| The research has been done and your head is | | | | can be effective, they're also painfully |
| aching from building an organizational chart | | | | commonplace, meaning that you'll need |
| and bare bones financial model of your first | | | | something that grabs an audience's attention |
| year in business. Now what? Now you plan how | | | | very effectively if you want to get anything |
| to market your start-up to your customers, | | | | for your advertising dollar. It will be a |
| the fifth and final step of a feasibility | | | | significant investment on your part to get a |
| analysis. | | | | radio advertising spot, and television even |
| | | | more so. |
| Those demographics you researched earlier are | | | | |
| going to become tremendously useful in this | | | | An effective commercial will be expensive, so |
| step. Further, the costs of marketing should | | | | make sure you do it right, no matter what |
| be factored into your financial planning in | | | | media you choose to use. Professional help in |
| step four. In this step though, the focus is | | | | making commercials will go a long way, unless |
| on how to market. | | | | you yourself are a professional. It need not |
| | | | be top-notch professionals, but some basic |
| No piece on marketing is complete without | | | | information will at least distinguish you |
| describing the advertising/marketing mediums | | | | from every other poorly-made local business |
| first. The first and perhaps most important | | | | commercial. |
| promoter is simple word of mouth. The easiest | | | | |
| way to win good press in this aspect is to | | | | Direct mail, wherein a business mails printed |
| please your customers. While it can make for | | | | advertisements to people directly, is another |
| a hard-to-ignore testimonial, word of mouth | | | | solid advertising medium. It can work wonders |
| can also be turned against a business. | | | | for small businesses catering to a local |
| | | | area, but it's also a scattershot approach, |
| A single disappointed customer will generally | | | | in that the advertising is being thrown |
| talk to more people about their | | | | around all over an area, with no certainty |
| disappointment rather than any good | | | | that it will strike a cord with even a single |
| experience they had. Unfortunately, there's | | | | customer. |
| no way to control word-of-mouth marketing | | | | |
| save for impersonating (or having someone | | | | As with electronic mediums, you'll need to be |
| else impersonate) an ordinary customer and | | | | clever about distinguishing your business' |
| painting a positive picture of your business. | | | | mail with the rest of the junk mail your |
| | | | intended audience gets on a daily basis. |
| Before the world started to swirl around | | | | |
| electronic media like television, radio, and | | | | Other than sinking more money into |
| especially the internet, the one standard for | | | | advertising than it earns back, the other |
| communication was the written word. While it | | | | major mistake of marketing is allowing your |
| is true that much electronic media has | | | | business to become over-exposed, so be |
| replaced some of the value of written media, | | | | careful how much you advertise. Additionally, |
| it is still the most affordable and easiest | | | | if you're clever about it, you can even get |
| way for you to get the word out about your | | | | yourself some free advertising. |
| business to a massive audience quickly. | | | | |
| | | | Once you've finished planning your marketing |
| Focus your efforts on specific publications | | | | and factoring it in to your financial |
| that are likely to be picked up by your | | | | planning, then you should have a pretty clear |
| potential customers. Focus on papers that | | | | idea of whether or not your business has a |
| deal with local affairs or trade specific | | | | chance of succeeding. If things look rosy for |
| journals. You want to view every person who | | | | your business, then you're on the right |
| picks up that advertisement as a potential | | | | track. If they look grim, remember that your |
| customer. | | | | plan can be changed to adapt, and that the |
| | | | right ideas can turn any business into a |
| Electronic mediums, such as radio and | | | | success. |
| television, are a tricky affair. Though they | | | | |