There’s a number of ways a small business can go about advertising their goods and services and a big range in the effectiveness of the different methods. This article will look at a few of the advertising methods a small business can use that are low in cost and bring clients to you.
Newspapers
Many newspapers (especially the local ones) have sections for trades and services in the classifieds section. For a small cost we get exposure to people who are looking for a local small business, right now. This information is found by people who don’t normally read the newspaper as well, and may have picked it up specifically to find your advertisement. Advertising in the non-classifieds section of the paper should be approached with more caution, as the readers can be of a different demographic and might not specifically looking for your services.
Flyer Drops
Flyer drops are a fairly cheap means of reaching customers in a certain area. Flyers do not need to be glossy or printed in colour to attract a persons attention. The right content, printed simply on an A5 piece of paper (an A4 sheet cut in half) is quite sufficient to get work. There are a number of methods for delivery. It’s probably better to have them inserted into a local paper if such a service exists, than to have them bundled with several other flyers and put into a mailbox. The best solution is to have the pamphlet inserted into a letterbox individually and not folded in with others, but this will cost more.
Yellow Pages
Many small businesses use this and loathe it, but can’t stop advertising here. The Yellow Pages sells advertising at fairly high prices and it doesn’t always deliver value for the money spent. At the same time, it’s almost a compulsory thing to put something more than a basic entry in the Yellow Pages (and the yellow pages online). If you throw a lot of money in, then you might just be enriching a company with a near monopoly. Use your own judgement on this one.
Television and Radio
If you have a bit more money available, TV and Radio would be worth considering. Radio moreso than TV. It’s cheaper and local radio is played constantly in many businesses. Be sure to look at the demographics of the radio station listeners carefully before spending a lot of money.
Online Business Directories
There are a number of free online business directories available for both clients and service providers to advertise for free or very low costs. These are great places to advertise your business because we are targeting customers who are searching specifically for you. There’s no logical reason not to use this method.
The final method is client referral. Do a good job and be sure to ask your clients to refer you to others. This method is one of the most effective and is completely free. Be sure to keep all your customers satisfied and the most powerful and free methods of advertising – word of mouth – will help to promote your business.
This information on business advertising was brought to you by Hirepulse, a leading Australian web-based service bringing service providers and their clients together. If you would like to read something different by us, with some tips to clean up the planet at your office, then check out – Clean Up the Planet With These Eco-friendly Office Tips.