What’s the point of having a business if you don’t get any profit from it, right? The idea of having a business is to get as much ROI (Return of Investment) as possible. This ROI will not only pay for your dream car or vacation, but will also become the fuel that will drive your business further. The less ROI,  the less money in your pocket. The lesser your money becomes, the more likely your business will fold. So how can a business owner, especially one that operates an online business, compete in this very lucrative but congested market? The answer: Marketing.

Before we get to the main point of this article, let us first try to understand what the idea behind marketing is.

Marketing is the method of promotion of goods and services that are for sale. It is considered a managerial process where groups or individuals get what they want and need through the creation and exchange of values and products with others. It is a system where companies create and build a good relationship with their customer in order to get sales from them. For a company, the value of a good marketing strategy is to create, keep, and satisfy their customers. In short, if you want your business to be successful to the point where you will be able to easily afford a vacation in the French Riviera, you have to center your company around marketing.

Now there are many ways to market your business both online and offline. One way is to flood the market with hundreds of ads with your company name or product in it. But this though will cost you a fortune. It’s not a good idea to spend a fortune before you even make your fortune. So for those of you who have a limited marketing budget, the solution is to find alternative methods to overcome this little stumbling block. One of these methods is the toll booth CD drop-off.

Now what is a toll CD booth drop-off? It basically means to leave a trace of your company’s product at an everyday toll booth. I know the method sounds strange. I did have the same reaction as you when I heard about it the first time. But believe me when I say that I removed the adjective strange in describing that method after it worked wonders for me.

Here is how it works.

You’re driving around the freeway just like you do everyday to work or to buy some food. Before you hit a toll gate,  search the freeway for a person driving a better car than you. Now what you do is to try and get into the same toll booth lane first before that person. Do this safely though, I don’t want to see you on TV being carried into an ambulance. Going back, once you’ve reached the toll gate,  tell the attendant that you will pay for that person’s toll fee.   And at the same time, hand to the attendant the CD, that contains information about your business, and an amount of  at least $2 — $1 tip for the attendant and $1 for the toll fee. Now, chances are that the person,  you’re giving the CD to,  would be a bit confused with what you did. But chances are,  that confusion will translate to curiosity. And when that happens, you just successfully marketed your product with just a few dollars.

You still find it weird? Think about it this way. If someone at a Starbucks offered you a free cappuccino along with a free CD, would you say no to it? Come to think of it, that might actually work. That’s it.  I’m off to the nearest Starbucks.