Resources for Young Entrepreneurs
Promoting yourself and your business
What response do you want from your customer?
What do you want the customer to THINK, KNOW, FEEL and DO in response to your promotional activity?
For example:
THINK
You are honest. They know who you are. You are competent. Yours is better than the others. You are an answer to their prayers!
KNOW
Enough detail about product to want to know more. How they could use product. The benefits of it. Where to get it. What after/pre-sales service to expect.
FEEL
Interested. Eager to try the product. Wanted/respected/special.
DO
Find out more. Contact you. Make an order.
What the customer does not want to feel is lazy, spoiled, a bit simple, stupid for not having used your product all this time, or that they will be “ripped off” or “conned” by you.
Methods of Promoting your Business
Newspaper advertising
How many readers and where are they? Are they likely to be the target group (if aiming at teenagers are they likely to read the local free sheet)? Which day of the week is best? Where in the paper is best (i.e. sports page or letters page)? How long for? A single or series of ads? Size? Format? What will you say?
N.B. Do not commit yourself to a three-month package even if it does look attractive, until you know the level of response from previous ads.
Magazines and journals
More specific target group already identified for you; likely to be more expensive, but may get more response than general readership media; how many readers and again where are they (as they might be outside your geographical area)? What is time delay between agreeing copy and publishing date? When do you have to pay? When can you expect responses to start coming in?
Radio/TV/cinema
Assumed to be expensive, especially TV, but sometime local offers are available.
Digital technologies
The opportunites to conduct Electronic Commerce are increasing all the time. More and more businesses and individuals are accessible via the internet. Global promotion and advertising, the targeting of potential markets, financial transactions and taking orders are all now possible on the internet and World Wide Web. E-mail can be used for automated mailing, quotes, product detail and taking orders. Electronic catalogues, sales presentations and information kiosks are all achievable via CD-ROM. Ask your tutor about training courses available for E-commerce.
Uniform/t-shirts/overalls
Often overlooked, but can be an effective promotion method; suggests efficiency, cleanliness, organisation; protective clothing can attract tax relief, but not if ordinary clothes used just for work (check with local tax office).
Coupons/vouchers
Can be part of adverts/mailshots so you can monitor the response; on programmes or tickets to encourage second visit to purchase; pricing and costing important so that you do not lose too much profit, can be a way to win over customers who are deciding whether to come to you or not.
Gifts – pens/balloons/coaster etc
Seen as cheap to give away but do of course cost something! Who are they for (present or potential customers); how will you use them (reminders/daily use/throw always).
Calendars/christmas cards
Cards are used more now for regular customers, although we receive one each year from local Indian Restaurant as ex-customers! Show you care; remind people of your existence. Calendars are a constant reminder throughout the year BUT only if attractive and can compete for space with other calendars they may receive.
Vehicle/stickers
Very powerful, regular reminder of your existence; suggests an established firm; needs to be a decent vehicle in reasonable repair; stickers fairly cheap to produce and distribute.
Mailshots
Start to develop own mailing list early on; can buy lists of addresses, but they are expensive; can be distributed as inserts in other firm’s mailing more cheaply.
The Post Office have special mailshots rates, but usually involve 10’s of 1000’s at a time, pre-sorted into postal areas – could be worth it for several small businesses together. Even with a specially targeted list, people still throw general mailshots in the bin and the response is small (up to 1/2%), but firms still do it so it must work (i.e. how much is just 1/2% return in new business worth to you?).
Exhibitions
Can be a valuable source of business, e.g. a local knitwear firm who does not promote anywhere else except at a national exhibition once a year. National rates are very expensive, but regional ones could be more affordable. Choose carefully, find out which position your stand will be in; how many visitors are expected each day; have plenty of promotional literature available to hand out to visitors (cost?); worth finding a complementary business to share the stand with.
N.B. Visit major exhibitions for your industry whenever you can, to make contact with people there, collecting business cards and giving out your own to others.
While you are at the exhibition, you cannot be working somewhere else! Who looks after the stand while you have lunch or visit the loo? Who takes messages for you back at the work base?
Sales
Direct face-to-face selling is also part of the promotion effort; you need to be aware of the skills needed; who is responsible for sales; preparation needed; time it takes; monitor the costs and success of sales efforts. See selling notes for more detail.
Letter/Logos/Business Cards
Vital part of promoting an image as, company names and logos are important. You need to test out ideas on others to get their reactions; the name should be easy to say and not embarrass the customer/supplier when they say it; remember to check for other businesses in the area with the same or a similar name, do not steal someone else’s ideas!
Leaflets
Name, colour, paper used, shape, folded/unfolded format; illustration is included – too much or too little; any important points missing. A good leaflet should follow the AIDAS model.
What is the image you get from these – is it positive or negative – try to put into words and relate to your own designs. Also need to think about what they will be used for; where; which target groups; need update or just general.
Need to check costs at all local printers and designers; how many will they need; how much is available to spend? There is no doubt that people do like to collect leaflets and often refer to them at later date, so they are important.
Press releases
Used to get editorial coverage (i.e. an article written about the business).
Needs to be short, punchy, to the point, interesting to the majority of readers about a specific event; clear and concise; on one side of A4 paper if possible.
N.B. Find out the correct person to send them to; give them plenty of advance notice about events; just give a summary of the main points, not an essay; make sure you include enough details for them to be able to contact you.
Packaging
Why package a product?
Legal requirements, safety, clean, easy to stack, promoting brand name/shape colour may be necessary such as at Christmas, Easter.
Why package a service?
To promote brand name and recognition by customer, give image of professional work via letters, quotes, proposals, pre and after sales facilities.
What is packaging?
Inner/outer wrappers, containers, bags, posting envelopes and labels, swing tickets, labels inside garments/craft items, folders containing quotes for services, the car/van you drive.
How important is packaging?
Generally important for most small businesses starting off as need to promote awareness of who you are, where, what you do; to encourage repeat business.
How will it affect my customers?
Again comes back to professional image of clean, tidy, convenient, quality; feel that you care about them and they are getting something extra; need to be recognisable.
What and how much?
Need to research the local suppliers, to find out what they do, especially will they do small quantities to start. Can be any material, but should fit with image of product i.e. plain, unfussy, glossy, plastic, traditional/modern, Eco-friendly, high-tech, colourful; swing tickets/bags/boxes should be planned alongside the product itself. It can be very expensive, so MUST cost it in with the final customer price.
Promotion – What result do you want?
- Raise awareness of product/service and the company.
- Promote a particular image or view of the company that may differ from previously.
- To launch a new product line adding to existing range.
- To make people want to try yours instead of the competitors.
- To encourage brand loyalty and therefore repeat business, and especially getting back old customers.
- To increase sales in the same or new group of customers.
- Need to be clear about whether you want a small number of high-volume clients, or lots of customers buying just 1 or 2 items at a time.
- Need to know what stage of AIDAS model your promotion is aimed.
