Verbatim Services

Here are a few more ideas for getting the most out of your advertising dollars.

Determine who you’re trying to reach. You know you have something valuable to offer. Who most needs your services?

Even the biggest of the mega-companies don’t waste advertising on consumers who are outside of their target market. Take a look at the age range, gender, and income level of the people who are most likely to take advantage of the services that you have to offer. What do they read, where do they live, what other kinds of businesses do they buy from?

You may be wondering how you’re ever going to find out this information. Thanks to the power of the internet, you have access to literally millions of sales leads at your fingertips. Companies such as infoUSA.com or salesgenie.com can, for a fee, provide you with business and consumer data that has been broken down into any number of categories. Other companies such as marketresearch.com can supply you with ready-made reports containing all kinds of business and consumer data.

Now if you’re like me and want to start on a smaller scale, you can do a very simple thing that may be more suitable to your needs. Start listening to people! Be genuinely interested in their needs, hopes, and desires. Learn what makes them choose one product over another. Ask them why they would or wouldn’t be interested in the service that you have to offer. Remember, your purpose here is not to sell them on something, so make sure they know that the pressure is off when you’re asking these questions. Make it a conversation instead of a survey. People like to know that their concerns are heard. It may be that they’ll start asking you questions, and end up buying from you just because you cared enough to listen to them. If that happens, that’s great, but selling is not really your goal here. Your goal is to get to know your market from the ground up which, at least for your small business, may be the most effective means of all.

One of the biggest challenges that we as small business owners face is how to best spend our limited advertising dollars. Everywhere we look, we’re saturated with advertising, but—guess what—it’s expensive. What works for the mega-companies may not be the best option for us little guys. And a service business can be even more challenging than a retail business because, rather than offering a product, what you’re really selling is yourself, whether it’s your experience, your expertise, or your plain ol’ hard work.

Here are a few tips to help you reach your market on a minimal budget.

First of all, think of what makes your business unique. Sometimes your clients or colleagues may see this better than you do yourself. When they’re doling out the compliments about what you do, listen to what stands out to them. You may be taking your strengths for granted simply because that’s what comes naturally to you. But this quality that others notice may be the very thing that will help you stand out from your competitors and develop your position in the field.

After you’ve found some areas that you shine in, don’t be shy! Ask for feedback from the people you’re serving, and use their testimonials in your advertising copy. Knowing that others are satisfied with your work will give new customers the incentive to give you a try.

Now, when it comes time to market your business, think about what you want your potential customers to remember. For all the wonderful features of the service that you’re offering, it’s the benefits that your customers will receive that should stick in their minds.