When it comes to advertising, most businesses have a restricted budget. A business owner must use the least amount of money possible to make the public aware of his or her product or service.
There are a lot of choices. For years, a pet breeder in a large city had been suffering until he had a bright idea. He started giving out personalised “birth certificates” for the animals he sold. Almost immediately, his earnings climbed by more than 10%.
A new home cleaning service owner was looking for new clients. She began delivering “home cleaning clinics” to civic organisations because she couldn’t afford much promotion. After two months of lectures, she was overwhelmed with inquiries and clients.
Promotion is frequently the deciding factor in whether a firm succeeds or fails. Customers or clients must be aware of a company or product line before purchasing, and they must have a compelling motive to do so.
GIVEAWAYS.
People enjoy receiving “free” products, especially those that might help them learn something new or enhance their life. This desire can serve as the foundation for a complete marketing strategy. You may give away a furniture repair brochure, free furniture planning instructions, or colour swatches if you own a furniture repair service. Customers will regard you as an authority in your subject once you start giving out authoritative information.
NEWS CREATION.
Do you want your company to be featured in the local newspaper or on television? It might be less difficult than you think. Make some news if you don’t have any to report to the local media. One entrepreneur hired a group of stunning girls dressed in tiny bikinis to wave signs proclaiming his new Web site address in a busy location of town. Has the media picked up on it? Sure, it did!
EVENTS.
By hosting a special promotional event, you may be able to attract the attention of the media or a large crowd. For example, if you manage a fitness studio, you may host a celebrity teacher day. You can provide tours of a model house in the region if you’re promoting a new real estate business. If you’re selling children’s items and it’s springtime, you may host an Easter bunny picnic. Have you gotten the picture?
CHARITY TIE-INS.
Are you about to launch a new product? Do you want to raise your visibility with a certain group of people in your community? Offer your goods as a raffle prize or for usage at a fund-raising event to one or more local organisations. You’ll get a lot of attention from those who buy tickets or come to the event.
As contest awards, provide a desirable or distinctive object (or numerous items). To begin, choose a contest subject that ties into your company. A quiche-eating contest could be organised by a caterer. A photographer might hold a competition for young models. An “Early American” handicrafts contest could be held by a mail order craft company. Invite participants to enter a contest and award rewards to the winners. Do contests capture people’s attention? Yes, absolutely. It only takes a few signs and a modest press release to get the word out via the community grapevine.
COMMUNITY SERVICE.
Nothing draws people’s attention to you more quickly—or more favorably—than community involvement. Consider how your company may be a “good neighbour” in your neighbourhood. If you manage a lawn care and gardening business, consider donating one season’s worth of services to a local nonprofit organisation or nursing home in need. Hundreds more individuals will be aware of your work as a result of the procedure. Volunteer for a variety of causes in your town. You can help an organisation or individuals in need if it’s appropriate during a community disaster by offering items and services.
COUPONS.
The United States of America is a coupon-crazed country. Examine the market: at what stage will coupons help distinct product or service lines sell more? Start passing out coupons for a discount on your services once you’ve gotten some tentative responses. Distribute them to local newspapers, store counters, low-cost door-to-door mail packets, public libraries, laundromats, and other places where people gather.
BADGES AND NOVELTIES.
You can make badges, bumper stickers, book covers, and other novelty products quickly and cheaply for distribution in your area. Many of these products can be imprinted with your company name and the first names of your clients for a little cost and distributed for free. You could even turn your novelty programme into a contest: once a month, you could provide a reward to anyone whose car has one of your bumper stickers or badges with peel-off coupons redeemable at your business.
CELEBRITY VISITS.
You might be able to arrange for a local media personality, public figure, or entertainment—even a bogus cartoon character or clown—to personally visit your service with a little patience. The celebrity can sign autographs, tell stories to youngsters, demonstrate cookery, or engage in any number of other traffic-generating activities.
If you can, use the media to promote your business. But don’t forget about your most valuable promotional asset: your mind. Consider the products, services, and events you can provide to the community and develop a marketing strategy to promote them. You’ll have to devote some time and effort to the project, but the results will be well worth it. You’ll save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on advertising, and you’ll be on a tried-and-true path to profit.
I hope this information aids you in making future marketing decisions.
