The true measure of any marketing campaign isn’t the amount of money spent, but rather the number of potential customers reached. For organizations on a budget, there are inexpensive ways of reaching the most influential members of your market simply by combining old-fashioned common sense with a few inventive ideas. Here are 10 creative marketing tactics that won’t break the bank.

1. Become the expert. Sharing expert advice about your industry will help to establish your company’s authority. Find ways to turn your company’s expertise into a competitive attribute. Offer free consultations or trend analyses that can benefit your customers. Then, give your expertise greater exposure by pursuing the next two strategies.
   
   
2. Talk up your know-how. Speaking engagements are a great way to strengthen credibility while raising your company’s profile. Volunteer to speak at community clubs, to professional associations, and at local business events. Start with groups in which you already have memberships, and then branch out. Offer a free seminar on a timely topic in your industry, and alert the news media. Or plan an open house and make a brief presentation.
   
   
3. Put it in print. Contribute articles to local publications and newspapers. Inquire about becoming a regular columnist. The idea is to offer advice and topical information that would be helpful to readers -- your potential customers and their influencers.
   
   
4. Create your own newsletter. Share solutions and disseminate your expertise in your own publication, whether it’s of the traditional printed format or an online version published consistently on your company’s website.
   
   
5. Support a worthy cause. Volunteering for local causes is another way to enhance your visibility in the community. Offer your company’s products or services in a charity auction. Augmenting your marketing in the name of a social cause is a rewarding effort you can feel good about while still networking. 
   
   
6. Put your wheels to work. Company vehicles should move your message along with whatever products or people they might be moving. You already have the canvas. Why not fill it with your organization’s message to make it a moving billboard?
   
   
7. Go logo loco. Your organization’s name and logo should be included on all forms of communication: business cards, stationery, invoices, packaging, receipts, signage, brochures, envelopes, everything. If you also have a catchy tagline that positions your company, use it alongside your logo. 
   
   
8. Go co-promotional. It’s possible to reduce marketing costs considerably through a cooperative promotion. Partner with another business or vendor and share the costs of marketing materials, ads, trade show booths, or sponsorships. Going Dutch can double the impact and extend your reach.
   
   
9. Find a clever way to get attention. Stage an unusual activity that showcases your organization and its products or services. Sponsor a contest that’s meaningful to your customers and relevant to your overall marketing efforts. Try to make it memorable and worthy of word-of-mouth advertising. Above all, dare to be different.
   
   
10. Turn your best customers into evangelists. Customers who are passionate about your organization are happy to spread the word to others. Create a plan to build the power of word-of-mouth marketing that these customers can deliver. Reward referrals and publish testimonials on your website and in your materials.