The Wall Street Journal has a nice report on the challenges that small business owners face when it comes to advertising. The article discusses alternatives to advertising – word of mouth, using the Internet to generate buzz, etc. The implication seems to be that small business owners should abandon advertising.
Advertising can be an effective lead generation tool for small businesses if done correctly. Here are some tips for creating a successful small business advertising program:
- As the WSJ article mentions, the all important first step is to develop a clear profile of the type of customer you want to attract.
- Using this profile, find out how to reach your ideal customer. What do they read, where do they hang out, how do they get their information? Rather than selecting a vehicle with a broad audience, like the Yellow Pages, you want to find a vehicle that focuses on your ideal customers. Consider using direct mail to highly targeted lists or advertising in specialty trade magazine.
- Don’t try to make the sale in your ad. Unless you have a simple, inexpensive product, very few people are going to move from seeing your ad to immediately placing an order for your product. Remember that marketing is getting someone with a need to know, like, and trust you. The call to action in your ad should be to begin building that relationship. Provide something of value that your ideal customers will be willing to trade in exchange for their contact information. Now that these people have identified themselves as having an interest in your product and\or service, continue marketing to them to build this know, like, and trust relationship.
- Measure the results of your advertising.
Advertising can be an expensive and frustrating experience for small business owners, but it doesn’t have to be. I hope this post will help you make better decisions on how to use your advertising budget.
