This simple secret is the one big key to good advertising on any budget.
Every business owner knows she has to have a big Christmas season and somehow keep sales coming in through the slow first quarter. "I'm a small business. I don't have big cash reserves or lines of credit to tide me through slow times," she says pointing out a challenge almost every small and home-based business faces.
Hoping and wishing won't get customers ringing your phone. You've got to advertise and promote. Even on the smallest of budgets you can achieve considerable advertising success if you follow this single, simple rule. TARGET your advertising and publicity. Nothing else makes advertising work as effectively. On the other hand, bad targeting will doom your marketing from the beginning no matter how much money you spend. What do I mean by "target?" It's a word we use a lot in marketing, often without having a clear idea of what it means.
You target effectively by making sure your marketing only goes to the people most likely to buy your products or services. Your big daily newspaper reaches lots of people, but how many of those are really interesting in buying what you're selling? You waste hard-earned advertising budget when you advertise to thousands of people who aren't interested. It is much easier to target a specific group of prospects by using media that specializes in advertising to those prospects.
Trying to reach home-based entrepreneurs? Advertise in a newsletter, e-zine, or magazine that targets that specific audience. Glitzy and expensive publications don't always give the best results. Low-priced targeted radio ads, industry newsletters, or neighbourhood papers bring in sales. It's not unusual for a targeted ad or press release campaign to bring in 400% more sales than marketing that is not targeted.
Start by asking, "Who are my best prospects? What kinds of media do they pay attention to?" You may need to ask customers
how they heard about you or how they search for companies like yours. Their answers will give you clues to what kinds of media
that group reads and watches.
