With all the doom and gloom in the air these days it’s easy to want to crawl in a hole and come out when business is better. I’ve talked with to many a-small-business-owner who are talking about not spending money, especially on advertising.
I’ve experienced a couple of recessions in my day and it’s definitely helps give me some insight on how to survive today’s slow economy. Whether you’re a one-man contractor, a small repair shop, or a limo service. There is plenty you can do to increase your advertising.
Websites. Good business is built on trust. Customers want to learn as much as they can about your company and what you stand behind.
Some people feel a need to look for deeper information on a company or contractor when deciding on who they hire. Most people do a majority of research on the web before making a decision.
If you’ve been getting all your business from the refinance gravy train of yesterday it’s time to do a little marketing. A website is a smart and affordable way to convey in-depth information about who you are.
Value added Packages. People today are looking for value, that doesn’t always mean cutting your prices. Adding incentives to the offer is a much better strategy.
A good way to ad value to a product or service is bundling. Bundle products or services to the package price and elevate your offer. Make it to good of a package to resist.
It’s a good idea to change these packages often keeping your marketing fresh and timely. Sending out coupons through email and even the US mail is another way to market your bundled offer.
For long-term results, create a special offer that will motivate new customers to customers make more then a single purchase. Businesses that provide home services, such as house painters, heat and air companies, plumbing can benefit greatly from packaged incentives.
Craiglist. Craigslist is one of the best ways I can think of to get free advertising. Just go to http://sfbay.craigslist.org and get yourself a free account. Having an account makes it much easier to renew and place ads. You can place pictures and even website type graphics to enhance your image.
If and when you get a website you can put a link back to your site for more in-depth information.
There is a section on Craigslist specifically for services offered. The contractor can post an ad under the most appropriate category to reach their target audience. There’s also a category for small business advertisements, which may be used if there are no appropriate categories for your type of business.
While your there you can check out ads for people seeking contractors in your area.
Criagslist discussion forums offer a great way to generate interest in what you do. The forums are not for placing ads but a place to discuss your area of expertise and information related to your business in a way that is informative to the reader - kind of a soft sell. Small business owners can also use the discussion forums portion of the Craigslist community to generate greater profit for their business.
However, small business owners should use a great deal of caution to ensure their promotional postings are not viewed as spam. There is a distinct difference between posting information related to your business in a way that is informative to the reader and spamming the boards with useless posts intended solely to promote your business.
Spamming is not only likely to be overlooked by readers but also runs the risk that the Craigslist moderators will delete your posts or take more severe actions against you. As a regular participant in discussions you build trust in your area of expertise.
No matter what method you choose to advertise it’s what you say that matters most. When you have a small ad budget it’s especially important to make a compelling offer. There’s no target market when your saying something that no cares about.
In today’s economic environment its easy to want to stop spending money on advertising, but in my past “recession” experiences, the companies that kept advertising not only survived but usually gained more of there competitors business.
It’s no time for retreat or surrender. Think growth instead!
by Pat Mosca
Internet Marketing
