. Maintain a credit standing policy with your banks and other lenders.
100. Include a “signature” (business information) on all your outgoing email messages.
101. Invite me to talk to your employees or seminar audience about how they can use each of these strategies to effectively advertise/promote their (or their) products/services.