| |
| |
|
Small Business Information |
|
|
|
Advertising - For Small Businesses (Part 2)
How to do it People skim through newspapers and magazines and they aren't necessarily looking for information on products or services (unless they're reading the classifieds) It's therefore absolutely vital that your advertisement grabs their attention and encourages them to read more. Many ads are designed merely to create awareness of a product or service, however, small to medium size businesses need a result. Use words that attract attention in your headline - The two most powerful words in a headline are - YOU and FREE. Other great headline words are - How to - New - The Secrets of - Amazing - Breakthrough - Announcing - Discover - Protect - Facts you - At last Don't worry too much about a photograph or a graphic - A good headline is what you need to grab attention and differentiate you from your competitors. There are several ads in my local paper for plumbers. All but one has the name of the plumbing business at the top of the ad - "Fred Smith Plumbers." One of the ads has "DYNAMIC PLUMBERS" at the top of the ad. I had to read more to find out what made this plumbing service "DYNAMIC." To me - one plumber is much like another; however, this one grabbed my interest. Offer something free - A sample - an hour of your time - information - a drink - a coffee - some food - a place for children to play - a book - an audio or video tape. Offer something that has a high perceived value for the customer but a low cost for you. Remember - you want them to respond to your ad, not your competitors. Use simple language - Get to your point FAST - remember, people will only spend a few seconds looking at your ad, so don't beat around the bush. Offer benefits - Tell the customer how your product or service benefits them or solves their problems. Don't start sentences with - "We do ??." start with - "You will ??." No jargon - Watch out for abbreviations, jargon, buzz words and technical information. You might understand the language but does the customer? Don't be boring - Don't use words like -"Quality service" (What does that mean?) - "Established in 1862" (Who cares) - "We provide an individual service" (Doesn't everybody?) Look at what some of your competitors say in their advertising and do something different. Touch the emotions - Make your ad look and sound human, warm and friendly. Perhaps put a name in - "Call Jim now for a FREE quotation." Use testimonials - Put in the names of people and businesses that you've worked with and what they said (with their permission of course) Call for action - Your advertisement must prompt people to do something. You must ask them to phone you - come and see you - ask you to see them or place an order - NOW! Make it as easy as possible for them to do that - a free phone number - a freepost address - a simple tear-off coupon to complete - something free or any other incentive for them to take action NOW! Discover how you can generate more business without having to cold call! Alan Fairweather is the author of "How to get More Sales without Selling" This book is packed with practical things that you can do to - get customers to come to you . Click here now http://www.howtogetmoresales.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Small-Business - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Buy a Flower Shop: Serious Considerations You've always liked flowers and you think the idea of turning emotions into floral expressions sounds like tremendous fun. You are between careers and have been investigating business opportunities in your community. Small Business Savvy: Reaching Key Big Business Decision Makers As a solo entrepreneur or small business owner, one of our key challenges can be reaching key decision makers in larger companies. Getting to the right person who can seal the deal can be a frustrating experience, especially if you don't have a game plan. The Perfect Mission Statement One way to determine your companies mission statement is based on a general overview of the company. Some important questions are asked like: Why does the company exist and what kind of business is it in? Is there a particular market or niche that it will concentrate upon? How will the company be distinctive in its business methods? Once these questions are answered, the focus moves to the accomplishment of these broadly expressed objectives. Yeah, It IS Lonely At the Top Sometimes when you run a business you feel as lonely as the Maytag repairman. Loneliness and isolation are very common problems for business owners. Your Small Business Suggestion Box A suggestion box is a really good idea for your business. It can help you get valuable feedback from your customers -- feedback that they don't normally think to share with you. The Key to Small Business Growth? Buyer Alignment Unfortunately for all buyers, each selling organization and their individual sales professionals are unique and often require immense amounts of energy to build a relationship with. This keeps buyers guessing, which in turn keeps the sales organization guessing. Expanding A Mobile Car Wash Business What is the best time to expand a mobile car wash business? If everything were perfect and you could choose the best time to buy a new mobile car wash rig, you should buy it in April and have it running by the 20th of May. If you have 1. Small Business Planning -- Three Myths Are you -- like 70 percent of small business owners -- working without a plan?Here are three myths that need to be dispelled about strategic planning for small business.1. Secrets Revealed To Having The Most Professional Staff On The Telephone! Do you have all the customers your business can use?The seemingly simple task of taking phone calls is a hidden liability for not just some, but most businesses. You've invested precious dollars in advertising and marketing. Accepting Checks in Your Business Virtually Risk Free Most businesses accept checks as form of payment for goods and services. However, accepting checks can be a risky endeavor if your company doesn't follow good policies and procedures for preventing loss from bad checks. Reclaim Equipment Detailing Industry and NPDES, EPA, Storm Water Rules It behooves every professional mobile auto detailer to stay up with the reclaim equipment necessary to comply with the NPDES, EPA and storm water rules. Every company has a responsibility to not pollute the water supplies. Boston Market; Mobile Auto Detailing Boston itself covers 50 square miles of concrete and traffic, well city limits actually exactly 46 square miles, the entire metro area can be and is often over stated at 1100 square miles, but more realistically about 380 in our humble opinion. And you know some of that is water. Building A Business That Works For You Before you want to build your business, you need to know why you are in this business.Many of us entered business as a technician. Look Like Sizzle, Be The Steak You've heard marketing and advertising gurus quip, "Sell the sizzle, not the steak." Advertising initiatives best reach their target audience with benefits and the "wow" effect, not the value or features of their product or service. The Types of Skip Trace Accounts First, we need to define the different kinds of skip trace. There are three basic types of skip trace accounts, they are:The Typo AccountThis account is really not a skip trace account. Get In Touch With Your Competition! We all know that competition is an ugly word but competitors are a fact of life in business. If your business can't compete with other businesses, don't start it. Finding the PERFECT Alliance Partner Where do you look for the appropriate alliance?One of the most asked question is "Where do you find a good alliance partner?" It is actually fairly easy. You can find potential alliances by taking some time to research potential partners. Collection Agency Selection Frankly, given the legal and regulatory requirements involved in attempting to collect a debt, it makes as much sense to do it yourself as it does to try to remove your own appendix. A collection agency is, on the whole, much cheaper than a doctors - and lawyers. How to Become Successful in the Field of Financial Consultants Financial Consultants are one of the fastest growing industries today. More and more people are requiring the services of a finance consultant to get out of debt, and/or prepare for educational and retirement expenses. When to Say NO! When is it a good thing to say no to a request?Balance in one's life is perhaps the most important goal for busy people. They can take on many more projects that most others.
|
|
|
|
|
