Now that your business is in full swing, it’s time to get busy letting the rest of the world know. One of the unfortunate realities in business is that one in five of them will fail within a year of opening, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. There are many reasons for this, but clearly you can’t thrive without customers.
After getting this far in our guide, you understand the challenges you face. Give yourself every chance to succeed by doing all you can to let everyone know who you are and what you can do for them.
Once you overcome those initial startup challenges, shift your attention to building an audience and customer base. Here are some suggested steps to take:
Image is Everything
As soon as you name your company, you should be thinking about how you will represent it. You need a high-quality logo for your website, business cards, letterhead, advertising, signage, boxes, billboards, bags, receipts, etc. This logo should be visually appealing and memorable. But it also needs to be different enough from other logos to set it apart. There are many ways to cut corners during the early days of your business. But this isn’t one of them. Find a seasoned and professional graphic designer for this critical piece of art, even if it means paying a premium. This is, after all, your company’s public face.
Media Choices Matter
An enormous challenge for every business is figuring out which advertising vehicle will get you closest to your customers. You can’t be everywhere. Even highly successful businesses with years of experience make tough decisions. For a starting point, let’s explore a couple broad categories for advertising, and various options within those groups. It’s up to you to figure out which mix will be best for you.
DIGITAL MEDIA
Company website: Your website represents the online face of your business. Consider it mandatory since this is one of the first places today’s customers will go to learn about your products and services. Integrating Search Engine Optimization (SEO) into your website will increase visibility, give you higher rankings in search results, and ultimately, more traffic. Also, be sure that your site is both desktop and mobile-friendly as mobile devices account for approximately 60-63% of global web traffic.
Email marketing: This continues to be a powerful and effective tool for all businesses, offering an efficient way to distribute promotions, newsletters and coupons. Just be sure that you abide by the CAN-SPAM Act to avoid the risk of hefty fines.
Social media: Sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube can be used to build a fan base and help you communicate with customers. Be careful, however. These sites can be time sinks if you try to respond to every comment or question. Set limits on your social media involvement and consider having a social media specialist on your staff.
Start a podcast: A podcast can be an excellent way to demonstrate your expertise, discuss industry trends and grab the attention of potential customers. The best podcasts offer strong audio quality, unique content and a way for your audience to interact with you.
Review sites: There is nothing better than seeing your company get positive recognition from customer review-based web sites. And the exact opposite is true if the reviews aren’t kind. You will need to develop a strategy for how to deal with negative reviews — one that doesn’t involve you arguing publicly with unhappy customers. Among the sites to consider: Google Business Profile, Amazon, Facebook, Yelp, TripAdvisor and Angi.
TRADITIONAL MEDIA
Newspapers: Options range from large- and small-circulation daily newspapers to weeklies and shopper publications.The challenge is choosing only those that will effectively reach your target audience.
Magazines: These tend to be more targeted and costly than newspapers. Examine circulation numbers and reader demographics to find the publication that matches your target market.
Television: Cost per customer can be steep, but the medium provides excellent product promotion both visually and audibly.
Radio: You get benefits similar to television but at less cost. The varied format/programming also makes it easier to reach your target audience.
Direct mail: Sending brochures, flyers, newsletters, postcards and coupons directly to consumers’ mailboxes can be effective if the recipient takes time to read them.
Outdoor advertising: Billboards, transit advertising and signs at your business must be attractive and readable since exposure time is usually short.
Specialty advertising: Giveaways such as pens, pads, mugs, caps and t-shirts with your company name/logo can be expensive. But these items are often kept and worn if they are of good quality. Giveaways can also represent an opportunity collect customer information (including email addresses) — in exchange for your freebies.
Reputation Matters
Here’s a bit of good news. One of the most effective forms of advertising — word of mouth — won’t cost you a dime. Yet it can seriously impact your bottom line. That is why it is so important to manage customer relationships. Unhappy customers are likely to share their experiences with twice as many friends as customers who’ve had a positive consumer experience. And social media makes it very easy for them to do so in big ways.
Three Steps to Keeping Customers Happy:
- Listen to what your customers are saying.
- If you make a mistake, be happy to fix it.
- Strive to provide such a high level of service that your customers have no reason to complain.
Is Advertising Worth Your Time and Money?
You would not have started your business if you didn’t think people would buy your service or product. Unfortunately, it takes more than your passion and confidence to grow a successful business. Nobody is going to purchase your product or service if they don’t know you exist.
You just have to be smart and make sure you use your resources wisely. This will be easier if you learn as much as possible about your customers. Where they live? Where they like to shop? Where they gather? Where are you likely to find them online? The more you know about them, the better your chances of picking the advertising tool that’s going to reach their eyes or ears.
So, the short answer to the question: Yes