By John M. BetanCourt

Steps You Can Take To Save Money When Advertising Your Small Business

Marketing your business to the general public is no easy task, especially defining your targeted market.  Your targeted market should be the individuals who are most likely to need what your business has to offer.  For instance, if you run a professional resume writing business, you will want to target those who are currently unemployed or those who are looking for jobs.  As important as advertising is, it can sometimes get time consuming and costly. The costly part is what often causes many small business owners to cringe.  The good news is that there are a number of different ways that you can go about advertising your small business without having to spend more money than you need too.

One of the best advertising methods that most fail to realize the importance of word of mouth.  In today’s real world, many consumers like giving a company feedback or ratings, literally or figuratively. That is why many consumers tell their friends when they find a new professional service or store; one that is worth visiting, or a service company that gives good customer service. They will also tell their friends of a bad experience.  You should never underestimate the power of the customers that you already have.  Not only will keeping your current customers happy increase the chances of them coming back again, it also increases the chances of them recommending your business to those that they know.

Another easy and relatively cheap way that you can go about advertising your small business to your targeted market is by carefully choosing where you choose to advertise your business. For example running you may want to think about distributing flyers or business cards to local coffee shops or college campuses.  The same can be done for other types of businesses. For instance, if you run a carpet cleaning business, you can advertise your business in local carpet stores, medical offices property managers. Of course, you will need to get permission from other businesses before placing your business cards or flyers on their properties, but you may find that most are willing to assist you.  In fact, you may even want to think about doing a flyer or business card swap.

In addition to handing out traditional business cards or flyers, you may also want to think about giving away free coupons.  There are many consumers these days looking for bargains and coupons are well-recognized for money saving Bargains. Offer free stuff, even if it is only a few coupons buy one get one free.  When a customer has a money saving coupon, they are more likely to buy what you are selling, whether it is a product or a service these are great tools.  If you are trying to target a specific group of individuals, like your targeted market, you may want to carefully choose how you distribute your coupons and how much in savings you give away.  If you are just trying to generate as many sales as possible or create a “buzz,” you may want to think about contacting one of your local newspapers to put coupons inside their paper. Your local Yellow Pages also Has coupon section.

 
During these inflationary times there are many consumers who love free stuff, even if it is just coupons.  For instance, you may want to think about holding a contest or a drawing for your customers.  For instance, if you own a carpet cleaning business, you may want to think about a bottle of free spot remover, 20 percent discount on the next visit. Maybe allow each of your customers, the ones who make a purchase, to enter into your contest.  If the prize is nice enough, customer’s friends may buy something just to get entered into the contest.  Hosting a contest is a great way to generate sales and business “buzz.”

 
These approaches are just a few of the many low-cost, affordable ways that you can go about advertising your business to the general public or even just to your targeted market.  The decision as to whether or not you want to use any of the above mentioned methods is yours to make, but they are at least worth looking into.

Information brought to you by the cleaning professionals at FRESHX selective cleaning teams. Monterey County, San Benito County, Santa Cruz County, Santa Clara County and the greater Fresno County.

Call Today A FRESHX Professional for all Your Cleaning Needs 1.800.373.7491

www.freshxpros.com   Medical Facility, Schools Janitorial Cleaning

www.thecleanairpeople.com Commercial and Residential Air duct cleaning

www.realtimecustomers.com Avoiding the Pitfalls of Starting a Business

www.wisemenseekGod.com  Daily devotions and Bible stories