PROMOTING YOUR SMALL
BUSINESS
Presented by: Craig Elias
Objective
• To provide specific guidelines that will enable you to begin promoting your business as easily and as inexpensively as possible.
Agenda
• Basic promotional concepts
• Developing a promotional strategy
• Evaluation of your promotional materials
What is Promotion?
• Promotion is a means of communication between a buyer and a seller
Promotion
• What does promotion include?– everything you do to sell your product or
service
Channel of Communication
SourceSource
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****For an entrepreneur, correctly targeting a responsive audience is a process of trial and error
Types of Promotion
Advertising
PersonalSelling
HighHigh
MessageFlexibility
AudienceAudienceSizeSize
LowLow
LowLow
HighHigh
A combination of advertising,personal selling, and other
types of promotion
Decision Making Model
• Most potential buyers follows this decision making model:– Awareness– Interest– Desire– Action
• Your promotional material should reflect
these steps
The Six Steps to an Effective Promotional Strategy
Promotional Strategy’s Six Steps
To develop your promotional strategy, address these six steps:
1. Audience2. Objectives3. Promotional Methods4. Budget5. Timeframe6. Evaluate
1. Audience
Step 1
Define who your audience is.
1. Audience
• Need to choose a specific target audience and speak directly to it
• 80% of your sales normally come from 20% of yor customers– rifle approach versus shotgun approach
• What should you know about your target audience?– Selling to customer– Selling to businesses
Audience (cont.)
• How can you tap into your target audience?– Step 1: Have a database
• Collecting information for your database– Customer surveys– Integrate database with point-of-sale records
– Step 2: Design special offerings and promotions
2. Objectives
Step 2
Define your objectives.
2. Objectives
• Objectives are what you want to have happen—the end result.– What you want to achieve with each of your target
markets.– Examples could include:
• Sales to new customers– Sales per square foot, utilization, sales per week/month
• Increasing sales to current customers• Enhancing your company’s corporate image• Announcing your company’s opening
Objectives (cont.)
• Objectives should be:– be clear;– be measurable; and– have a stated timeframe.
Objectives (cont.)Objective Strategy Tactic Timeline
Be seen in the community as a leader
a. Offer free speeches on business planning.
b. Offer free consulting to a local charity
Contact Chamber of Commerce
Contact Westman Dreams for Kids
Within 1 year
Be seen as the expert in your area
a. Give seminars and workshops on business planning.
b. Write column on my expertise on a regular basis.
Contact Women’s Business organization.
Contact the Calgary Herald.
Within 2 years
Achieve sales per square foot of $200 (Retail clothing outlet)
a. Prepare flyers and distribute flyers in strategic geographic areas in the City of Calgary.
Contact Canada Post/graphic designer
Within 1 month
Objectives (cont.)Objective Strategy Tactic Timeline/Goal
Achieve a utilization rate of 80% (10-bed Hospice)
a. Do a Q & A column in the local newspaper on hospice care.
b. Offer to teach sessions on hospice care to local health care providers.
Contact local newspapers
Call the Health Region palliative care coordinator to pitch your idea
Within 2 months
Within 1 month
I will assess customer satisfaction of all customers who spend over $1,000 per year, and on average get these customers to increase their yearly total by 30%.
a. Assess customer satisfaction.
b. Reward customers who spend more than $1,000 per year
Develop and mail out a customer satisfaction survey to customers who spend over $1,000 per year.
Develop special promotional offering for these customers.
Within 6 months
I will be billable (consulting) 50% or more of the time.
a. Offer free speeches on consulting.
b. Join a national consultant association. Write articles for their newsletter.
Contact relevant organization.
Get a directory of associations, find address, call for membership, begin to develop rapport and offer your articles.
Within 3 months.
3. Promotional Methods
Contract out Creative Services
• Should you produce your own brochures, flyers, and promotional materials?– Why you might want to consider contracting out:
• lack of marketing/communications staff• lack of time• lack of expertise• it can be cost effective
– Mimicry – create perception of stability and reliability through your image
• Use smoke and mirrors to appear that you’re bigger than you are
– www.digitalavatar.ca
Dos and Don’ts of Creative Advertising
• Dos• Emphasize your main
point from the start• Focus on the unique
qualities, position of the product
• Be creative and different• Use short sentences• Keep logo and branding
front and center
• Don’ts• Don’t inundate your
audience with too much information
• Don’t offend your audience
• Avoid clichés
3. Promotional Methods
• Promotional methods you will employ to accomplish your strategy– Choose your media based on how they
achieve your objectives
i) Personal Selling
The most important element of promotion
Personal selling (face-to-face)• This is how you will make most of your sales
– 82% of Inc. 500 CEOs surveyed indicated that they were the main salesperson – sold directly
• Details/Guidelines• You have the zeal and passion for your product or service• Requires resilience, self-control, and perceptiveness• Not for everyone
– 20% of salespeople make 80% of sales– 55% struggle with personal selling
• Need to get this right or won’t make sales • (razor-sharp selling skills)
– Prospecting, practicing, pitching
Networking
• Networking can help you establish contacts which can lead to business relationships and leads
• Details/Guidelines• Join Chamber of Commerce/other business associations
or professional organizations• Join professional groups, service clubs
(Kinsmen/Rotary), charitable organizations (www.volunteercalgary.ab.ca), sporting clubs
• Check out The Business Link at http://www.cbsc.org/alberta for a list of networking groups in Calgary.– Search word: Networking
Networking Secrets
• Motive
• Have a target
• Remember names
• Enter and exit conversations• Seven Second Sale (Roger Grant)
Seven Second Sale
Help small companies
outsell big companies
Networking Secrets
• Motive
• Have a target
• Remember names
• Enter and exit conversations• Seven Second Sale (Roger Grant)
• Have something in your back pocket
• DON’T MAKE THE #1 MISTAKE
ii) Publicity and Public Relations
Free Promotion
Public/Community Relations
• Useful if you want to develop relationships with the people in the community– develops awareness and goodwill
• Details/Guidelines• Sponsorship of local teams, involvement in a local
charity, awards, grants, etc.– there must be a measurable payback for any sponsorship
activity• Client/public feedback, media coverage, staff involvement, and
referrals
• Ensure you’re getting exposure for your • business
Giving Seminars/Lectures
• Giving seminars/lectures is useful if you have expertise that people want– you need to have credibility, experience and success
• Details/Guidelines• Can be through an association (regular meetings
or at an annual conference)– invitation letter
• No hard sell – must provide relevant information• Ask attendees to fill out a seminar • evaluation form
TV/Radio
• Radio/Television appearances are useful if you have expertise that people want– need to have credibility, experience, and success
• Details/Guidelines• Need to be a good speaker and be able to think
on your feet• Need to prepare in advance—know what’s
expected of you• You’re providing information, not selling
iii) Advertising
Use paid advertising to communicate with your audience
Yellow Pages
• A Yellow Pages ad is a basic requirement• Details/Guidelines• Deadline was May 21, 2004• Should track leads to determine effectiveness• 91% of people use the Yellow Pages within a 12 months period
– Basic ad – free with phone line – Bold ad – $15/month– Half inch
• black print is $28/month• colour is $42/month
– Display ad – 4 X 2½ inch• black print is $218/month• colour is $380/month
Yellow Pages Ad (cont.)
• What is the most critical part of your ad?– Its Headline
• “On average, five times as many people read the headlines as read the body copy. It follows that unless your headline sells your product, you have wasted 90% of your money.”
David Ogilvy
Newspaper
• Use newspaper ads to reach a mass audience with a fairly generic message
• Details/Guidelines• Position is very important• If possible, request an “up front” or a particular
section of the paper• Can use spot colour to stand out• Go to:
www.canada.com/calgary/calgaryherald/info/advertising.htm
Outdoor Advertising
• What does it include?• Billboards• Transit advertising• Bus shelters/building
Outdoor Advertising (cont.)• Transit Benches
– calgaryoutdoor.com• 2,200 benches
• 1 bench costs $85 (front face) for a four week period. Interior Transit
Cards– pattisonoutdoor.com
– 700 faces costs $7,720 for a four week period.
Outdoor Advertising (cont.)
• Billboard• pattisonoutdoor.com
– It costs $1,515 to display one vertical billboard in Calgary for 4 weeks.
– 11 faces cost $13,695 for 4 weeks (25 Daily GRP’s)
ii) Direct mail advertisingBypass the media – communicate directly with
potential customers
Direct Mail
• A direct mail strategy is useful when you know who your prospects are and have specific information – name, address, profile
• Details/Guidelines• At minimum, you need a covering letter,
an offer (reason to respond), a reply envelope, a reply card
• Your costs are: list rental, postage (outgoing and return), development and printing of the package
Flyers• Flyers can reach specific
areas of the city or groups of people– provide a more detailed
message
• Details/Guidelines• Can access business or
residential addresses• Need to invest in
developing creative layout
Newsletters• Newsletters are great when you have an
established client base• They can also be used as a prospecting
vehicle• Details/Guidelines• Should provide valuable information, but also
educate clients/prospects on your services• Use to build relationships with customers• The more targeted, the better
Events and Tradeshows• Tradeshows can generate leads and develop
awareness of your business• Details/Guidelines• Costs associated with shows (cost/benefit
analysis)• Need to have an eye catching booth/display
and lots of literature• Have a draw to acquire names/addresses• Establish objectives prior to tradeshow
Events and Tradeshows (cont.)
Go to: http://www.alberta- canada.com/statpub/busdev.cfm
Web site
• Use a Web site when you have a target market that is active on the Internet and shops there
• Details/Guidelines• Brochure site is ideal for most startups• Make sure that people accessing your site can
e-mail you• Keep your web site current (update it regularly)
to give people a reason to come back• Keep it simple and logical
Others
• Fax• Collateral materials• Press releases
iv) Sales promotion
Sales Promotion• Sales promotion can generate immediate traffic and sales• Need to have an established customer base or awareness to work• Effective for a new company• Details/Guidelines• Examples could include:
– Coupons– Samples– Contests– Trade show offerings– Specialty advertising (gifts for customers – pens, scratch pads, key
chains)
• Should be used infrequently so as not to “train” customers• Need to carefully monitor effect on costs, total sales
Step 3
• They should be:– logical– based on an analysis of your target market and your
objectives• Why did you choose them? Justify your selections.
Justify the promotional methods that you chose.
4. Budget
Step 4
Develop a realistic budget.
4. Budget• How much should your budget be?• $ you spend must return enough sales/profits to justify cost• Typical approaches
– Company goals• Examine your objectives/tactics and decide how much money you’ll
need– Think through the marketing plan– Estimate expenses
– Percentage of sales• Base budget on a percentage of current/projected sales• Fails to consider your company’s marketing goals
– Industry averages• Fails to consider your company’s marketing goals
– Forecasting• Use this technique to verify if your marketing budget makes sense
Budget (cont.)Jan. Feb. Mar. Total
Flyers Print/distribute 2,000 flyers
$400
Print/distribute 1,500 flyers
$300
$700
Business cards
Print 500 cards
$200
$200
Networking Attend relevant networking function
$75
$75
5. Time Frame
Step 5
Develop a realistic timeframe.
5. Timeframe
Deadlines are necessary to get things done.
Jan. Feb. Mar.
Flyers Print/distribute 2,000 flyers
Print/distribute 1,500 flyers
Business cards
Print 500 cards
Networking Attend relevant networking function
6. Evaluate
Step 6
• Is your promotional plan working?– Determine if objectives are being met to
assess effectiveness of plan.
Evaluate your promotional plan.
Activity
• Select one of your promotional materials (i.e. flyer, business card, poster, brochure, etc.) that you would like to have evaluated.
• In groups of two, discuss and evaluate each group member’s promotion piece.– What are the positive aspects of the promo piece?– What are the aspects of the promo piece that could be
changed/enhanced?– How effective is the promo piece?
• get attention• call to action• visual
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