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Promoting Your Business In The New Economy When it comes to advertising, most people can rightly claim they are victims of "sensory overload." Ads are everywhere on the TV and radio shows they watch and listen to, plastered on the buses and trains in which they ride to work, on the Web sites they visit while surfing the Internet. The challenge for business owners with an advertising message to deliver is figuring out how to punch through that clutter. Large, well-financed organizations can well afford to take the "Godzilla" approach: the bigger and more frequently the ad appears, the more likely it is that people will notice it. Because of the expense and inherent inefficiencies of that kind of mass advertising approach, it is not a practical option for most small businesses. You must find a way to make your advertising message stand out from the crowd. One effective strategy for doing that is to harness the credibility of the media. In his book, Getting Clients, Keeping Clients, Dan Richards notes, "In most communities, the media are the most credible sources for borrowing trust." And gaining access to those outlets through your local paper's business editor or radio station's program manager might be easier than you think. Managing the media should be an important consideration for all business owners and entrepreneurs because is it such an important source of information for so many of their existing and potential customers and clients. As John Grace, president of Investors Advantage Inc., an investment advisory firm, puts it, "You either fight the media or join them." Grace prefers the latter approach, and it's effective. He makes himself available to reporters as a source, has favorable stories reprinted and distributes them and works hard to develop relationships with reporters, editors and producers in print and broadcast media.
For example, if you are running a crafts and hobby shop, work with a local organization to arrange a crafts demonstration day. This strategy can be particularly effective if it is tied to a charitable event or a community organization such as the Girl Scouts, the local PTA fund-raiser or the like. Richards says that there are two key points to keep in mind when approaching the media. First, the media needs to give interesting news and information to their audience, and second, they have to be confident that this information will not be embarrassing. You have to be sure of the accuracy and legitimacy of the message you are going to deliver before you approach a media outlet. If you burn a reporter or producer even once, you may get a reputation as being an unreliable source among his or her colleagues, effectively blocking you from future opportunities for free exposure through the media.
MANY OPPORTUNITIES Business owners, especially those in service businesses, have many opportunities to leverage the credibility of the media into valuable exposure. They include:* Offer to provide a daily or weekly market report to a local radio station. * Offer to appear as an expert commentator on a local television news show. * Create your own show to run on the local cable system's community access channel, if it has one. * Approach a local newspaper about writing a regular column, especially if you can identify gaps in its current coverage of your business or industry. * Arrange to be quoted as an expert by local broadcast and/or print reporters. Keep in mind that journalists are constantly seeking new sources of information, and they are often doing so on a tight deadline. By making yourself accessible and preparing yourself to provide the short, punchy "sound bites" most reporters and producers favor, you could have the potential to increase your level of visibility in your local market.
Tom Murphy, vice president of product development at InfoUSA.com and author of Web Rules: How the Internet Is Changing the Way Consumers Make Choices, says it is nearly impossible to overestimate the impact. "We're witnessing the greatest transition of power in history, one that will take power away from the mightiest corporations and social institutions and give it to consumers," he says. In light of such changes in consumer expectations, it is more important than ever for business owners to devote time, energy and resources to managing their customers' expectations. Merely providing the product or service your customers have always expected to get from you is no longer enough and probably never was. You must continually work to build on your message if you want satisfied customers.
TAKES SIX TIMES The backbone of this strategy is good communication and frequent contact with clients and customers. Research suggests that the average person needs to hear something at least six times before he or she internalizes that message or information. That being the case, it is important that business owners frequently reach out to their customers to clarify the message embodied in the marketing strategy they have created, and to make sure that the product or service they provide continues to meet the expectations of their customers.To accomplish that task most effectively, today's business owners should use a combination of "old" media and "new" media to get their message across. For instance, you can use "old" media such as telephone calls and print newsletters combined with "new" media, such as e-mail messages and web sites. And since the use of wireless devices such as palm-top computers and the new generation of cell phones are forecast to grow, your opportunities to communicate with clients through new media should expand significantly. As Kevin Meyeroff, CPA, CFP, president of NCA Financial Planners, points out, new media resources such as the web can be particularly effective in dealing with "high maintenance" clients. One of the great ways the web has helped with some of his more demanding clients is by increasing the information access options he can offer them. "Some clients want to know what's going on all the time," he says. "We've showed them how to use the web site to get the latest information on their accounts. They're getting what they want quicker, and that's giving me more time to build relationships with my other clients." The bottom line is that the better informed your customers are, the more satisfied they will be. A solid, proactive communications program can reinforce your customers' comfort level with the products or services you are providing them and the way in which you are providing them.
Business owners should also keep in mind that establishing and maintaining good communication with employees is also important, especially as the company grows. "The company Intranet can be a valuable communications tool in that regard," says Shirley Dreyfuss, chief executive officer of Strategic Communications Group. "Leveraging the company intranet to transmit corporate news in a timely manner gives employees a sense that they are getting the 'inside story' before it goes public," she says.
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