For any new company, good marketing is essential. In most cases, they are up against established businesses. Firms and brands that people already know and trust.
Once a company has become established shoppers tend to think of them first when they want something. A fact that makes it incredibly difficult for a new business to make an impact, attract customers and make sales.
Using decent quality and effective advertising is the only way to get past this issue. It enables a company to catch the attention of potential customers and make them aware of their existence and what they have to offer.
Affordable yet effective advertising
But it needs to be the right type of advertising. It has to be affordable and easy to adapt and scale. All of the mediums discussed below tick both of those boxes.
To make it easier to read and digest we have split things up into two sections – physical advertising tools and online methods. Both of them work well for any kind of business.
They can be used by companies that sell services as well as those that offer physical products. Importantly, they are all effective for online retailers, as well as for bricks and mortar store owners.
Use physical advertising mediums that still work
Nobody should dismiss physical world advertising methods. Many modern entrepreneurs think of this approach as being old-fashioned and therefore ineffective. In reality, this is not the case. Even if you are only selling online, handing out leaflets and vouchers at a relevant event or venue can help you to get people to visit your site and buy.
Here are a few more examples of physical advertising products and methods that are well worth using.
Digital signs
In-store digital screens can easily be turned into amazingly effective advertising tools. Modern digital signage features make it possible to create and deploy unique ads that are designed to appeal to any kind of shopper. Importantly, what is being advertised can be changed in moments.
Enabling a fashion store to switch from sharing the details of their warm weather clothing offers to promote warm coats and umbrellas should the weather change and it starts to rain. Being able to focus and tailor advertising like this is an uncomplicated way to generate extra sales.
Targeted leafleting
You can also target your ads using flyers. For example, just before lunch, a café can send someone out to hand out lunchtime offers to office workers and families entering the shopping center.
On a sweltering day, the leaflets being handed out could offer a big discount on smoothies, milkshakes, or ice creams.
Online advertising
Any new business needs to have an online presence. It does not matter what products they sell or what services they offer, they need a website or at the very least a social media page.
This is because when someone needs something, the chances are they will do an online search. According to Retail Dive, 87% of shoppers begin the buying process by using Google.
It takes time for a website to rank in the search engines, so new businesses cannot rely on their web pages appearing high enough in the search results for people to click through to them. Therefore, they need to get creative and use other forms of online advertising. The list includes:
- Getting your GMB listing up and running asap
- Set up a Google Merchant account
- Advertise on free online classified sites like Craigslist
- Post on relevant social media sites
- Answer questions on relevant forums
- Tell local reporters about the opening of your business, sometimes they will write a story about you
Advertise using mediums that enable you to reach the right type of shopper
All of the above advertising mediums work particularly well for new businesses. They are all:
- Affordable
- Easy to set up
- Scalable
- Easy to adapt
But that does not mean that a new business should automatically employ all of the above methods. Which they choose to use depends on the type of people they are trying to reach.
For example, it would be pointless for a company that sells clothes for young people to advertise in the local free papers. Studies show that the median age of newspaper readers, in the USA, is now 55.8. Not the right age group at all for a small youth clothing retailer. For them, focusing on social media first makes a lot more sense.
Talking to others who have recently opened a similar business to yours is always worth doing. You can learn a lot including what type of advertising works and what does not.