Advertising: Google Ads, SEO, newspaper, radio? – Starting your own business Part 10

Advertising makes brands known! The quote from Henry Ford fits perfectly here again, “with every dollar you put into your product, you have to have another one ready to make the product known”. Advertising and marketing is the central means to generate buyers. More reach, new customers, more sales, more investment. The classic path of a well-functioning advertising campaign is exactly the same. The better your campaign is planned and the better it is tailored to the target group you are analysing, the more response you will get to an ad.

Advertising: Making products and services known

The big question now is how do customers learn about your product or service? The possibilities are extremely diverse, from classic flyers, YouTube advertising, poster campaigns on citylights to classic letter items. But which method and strategy is the most effective for you to generate more reach?

Before we take a detailed look at the individual methods, here are the two central questions on the point of advertising:

1. How do your customers find out about your product / service?
2. What advertising do you plan when?
   → There are hundreds of options
   Flyer: 54 Euro
   Mirror print advertisement: 25.000 Euro (1 page)
   Google Ads: 3,14 Euro per click
   City Lights: 80,000 euros for 4 weeks / 1 city
   SEO advertising agency: 120.000 Euro
   …

How extensive advertising can be! Accordingly, you need to choose strategies that fit your budget. In the next chapter we will look at how exactly the individual advertising measures work and function.

Goal: increase reach, increase awareness

Winning customers is the never-ending-story of every company. Growth is, of course, the ultimate goal. Once the market is saturated, it becomes horizontal or vertical in breadth, with product extensions and completely new product innovations. Good to see at the world’s most valuable company that has conquered the world with smartphones, previously a portable MP3 player, before with computers. Today there are tablets, matching headphones but also accessories for the technical devices. Accordingly, the customer group is constantly being expanded. In addition, there are old appliances that are offered at lower prices and the customer group is being expanded. So you are permanently in a process of customer acquisition.

Awareness takes time: How long does advertising take?

In the beginning it is of course more difficult, because first you have to be convinced of the new brand or the new product. Anyone who already owns a similar product must not only be convinced by the new brand, but also by changing. After all, we humans like habits and are reluctant to change them as long as they do not negatively influence us. Accordingly, a strategy must be found that ensures sufficient range, one-time contacts but also recurring contacts. Because in particular frequent naming, ensures that marks remain in the memory.

Medium and advertising channel: Differences

However, depending on the medium and advertising channel, the prices vary extremely. In addition, you must distinguish between paid range and organic range. Paid reach is available overnight, but not sustainably and with each new contact, associated with new costs. Organic reach, e.g. through search engine optimization or community building in social networks, lasts longer, but provides accordingly sustainable reach and visitors.

Then there are not only the numerous new media, but of course also the classic advertising channels, from mailings to sales promotion through documents, image brochures and sales representatives. Let’s take a closer look at the various possibilities that are available today in the field of advertising. Here is an initial overview of the various customer acquisition instruments:

1. Media advertising
2. Trade fairs, presentations, conferences and congresses
3. Information, training, trade advertising
4. Sales talk
5. Mailing, Throws
6. Telephone calls
7. Sales promotion, sales documents
8. Merchandising
9. Promotions, discounts, special offers
10. Exclusive offers
11. Additional services
12. Guarantees, Service
13. Internet
14. Social Media Marketing
15. …

Customer care in the business plan

How do you get across in your business plan that you not only reach your customers once, but ideally can show more frequent contacts?

Ideally, you will need regular customers, i.e. people who access your product more frequently. So in this aspect, think about how you can give customers an added value that keeps them with you as a brand, product or service. These include, for example, the above-mentioned additional services or the Extra Guarantee and Extra Services. But it also includes a sensible product extension, so that the right accessories are always available. No matter what the subject, interior design and living, trend products and fashions, Auto & Tuning or even hotels and restaurants. In all areas, useful additional services can be found that turn customers into regular customers.

Subsequent bookings make a lot of work easier and of course save a lot of media budget. Because no investment has to be made for the renewed purchase. This also pleases bankers and investors.

Recommendation Marketing: Actively Obtain Ratings

Tip! Actively obtain ratings. Write to customers, three to five days after the purchase, and ask them for their opinion. Ideally with a link to a relevant rating portal. For Amazon buyers this means Amazon, of course, and for many others Google and Facebook. A positive rating (recommendation marketing) is extremely efficient. In addition, the customer feels valued by the demand and is reminded again of your brand.

Exclusive offers

If we think further, such customer loyalty naturally also leads to further investments for public relations, e.g. events. Many companies hold regular events to attract audiences (and regular customers). The event in the fashion boutique, the training event of the handicraft producer or also the trainee and job event of the local energy supplier. Such strategies can also be used to retain customers. Here we are again at the marketing tool “Exclusive Offers”.

Take care of long-term business relationships and show in your business plan how you will do this strategically.

1. Reward for loyalty
2. Reward for recommendation
3. Demand

Guideline: Setting up your own business & business plan

You want to start your own business as a real estate agent or with another business idea? We support you with tips on your business plan and concept. Whether self-employed full-time or part-time self-employed: If you want to set up your own company, you have to think about a lot, in advance and in the operative business. From the right idea to health insurance – what needs to be considered if you want to become self-employed?

There is no training or further education for entrepreneurs. Managing director is you or not. Your own ambition is always important, because this is the only way to improve, every day.

The topics at a glance: