For The Small Business Owner
Print Media
For the small business owner, your print media options are limited to Newspaper, Outdoor (Billboards), Phone Directories, Direct Mail and Marriage Mail. Print media are very similar in the way your ad is laid out. You're going to want to start with a catchy headline, an appropriate picture or diagram, supporting text and a means of contact. Print Ad's of all types are generally very informational. This is their strong point. With the exception of billboards, if a consumer is interested in your product or service, they can take your ad with them and consult it later. I've detailed the different print advertising media I'd suggest for a small business owner. You'll notice I'm not including Magazines or your kid's school's music and theater performance programs and or your church bulletins as viable print media choices. Magazines weren't included because by and large they are too expensive and too far reaching for most small business owners. I didn't include the school or church programs because they aren't a mass medium. They reach to few eyes to be considered "Advertising". I'm not saying you shouldn't contribute, if the programs are something you feel strongly about supporting then do it, but budget it as a charitable donation and not part of your advertising budget.
Newspaper
Newspaper is the oldest and most longstanding mass medium for advertising. It has a long rich history and because of it many people use it for everything instead of just what it's best for. Newspaper is best used for "day of" sales events. When you advertise in newspaper your advertising to just those people who are in the market today for what it is you are selling (do you know people who re-read the previous days newspaper). Those people who enter the market tomorrow for what you're selling will overlook your ad because it is not of interest to their subconscious mind. When I use the words "today" and "tomorrow" I'm not referring to abstract concepts, I'm using the terms literally. In other words, if I realize I need tires on Tuesday, regardless of how big or colorful your advertisment was on Monday, I didn't see it. When calculating the return on investment from your newspaper ad you must keep this in mind. The big advantage of the newspaper is that people can clip out your ad and take it with them The big disadvantage is that the newspaper (unless it reinvents itself) is dying a slow death as younger generations are turning to internet, television and radio to get their news.
Direct Mail
To clarify my meaning, I'm speaking of your business sending a printed advertisment through the mail. I'm not referring to the coupons we all get in a lump from the "value penny coupon saver people". This is called marriage mail and I've got a special section for it. Direct mail is terrific for two things. 1) re-selling existing customers and 2) for niche markets. 1) Re-selling existing customers If you've not already done so, regardless of your business or profession, at minimum you must develop a database of every customer that does business with you. Reason being: They've done business with you once.... they're likely to do business with you again. Whenever you're doing any sort of advertising, you should send the people in your database a letter, flier or whatever, detailing whatever offer you're making via the other media. You'll not beat the return on investment from previously happy customers receiving a specific offer from your company. 2) Niche Markets There are some businesses that do business with a very specific set of customers that simply cannot be reached any other way. A few examples of niche customers are Meeting Planners, Public School Principals, Congressmen, etc. for the most part, advertising to these audiences is simply not efficient in any other medium... there are of course exceptions.
Outdoor
Outdoor advertising encompasses any type of printed media displayed outside. People usually mean Billboards when they talk about outdoor advertising so that's what we'll discuss. Billboards are the MOST effective for giving directions... ie "Joe Smith Honda Next Exit" or even better "Tim Turner Chevrolet next left" With a BIG RED ARROW pointing left. The best example of this in the current day is for "South of the Border." For those reading this who've never driven on US Interstate 95 Between Virginia and South Carolina I'll explain. There is a tourist attraction at the border between North and South Carolina called "South of the Border" where you can eat, play games, buy trinkets and even stay the night. It's a nice enough place but could easily be missed were it not for the massive billboard campaign that starts in central virginia and extends hundreds of miles. The ads are initially sparse and then increase in density as you get closer featuring their cartoon spokes donkey "pedro" and a countdown of how many miles until you get there. These billboards are directed at the long distance traveler and they work because they are cute, funny, and by the time you've seen ten of them you're searching for the next one... yes friends searching to see an advertisment... can you believe it?
Phone Directory
Phone direcetories are a passive unintrusive way to advertise... in other words the only people that will know about you are the ones that are actively seeking you. There are two ways to advertise in the phone directory... White Pages and Yellow Pages. When advertising in the Yellow Pages you need to keep in mind how the medium is used. Consumers turn to the Yellow Pages when they don't know anyone in the business category for which they have a need. Yellow pages works best for businesses that consumers would'nt regularly do business with. Locksmith's, Bail Bondsmen, Taxi's, Emergency Plumbers, Personal Injury Attorneys. In the White Pages you don't have many options... you are listed alphabettically (which seperates you from your competitors) and you can have a regular listing or a bold listing. If you are using an electronic medium to actively advertise, pay the extra for the bold listing and instruct people in your commercial to look you up in the White Pages.
Marriage Mail
These are the envelopes full of coupons you get in your mailbox approximately every month. Not one to pass judgement but these are usually thought of as the Baltic & Mediterranean Avenues of the advertising world, but they do have their purpose. The big advantage of the marriage mailer is that it is relatively cheap comparatively. The big disadvantage of it is that it is training your customers to only do business with you when they have a coupon. Which really takes a bite out of your profit margin. The initial idea of a coupon is to get someone to try a service at a lower cost to then transition into regular full-price customer. This rarely happens. Because it becomes kind of a sales cocaine. They see the volume of business come in from the coupon so they do it month after month untill they go out of business because they're achieving no margin. These are best used sporadically and in concert with your other advertising.
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