Top Tips when Advertising

/in /by
  • Consider who your potential customer is and how they can be reached?
  • Don’t spend all your budget on one flashy ad; be consistent with frequent smaller ads that work.
  • Maybe place your advert in an unusual place, it will cost less – but make sure it reaches your market.
  • Use your local or national trade magazine. Contact them at the end of the month as they may have unsold space at a lower rate.
  • Ask for a discount if paid up front in full. What’s the worst they can say? ( NO!)
  • Share advertising costs with a local business. Look at restaurants and cinemas – mutually beneficial.
  • If using radio, try reducing the size/time of your advert. An advert for twice the time does not mean twice as many people will buy after hearing it.
  • Use your suppliers
    • 1. Split the cost with your supplier as you are selling their product
    • 2. Get display units, stands, posters and banners from your suppliers
    • 3. Get suppliers to put up their signage outside your premises. (Get a brewery to pay for an awning that contains their logo – it also looks fancy)
  • Sponsor a local event – this will provide positive exposure in the community.
  • Try to avoid saturation advertising. Could you handle a massive influx of new business in a short space of time? Could you fulfill every order on time? If you couldn’t, what impression would that leave?
  • Use a direct mail campaign and make sure to follow up with phone calls afterwards.
  • Do an editorial in a local newspaper. Make sure to have a killer headline.
  • Use coupons, codes or reference numbers on the advert. Get them to mention ‘code’ at time of purchase. That way you will know what methods are working.
  • React quickly to breaking news events –whether they are good or bad.
  • Make sure to check the results of your advertising efforts. This is the only way to figure out what is working.
  • Use a mix of methods. Find out which one is the best fit and stick with it.
  • List the key benefits about your product or service in your ad.
  • Simply ask the customer where they heard about your business.
  •  Use guerilla advertising. Put stickers in bathrooms of pubs. Use chalk advertising where a lot of people will be passing – e.g. the local university.
  • Include your logo on all employee uniforms or workwear.