Marketing on a shoestring, honestly

You do not need a big budget to find your first customers. You need to know exactly who they are, where they already gather and what words they use, and you need to be honest. Honest marketing builds trust; misleading marketing can break the law.

Start with one clear customer

• Write one sentence: 'My first customers are [who] who struggle with [problem] and currently [workaround].'
• Use the exact words people used in your customer conversations (lesson 2). 'No more arguing over who bought the milk' is clearer than 'a smart grocery-sharing solution'.
• Pick one or two places where those people already are: a university society, a building's group chat, a campus market, a specific social platform. Do them well before adding more.
• Your first 10 customers usually come from personal contact, not adverts: messages, conversations and recommendations.

Low-cost tactics that work

• Talk to people face to face at a stall or society event, and collect contact details only with permission.
• Ask happy customers for honest feedback and permission to quote them. Never write fake reviews or ask friends to post reviews of things they have not bought.
• Make simple, useful content: a short video showing the problem and how you solve it, a before-and-after, a tip people can use even without buying.
• Partner with a society or another student business for a joint event or bundle, with clear terms in writing.
• Track what works: ask every customer 'How did you hear about us?' and note it in your sales spreadsheet.

Ads must look like ads

• The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) says that if you have been incentivised in any way to promote a product, the content must be 'clearly identifiable as an ad'. Incentives include payment, commission, discounts and free gifts.
• The CMA says disclosure applies to own-brand promotions too, so promoting your own business on your personal account still needs to be clear.
• Use clear labels such as 'ad' or 'advert'. The CMA says to avoid vague terms like '#gifted', '#collab' or '#spon', and that followers should not have to check your bio to understand the relationship.
• The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) publishes an influencers' guide on making clear that ads are ads; the first edition was produced with the CMA, and the third edition came out in March 2023.
• In the UAE, promotional content on social media is covered by the Advertiser Permit rules. The Earning Money module's content creation lesson explains what is known, including exemptions for promoting your own business, and why you must check the UAE Media Council's official site.

Claims you can back up

• The CMA says claimed results must be genuine, and that you should not praise a product's taste or performance without having tried it.
• Do not say 'eco-friendly', 'organic', 'halal' or 'best in Dubai' unless you can prove it. The CMA specifically says environmental claims must be provable.
• The CMA warns that results should not be exaggerated through filters or editing. Show your product as it really is.
• Show the full price, including delivery, up front. Hidden costs make customers feel tricked.

Respect people's data and attention

• Only message people who agreed to hear from you, and make it easy to stop.
• Do not add people to group chats or broadcast lists without asking.
• Keep customer phone numbers and addresses private, and never use them for anything other than what they agreed to.
• Under 18: keep your personal address, school and routine out of marketing content, as the Personal Safety module explains.