What if you opened the door to your business and nobody came? It’s a scary thought, right? But without adequate promotion, it could actually happen. Advertising and promotion for your small business can take many forms, and some are quite costly. So before you shell out precious dollars for a full-page newspaper ad or a spiffy direct mail campaign, spend some time determining how best to promote your venture. Then get to work on building a budget for doing it.

 

Branding

First Impressions Count

Your company’s brand should communicate to the public exactly who and what you are. It’s the image you desire to create, your ultimate first impression.

A good logo is the basis of your business identity package. You’ll want to use it on everything — business cards, letterhead, signage, website, boxes, bags, receipts, advertising, etc. It needs to be clean, well-designed and professional in appearance. This is no time to cut corners or shop for the lowest bidder. Hire a skilled professional to design and execute your logo.

Aside from your business “look,” be mindful that the words you use, whether as a slogan, the copy on your website or the recorded message on your answering machine, should reflect and enhance your company’s culture and personality.

 

Word-of-Mouth

One of the most effective types of advertising is free — it’s called word-of-mouth. Happy customers tell three to five friends or relatives about their good experience with your business, and as those friends or relatives tell their friends or relatives, the positive buzz for your business begins to build.

Unfortunately, word-of-mouth advertising has an alternate dark side. A dissatisfied customer will likely tell nine or 10 others about his or her unhappy experience and they, in turn will not only tell others verbally, they might even decide to post it online in a blog or review site. There are two morals in this story:

• Provide the best possible products and services so there’s no reason for customers to complain.
• Don’t limit your advertising to word-of-mouth; take control of your message by creating an actual advertising plan.

 

Advertising Basics

Decide WHAT to Promote

Some products and services have greater promotional appeal (money-making power) than others or lend themselves to being promoted at certain times of the year. Check each month’s heavy traffic items and seasonal sales charts; give extra emphasis to new and expanded departments; and take advantage of co-op advertising programs that divide advertising costs with the manufacturer under certain guidelines.

Decide WHEN to Promote

The most effective advertising offers customers what they want, when they want it. Your advertising schedule should allow plenty of time for you to order stock, prepare copy and layout for ads and coordinate in-store display materials before the ad appears. This typically means making time-sensitive decisions a month or two in advance of the date your ad will run and working backward from that date to ensure that all materials are ready in time.

Decide HOW to Promote

Incorporate a combination of as many types as possible: paid advertising, public relations, social media, personal sales, telemarketing. And keep in mind that frequency and continuity are more important than size/length of the ad or the amount you spend on it.

Decide HOW MUCH to spend

The simplest way to develop an advertising budget is to set aside a percentage of estimated annual sales. As a brand new business owner, you may not have that figure, so you’ll need to do some research. Ask local business owners operating similar firms that are not in direct competition with yours or speak with owners in the same business that are located outside your service area. Multiply your estimate by the percentage of sales you plan to put toward advertising, which might be as low as 2% if your business is well-established with a loyal customer base or as high as 10% if you’re brand new and eager to let customers know you exist. Keep in mind that this percentage can vary from month to month depending on cash flow, actual sales and changing market conditions. In a traditionally slow sales month, for example, you might want to boost advertising expenditures in order to increase sales.

Media Placement

Choosing a Vehicle

Unless you have unlimited funds, you can’t possibly use all of the advertising vehicles available today. Your choices include traditional vehicles such as print and broadcast media, outdoor advertising, specialty advertising and direct mail as well as a rapidly growing list of nontraditional vehicles such as websites, email marketing, social media and mobile apps. As a rule of thumb, select only those that will reach your target market in a cost- effective way.

In making your selections, evaluate the various media options available from your customer’s perspective not your own. You may not read the daily newspaper, listen to NPR or follow anyone on Twitter or Facebook, but your target market might. Put your message where your customers will see or hear it.

One caution: Don’t spread yourself too thin. A successful ad campaign relies on consistent exposure and frequent repetition. Twelve small ads, placed once a month in a single magazine, are more effective than a 60-second TV commercial airing just twice in one week.

Newspapers Evaluate large circulation daily newspapers as well as small circulation dailies, weeklies and shoppers to determine which best reaches your target market.

Magazines Magazines are typically more targeted than newspapers in both subject matter and audience. Ad space and production costs are generally higher due to their high-quality format and effective use of graphics, color and typography. Before placing ads in any one magazine, study its circulation numbers and reader demographics to be sure that your message will, in fact, be reaching your desired target market.

Television Many small business owners shy away from television ads even before evaluating the cost/benefit ratio. Television does cost more per thousand potential customers reached, but some products and services can be promoted most effectively using television’s unique features.

Radio Radio offers advertisers many of the benefits of broadcast advertising without television’s high costs. The benefits of radio include its intrusive nature (you’re captive if listening while driving), targeted/specialized audience and local market appeal. Like TV, radio ads may have a short life span or low audience comprehension; people often listen to radio without paying too much attention.

Direct Mail Brochures, fliers, newsletters, postcards and coupons sent by “snail mail” give small business owners the opportunity to have direct, personalized contact with their customers. Mailing lists can be rented from direct mail companies or compiled from lists of existing customers to provide a pool of prospects who share common demographic characteristics and needs.

Outdoor Advertising Billboards, transit advertising and on-site signage reach selective geographic markets, but since exposure time is short, these vehicles must be attractive, readable and to the point.

Specialty Advertising Giveaway items such as pens, pads, coffee mugs, paperweights, baseball caps and T-shirts with your company name and logo function as free “gifts” for customers and as business advertisements. For best effect, they should be inexpensive, but not cheesy, useful and reflect the image of your business.

 

Online Options

Consider Digital Media

Company Websites Your company website is essentially the face of your business. It’s where potential customers in our age of laptops, tablets and smartphones go first to learn more about your business, the products/services you offer and how to contact you for more information. Your website also may provide a mechanism for customers to shop online (e-commerce), if applicable. A good website designer can help ensure that your website is mobile friendly from the start.

Email Marketing Using an email distribution list, you can quickly send out promotions, newsletters or coupons. Just remember to abide by the CAN-SPAM Act; failure to do so can result in hefty fines. Be sure that every person on your distribution list has given permission to be on the list and has the ability to easily unsubscribe from your list if desired. Email marketing services can provide templates, help maintain your list and connect to your social media sites, thus freeing you for vital management tasks only you can perform.

Social Media Entrepreneurs who successfully utilize Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube often find that in addition to an Internet presence, they’ve created a fan base. Beware! It’s easy to get so caught up in the social media frenzy, you waste precious time that could be better spent on other business-related activities. If you’re serious about utilizing social media for business purposes, develop a strategy and determine up front the amount of time you are able to commit to social media efforts. Even better, designate a staff member to be your social media “specialist.”

Review Sites A website that gathers customer reviews about businesses, products or services and location information can be your best friend if you offer quality merchandise and exceptional service — or your worst enemy if you don’t. Restaurants, hotels, retail shops and businesses providing personal services may find review sites like Google Plus/Local, Yahoo Local, Yelp and Angie’s List quite useful in drawing attention to their business. Consider adding links to your website and/or Facebook business page. Be sure to include a physical address and phone number; add photos and a directional map if possible.

Measuring Results

Is Your Advertising Effective?

Be sure to build in measurements of success as you map out your promotional plan. Determine an acceptable return on investment and put methods in place to track the role of your advertising in helping your business reach desired goals. Ask customers how they learned about your product and/or services to determine which advertising vehicles were most effective. Use online metrics (such as Google Analytics) whenever possible, but don’t neglect the value of printed registration forms and questionnaires or a friendly face-to-face chat with customers. You may be amazed to find what you learn!

 

Public Relations

PR Has Value, Too

While your promotional efforts will likely center on advertising, you should consider including some public relations activities. Standard PR tools include press releases, feature articles, white papers, fact sheets, speeches and public service announcements.

As a promotional device, public relations is similar to advertising, but without the guarantees. When you advertise, you buy a particular space or time slot and you get to fill it with exactly what you want to say. With public relations, you take your chances by sending a story or press release to a media outlet hoping it will be used in some form.

So why bother with public relations? First, preparing a public relations message costs less than creating and placing an ad. Second, public relations activities carry a kind of credibility that ads do not. Everyone knows an advertising message was bought and paid for; a story that appears in the editorial columns of a newspaper, on the other hand, is perceived as being unbiased and, therefore, more credible.