Just because you have an on line business does not mean you cannot market yourself locally off line. If you gain the attention of local off line customers then more then likely the attention of the non local off line customers will follow. If you do not have a great presence on line it may be a direct result of not promoting yourself off line. In this article we give you a list of the best practices on how to properly market your company locally and off line.
Off line marketing is a great resource to get people who are genuinely interested in your business to visit your website. This kind of marketing includes flyers, radio, TV and newspaper ads, business card distribution, etc. Most of these services require you to pay money, but to make money....sometimes you have to spend money.
We include some of our personal experiences with local but yours may differ, but we hope that this article gives your business a jump start with the off li ne local customers.
Business Cards
Getting your business out there can be as easy as giving everyone and anyone your business card. I usually stop at my favorite restaurants and some places I pay my bills and ask if I can drop off a few cards. Most places are happy to let you put some cards on their register or desk. If your card is creative enough you can gain attention just for the design.
TV Advertisement
TV advertising is one of the most expensive ways to advertise, but you reach the most people at one time who have nothing better to do then watch the TV. Around here a 30 second spot during the local news will run about $400 a pop. Here are a few tips in advertising on the TV:
* Make sure your target demographic is actually seeing the spot, don't advertise toys during the news and vice versa. Keep the viewer in mind
* Most times the station can produce the spot, but your best best is to get a local freelancer to do it, the costs may be lower
* Get people to view the spot before you go live, get friends and family to give you their ideas about improvement
* Don't advertise the same spot if you see no results, only get more spots if you first ad runs well....don't dig a hole you shouldn't have
Flyers
As annoying as a flyer is to me I always look at them to see what someone is advertising, and I am assuming most people look at them as well. Flyers can be effective if you do it right. Try not to be spammy or over advertise your services. If the flyer is elegant but gets your point across then the target audience is more likely to not just throw it away. Also, DO NOT send out a flyer ad everyday as it will just piss people off....for example a certain supervisor running for office around here left a flyer in my mailbox and on my door every other day. I think I will vote for the other guy just out of spite.
Spend one weekend every few months putting flyers on businesses doorsteps and on car windshields (not in mailboxes, as that is against the law). Keep it simple, and maybe someone will bite.
Newspaper Advertisement
Although the newspaper is dying since the arrival of the internet, but you can still get exposure since some people still get their morning fix with the local newspaper. If you live in a small town like I do then most likely a full page ad will run you around $1000. Of course this is just an estimate, it may be different where you live. Here are some of the tips we have for advertising in the local newspaper:
* Keep the ad placement in the same area, so just in case you caught their eye in last weeks paper they will know where to find you next time
* Run for at least 2 months before you see results
* If you can't afford the big ad placement try to make customer familiar with your brand by running the same small ad over and over again, sometimes you may see an increase in sells because they recognize your brand
* Try not to change your ad to much or the customers may lose the familiarity they had with you
* People read the paper on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays to plan their week, keep that in mind when you advertise a new product
Hopefully if you keep those simple things in mind your newspaper advertisement will generate plenty of leads to make up for the fees the newspaper will get from you.
Do A Q&A For Your Product With The Local Paper
This one is a tough thing to accomplish unless you know a lot about your field and you have something interesting to say. Go to your local paper's website and email a writer and ask them how you can get featured in an article.
Greeting Cards
One thing that I do, that my clients like, is every Christmas I send Christmas cards to them. I personally write them a thank you letter for being a valued customer and I always offer my services if they need it in the future. This is a simple, inexpensive way to remind your clients that you exist. A little can go a long way in this case.
评论