Advertising Basics for Small Businesses

We all know that advertising is like air to our lungs. We NEED it to survive. Same goes for our business…but there’s a difference between good advertising and bad advertising, which you should know by now, has its consequences.

If you hate reading long, wordy stuff….let me give you the shortcut:

Business + Good advertising =  $$$$$$$$$

Typically, advertising and promotion are vital to the success of a business. To successfully advertise you will need to allocate a portion of your budget for such purposes. The size of this percentage will depend on the size of your business and the scope of the market that you are trying to reach. Proportionally, a small business and a multimillion-dollar corporation may spend the same percentage of their budget on advertising. If the advertising campaign is carefully planned to reach the target audience, the resulting increase in business may also be a similar percentage. For example a few well-placed billboards in a small town might generate a 10 percent increase in sales for a small business while a national commercial might produce the same 10 percent increase for a major retail chain. Therefore, do some serious research and budgeting to ensure that the money you allocate does not go to waste.

Your focus, when advertising, needs to be on:

1. The type of media to reach most effectively your target audience
2. The type of advertising campaign you will run, e.g. to promote a new product, to place a familiar product or company name in front of the audience, or to promote a special service or activity
3. The advertising style that best suits your products and/or services
4. How can you reach the most people (within your defined market) for your advertising dollar

Again, my suggestion is that you do some research like handing out questionnaires to your targeted audience. Also ensure that your sample is randomized so that your results will less biased.

When you advertise, you are investing in your own business, and, as with any type of investment, there are risks involved. The major risk is that the advertisements will not generate enough sales to justify the costs of the campaign. As is the case with any investment, through due diligence you will determine the most appropriate and secure means of advertising before taking such risks.

You could write down a list of ways to advertise and list the pros and cons of each type of advertising. For example, advertisement on the web, billboard, magazines, TV, Radio, etc. With that you can hopefully see which type of advertising will give you the most benefits with the least risk.

In a nutshell, do your research, draw up a list of ways to advertise, take a deep breath (just to make it sound dramatic) and make your decision. A calculated risk it is but hey, if you have the guts to start your own business, choosing how you want to advertise your business should be a piece of cake!