Advertising for entrepreneurs

Your advertising will direct a message to large numbers of potential customers with one single communication!  A couple of simple things to remember here: firstly, advertising needs to be aimed at specific potential customers from whom you need to make a profit; which leads nicely on to secondly, advertising needs to be cost effective. 

It is very easy to get drawn into expensive advertising campaigns which are over complex, and which target individuals who are not likely to buy from you.  Before we consider specific types of advertising Let us look at a quick way of pencilling a plan for your advertising.

Ask yourself, why do I need to advertise?  There are a number of key reasons why you might want to, and you will not always see an immediate increase in sales.

• You and your company may be trying to create awareness of your product or service.
• If your product or service is new to the market, then you may be searching for customers to try it out.  So, the purpose of your advertising is to stimulate atrial.
• If you have been using your personal selling skills, you may have decided that some advertising would generate some useful leads for you.  If you have employed a salesforce, the advertising would support the sales people in the field.  It is useful for lead-generation.
• As part of a much bigger integrated campaign, your advertising may simply remind, and reinforce customers’ views about your product.  So, if your customers have bought previously, it might reinforce his or her view that the right product is being purchased; if a customer was quite close to purchasing a product, you may have reminded her that she needs to go and buy it.
• Perhaps the most detailed and comprehensive approach that you may take as a small business, is to undergo some basic branding.  Branding can be very expensive and time consuming, so proceed with caution.  Think about trying to position your product and service in the mind of the consumer.  You might consider endorsement by a local celebrity; you could show your product in use somewhere locally; you may have undertaken some price promotion which you wish to communicate; or you may just simply be telling your potential customers about the products and their benefits.  If you do attempt some basic branding, undertake some general market research first by talking to your customers.  Be consistent, and make sure that all of your advertising and promotion is integrated. Do not confuse anybody with mixed messages.