Promotion and
advertising can be a heavy expense, especially for a new business that wants to
make itself known in a community. A home-based business, however, more
often than not, has a very limited budget when it comes to advertising.
The
home business owner needs to make the public aware of his or her product or
service at the lowest possible cost. There are many ways. A pet breeder in a
large city was struggling for several years-until he came up with a novel
idea.
He
started giving away customized "birth certificates" for the pets he
sold. Almost immediately, his sales rose more than 10 percent. The
owner of a new home cleaning service was trying to attract clients. She
couldn't afford much advertising, so she began offering "home cleaning
seminars" to civic groups.
After
two months of seminars, she was swamped with inquiries and clients. Promotion
often makes the crucial difference between business success and failure.
Customers
or clients must know about a business or product line before they'll buy and
they must have a reason to buy. If you are trying to promote your business now,
you can move in one of two directions:
1)
You can take the conventional route to promotion and mount an elaborate media
campaign, spending a
considerable
amount of money
2)
You can let your creative juices flow and mount a low-cost promotion effort,
using a potpourri of attention-getting gimmicks to bring your message to the
buying public.
Now,
to be sure, conventional advertising is valuable. If your enterprise is large
enough or if you're selling numerous product lines, you may find that a
full-fledged media campaign is the most efficient and cost effective way to
promote your business.
If
money is tight, however, or you're not sure you can amortize the heavy cost of
a media campaign over a period of time, the following is a assortment of
low-cost techniques you can try.
Not
all may be appropriate for your particular business, and certainly it would be
costly to try them all. But you're sure to find some ideas that will work for
you.
1.
GIVEAWAYS. People love to receive "free" items, especially items they
can use to gain knowledge or improve their lives. You can base an entire promotional
campaign on this desire.
If
you're running a furniture repair business, for instance, you could give away a
furniture repair brochure, free furniture planning guides, or color
swatches.
Once
you begin giving away authoritative information customers will begin to
perceive you as an expert in your field.
2.
NEWS CREATION. Want to get names and news from your business in the local
newspaper? It may be easier that you think.
If
you don't have any news to report to the local media, create some. Maybe you've
taken on a new associate. Or maybe you're selling an unusual product
line.
Or
maybe you've opened a free advice center for the community. Or maybe you've
received an award from a civic or professional group.
Local
Penny savers and weekly are often quite interested in business news of this
sort and can help you attract the attention of thousands of people.
3.
EVENTS. You may be able to attract the attention of the media or a crowd by
staging a special promotional event. If you run a fitness classes, for
instance, you could stage a celebrity instructor day.
If
you're promoting a new real estate business, you can offer tours of a model
home in the area. If you're
selling
children's products and it's springtime, you can offer lunch with the Easter
bunny. Get the idea?
4.
CHARITY TIE-INS. Are you launching a new product? Trying to increase visibility
among a particular segment of your community? Offer your product to one or more
local charities as a raffle prize or for use at a fund raising event. You'll
receive lots of exposure among people who buy tickets or attend the event.
5.
CONTESTS. Offer a desirable or unique item-or even several items-as contest
prizes. First, find a contest theme that tiers into your business. A caterer might
offer a quiche-eating contest.
A
photographer might offer a young model contest. A mail order craft firm might
offer an "Early American" handicrafts contest.
Invite
contest submissions and offer prizes to the winners. Do contests attract attention?
You bet. All it takes is a few signs, a small press announcement or two, and
the word will spread throughout the community grapevine.
6.
COMMUNITY SERVICE. Nothing brings you to the attention of the people faster-or
more favorably-than community service. Ask yourself how your enterprise can be
a "good neighbor" to your community.
If
you're running a lawn care and gardening service, perhaps you can offer one
season's services at no charge to a needy charitable organization or nursing
home in your area.
Hundreds
of people will hear about your work in the process.
Volunteer
for various community causes. If appropriate, you can step in during community
emergency, offering products and services to help an organization or
individuals in need.
7.
COUPON. People Online are very coupon-conscious. Test the market: at what level
will coupons increase the volume of various product or service lines?
When
you get some tentative answers, start distributing coupons that offer a
discount on your services.
Distribute
them to area newspapers, on store counters, indoor-to-door- mail packets (which
can often be quite inexpensive), at the public library, at laundromats, at any
location where people congregate.
8.
BADGES AND NOVELTIES. You can easily and inexpensively produce badges,
bumper stickers, book covers, and other novelty items for distribution in
your area.
You
can imprint your business name and the first names of the customers on many of
these products at little cost and distribute them for free.
Or
you can tie your novelty program into a contest: once a month, you can offer a
prize to any individual whose car happens to carry one of your bumper stickers
or badges with peel-off coupons, redeemable at your place of business.
9.
CELEBRITY VISITS. With a bit of persistence, you may be able to arrange to have
a local media celebrity, public official, or entertainment personally-even a
fictitious cartoon character or clown-visit your service.
The
celebrity can sign autographs, read stories to children, perform cooking
demonstrations, or perform any one of a hundred other traffic-building
activities.
10.
CELEBRATE HOLIDAYS. You'll probably want to celebrate major public holidays
with special sales. But celebrate some of the offbeat holidays as well. Almost
every business has a few little-known holidays.
Ever
hear of National Pickle Day, for instance? Or Cat Lovers Month? Once you find
the "right" holiday, you can sponsor a special sale or special
product arrange special media coverage of a holiday event.
11.
GO WHERE THE PEOPLE ARE. Can you open sales information booths at community
fairs and festivals? This promotional technique can work for gift retailers,
craftspeople, and personal service firms. If
you have the people and the time, can you handle regional fairs or even trade
shows?
12.
SUBSCRIBERS MAILING LISTS. Once you begin establishing a committed clientele,
gather their names on a mailing list. Save the names from your mail orders and
telephone inquiries. Eventually,
you'll be able to send product circulars or even catalogs to the folks on your
list and you'll be able to promise your products by mail.
13.
SCAVENGER HUNTS. If you want people to buy NOW, offer them an unbeatable
deal. If
they bring an old product-a small appliance, a book, whatever-to you, you'll
give them a worthwhile discount
on
a comparable new item. Or stage a general purpose scavenger hunt.
Customers
who bring in three canned goods for your community's food bank will receive a
discount on products purchased that day.
14.
PARTIES. Everyone loves a party. Why not celebrate the anniversary of your
business or some special holiday by offering baked goods and beverages?
If
you're running a service business, perhaps you can offer an open house or
obtain a small banquet room in your community. Besides refreshments, be sure
the place
is
brightly decorated.
15.
GREETING AND SEASON CARDS. Do you send out greeting cards to major customers or clients? Holidays,
birthdays, and anniversaries make nice greeting card occasions. Greeting cards
create enormous goodwill and keep your name in front of people.
16.
SEMINARS. In this information hungry age, people love to receive advice,
especially about their personal needs and hobbies.
If
you sell health foods or run fitness classes, perhaps you can offer
"wellness" seminars during lunchtime to your area's
business community.
If
you're an interior decorator, perhaps you can offer one-hour decorating workshops
to any group of ten people who will gather in someone's home.
If
you're running a printing business, perhaps you can offer tours and layout
seminars at your plant. If
you're not pleased with your promotional efforts today or if you simply must
increase your exposure among customers and prospects-it's probably time to
increase your publicity efforts.
By
all means, advertise in the media if you can or must. But don't neglect your
greatest promotional asset-your mind.
Ponder
the products, services, and events you can offer the community and devise a
creative promotional strategy around them. You'll
have to invest a bit of time and energy in the project,but the payoff will be
worth it.
You'll
save hundreds-or even thousands-of advertising dollars and, better yet, you'll
travel a well-worn shortcut to profit.
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