The old adage that it takes money to make money is an overstatement when it comes to advertising and PR for your business. With patience, creativity, and strategy, the clever business owner can greatly increase their market share with minimal cost.
The first thing to do is to determine your target audience. Aim your efforts at the people who use your product or service. If you sell motorcycles, you would probably want to avoid marketing to grade school children and their mothers for instance.
Specificity is helpful when you are determining your target audience. Suppose you own a children’s toy store. You will want to start with the most obvious component of your audience children.
Once you have narrowed down to your overall target audience, try to narrow further still. If you have a women’s shoe store, do you sell dress shoes or athletic shoes, or both? Do you specialize in a subgroup of your wider audience? If so, be sure to concentrate your efforts in reaching this subgroup.
Take this a step further and ask: where do members of my target audience come to do business with me? Are you an online retailer, selling via the Web? Are you an artisan who specializes in selling at art fairs and shows? Are you a businessperson who has a brick-and-mortar presence in the neighborhood? Knowing this information will help you determine where to advertise, and is a critical element in targeting your efforts.
Don’t waste your money and effort with scattershot marketing. The owner of a clothing store catering to older professional women will not want to take out advertising space in teen-oriented publications, for example. Always remember: go where your audience is.
Simple exposure is not enough. You need to convince a potential customer to come to your store, before they can become a customer. If you include a coupon or special offer in your advertising, this helps to encourage a potential customer to come check out your goods and services. Even a simple black-and-white coupon is sufficient for this purpose.
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