You don't need a huge advertising budget and a team of marketing majors to market your small business. There are several ways to build your brand and set your company apart from competitors that require little or no initial cost. Here are five examples of ways to market your small business:

1. Provide premier customer service and make customers feel special. It may be cliche, but the best way to get the word out about your small business is to be the best at what you do. If you provide a service, make sure your employees go out of their way to make a positive impression on each and every client. If you provide a good, make sure it is of quality manufacture and design. Giving your customers a memorable experience will start the word-of-mouth machine up, an often underestimated marketing tool.

2. Have an Internet presence complete with maps and directions. Sometimes the difference in a client choosing your company over another can be as simple as having a good webpage that gives a concise, viewer-friendly account of the goods or service your business provides. Also, make sure your customers can find you. Always include maps and/or directions that can be accessed with a click of a button. Consider having a professional examine your website to make sure it is optimized to make it place high in search engine rankings.

3. Have a business card that people don't throw away. Most business cards end up in the circular file. Don't waste your investment in trash cans all over town. Design a business card that people won't dispose of. Just make it useful. For example, have a calendar put on the card with your business name, slogan, and contact information around it. Some people might hold onto it just for the calendar and then remember you one day when your services are needed.

4. Create flyers and start a grass-roots campaign. Put flyers on bulletin boards in popular areas in your town. Visit malls and shopping centers and put flyers on car windshields. Get your name out any way you can. Try to get local personalities involved for a potential endorsement. Ask people to review your product and post positive results online or include in advertisements.

5. Hold a contest. Give away a certain number of goods or purchase something extravagant, like a car or big-screen television, and raffle it away. The only catch: people have to come into your business to enter the drawing. This is a great way to get people talking about your small business and, more importantly, stopping in to have a look at what you have to offer.

These are just a few examples of the many different ways to market a small start-up business on a minimalist budget. Get started building your small business into a profitable one today.