Promoting for Pennies

"Promoting for Pennies" is the title of this article at Entrepreneur.com. Lots of great ideas here. My favorites:

7. Stickers: They're not just for preschoolers. When Rosenberg launched her tax consulting business and Web site, she bought 100 red heart stickers that said, "We love referrals." "We plastered them on everything that went out of our office, and business poured in," recalls Rosenberg. "Simply telling people we wanted referrals made a big difference." Cost: $7.50 for 100 stickers.

10. Occasion cards: Send birthday cards, Thanksgiving cards, congratulations cards—they're great ways to let customers know you care. Cost: about $1.50 per card, plus postage.

11. Employees: Empower employees to solve customers' problems and motivate them to bring customers back. Ratner says, "I make each employee sign a piece of paper stating, 'I understand that my number-one job, no matter what I was hired for, is to make the customer come back.' This lets my employees know that we're serious about customer service."

18. Referral bonuses: Inspire customers to act as your sales force by giving them an incentive to bring you new customers. This may include a discount off their next service or a small gift or credit on their account. Be sure to ask new customers where they heard about your business so you know when a customer has made a referral. Cost: a few dollars.

These are all great ideas you can use to market your firm.