PROMOTING YOUR SMALL BUSINESS

1. PROMOTING YOUR SMALL BUSINESS Presented by: Craig Elias

2. Objective • To provide specific guidelines that will enable you to begin promoting your business as easily and as inexpensively as possible.

3. Agenda • Basic promotional concepts • Developing a promotional strategy • Evaluation of your promotional materials

4. What is Promotion? • Promotion is a means of communication between a buyer and a seller

5. Promotion • What does promotion include? • everything you do to sell your product or service

6. Encoding Decoding * * * * * Source Message Medium Audience * * * * * Feedback * * * * Noise * * Channel of Communication For an entrepreneur, correctly targeting a responsive audience is a process of trial and error

7. Audience Size Advertising High A combination of advertising, personal selling, and other types of promotion Message Flexibility Personal Selling Low Low High Types of Promotion

8. Decision Making Model • Most potential buyers follows this decision making model: • Awareness • Interest • Desire • Action • Your promotional material should reflect these steps

9. The Six Steps to an Effective Promotional Strategy

10. Promotional Strategy’s Six Steps To develop your promotional strategy, address these six steps: • Audience • Objectives • Promotional Methods • Budget • Timeframe • Evaluate

11. 1. Audience

12. Step 1 Define who your audience is.

13. 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

14. 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

15. 2. Objectives

16. Step 2 Define your objectives.

17. 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

18. Objectives (cont.) • Objectives should be: • be clear; • be measurable; and • have a stated timeframe.

19. Objectives (cont.)

20. Objectives (cont.)

21. 3. Promotional Methods

22. 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

23. 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 Dos and Don’ts of Creative Advertising

24. 3. Promotional Methods • Promotional methods you will employ to accomplish your strategy • Choose your media based on how they achieve your objectives

25. The most important element of promotion i) Personal Selling

26. 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

27. 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

28. Networking Secrets • Motive • Have a target • Remember names • Enter and exit conversations • Seven Second Sale (Roger Grant)

29. Seven Second Sale Help small companies outsell big companies

30. 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

31. Free Promotion ii) Publicity and Public Relations

32. 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

33. 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

34. 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

35. Use paid advertising to communicate with your audience iii) Advertising

36. 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

37. 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

38. 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

39. Outdoor Advertising • What does it include? • Billboards • Transit advertising • Bus shelters/building

40. Transit Benches calgaryoutdoor.com 2,200 benches 1 bench costs $85 (front face) for a four week period. Outdoor Advertising (cont.) • Interior Transit Cards • pattisonoutdoor.com • 700 faces costs $7,720 for a four week period.

41. 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)

42. ii) Direct mail advertising Bypass the media – communicate directly with potential customers

43. 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

44. 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 Flyers

45. 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

46. 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

47. Events and Tradeshows (cont.) Go to: http://www.alberta-canada.com/statpub/busdev.cfm

48. 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

49. Others • Fax • Collateral materials • Press releases

50. iv) Sales promotion