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from www.streetclothingshop.com Advertising 101 for the Small Business Owner
*The spider looks for a merchant who doesn't advertise so he can spin a web across his door and lead a life of undisturbed peace.* Mark Twain (1835-1910) Although Samuel L. Clemens, a.k.a. Mark Twain, lived in a time when there was no radio broadcasting or television, he was no fool. His gift for the written word influenced generations of Americans and his sharp wit and wisdom exposed the truth’s of life, so much so that his words still ring true today. THE BASICS OF BUSINESS SURVIVAL AND SUCCESS Let’s face it, in order to survive in business, you must advertise. There are no if’s, and’s or but’s about it. But the questions that haunt the thoughts of small business owner’s everywhere is: How, When, Where and How Much? UNDERSTANDING THE FEAR FACTOR Small business people have great fears to contend with when contemplating the questions of their own advertising. Deep down inside they know that Mark Twain was right about the importance of advertising in the survival of their business. But, it is far too easy to dump thousands of dollars into advertising and then to receive little or no response on that advertising. Many businesses have crumbled in the attempt to generate, through advertising, enough new customers and sales to keep their businesses afloat. When facing the quandary of spending their limited financial resources on an enterprise that may or may not produce positive results, small business owners naturally become justifiably concerned. SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST The How, When and Where of advertising will be learned from trial and error. This cannot be helped. We can read the advice of people who tell us about their own advertising successes, but the truth is that what has worked for them, may not actually work for us. The trick of the How, When and Where is to try different variables and test the results generated from each. If the variable used generates more income than what has been spent, then it is worthy of another run. If the variable used does not generate the appropriate level of income, then it should be phased out. With this having been said, please bear in mind that if an advertising outlet fails you, it is not necessarily the outlet that failed. In fact, radio, television, newspapers, magazines and many other outlets have proven themselves effective over time. If your message fails you, then the problem will likely reside in the message you have chosen. The question of How Much can only be approached with a strategy of starting small and slowly building up the resources you invest into the mediums and the messages. Only through measuring your results will you begin to truly appreciate how to grow your business into the next year, decade and century. AN ADDITIONAL CHALLENGE IN ADVERTISING In television and radio advertising, you are generally limited to thirty seconds to share your message with your particular target customer. In newspapers and magazines, you are limited by the amount of money you have available to buy space. Yet, for some businesses, it is absolutely necessary to share more information with their prospective customers than what can be achieved in thirty seconds or two column inches. Remember, the point of advertising is to share enough information with your prospective clients to help them decide to purchase your products or services, or to entice them to seek more information. NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN ADVERTISING VEHICLES In 1995, the global Internet broke wide open introducing the world to new way of doing business and finding information, products and services. A simple website on the Information Super Highway can serve a business well by educating the business’ target customers in a way that no other medium can. The cost of building and maintaining a website is miniscule compared to the cost of continued advertising in other mediums. To provide the same level of detail, that a website can offer, would cost thousands of dollars per month in another medium. No matter how well your web site is designed or presented, your message will not reach its intended recipients unless you can bring your target customers to your web site. Your web site can only tell your message. Additional advertising is required to bring people to your message. TECHNOLOGY DELIVERS NEW WAYS TO ADVERTISE Macromedia Flash has brought us new ways to utilize technology to the benefit of telling the message of our business. Using the flash technology, we can employ high quality images, moving pictures, voice talk-overs, background music and text messages all within the context of an interactive presentation where both you and your target customers can determine how your information should be presented. This tool is ideal because you can tell the story of your business in much the same way as you could tell it with a 30 minute infomercial. This tool is also ideal for your customer’s because they can retrieve only the information that is important to them. PROOF OF CONCEPT A few years back, Quixtar brought the promotion of their business opportunity to *electronic business cards* or *business card cd’s*, refered to herein as BCCD’s. A BCCD is a miniturized compact disc the size of a business card which contains a Macromedia Flash presentation that automatically launches when it is placed into a computer cd-rom. By using a BCCD, Quixtar was successfully able to tell their story with a consistent and high-powered presentation. They were no longer forced to rely solely upon the human element in their structure to convey their message to new contacts. BUSINESS CARDS POWERFUL, YET COST-EFFECTIVE Business cards have been used for decades. They are a very inexpensive method to put your business’ name into a prospective clients’ hand and into their mind. While a bit more expensive than a business card, a BCCD still remains one of the most affordable advertising options available. Offering more than just a name and a phone number, BCCD’s are 50 times more likely to get noticed and reviewed. Even during recessionary periods when regular advertising rates fall in price, the BCCD is still one of the most cost-effective and efficient ways to deliver your business’ message to prospective clients. You owe it to yourself and your business to explore this advertising medium further and to give it a try for yourself. Romeo Salvitti is the owner of Have Consultants Will Travel, who specializes in helping small to mid-sized local businesses to use the Internet in growing their customer base in their local marketplace. If you need help in developing a website or an email list to promote your offline business, please contact us for more specific information. URL: http://www.localcomputerservice.com/ 24 Hour Toll Free: 877-869-0059 Email: romsalv@foxepromotions.com Ask about our ability to create presentations for your next BCCD.
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