Small Business Resource: Business Startup Skills

« Testimonials Tell It All | Main | Private Investigation Tip - Don't Be In A Hurry to Hire! »

April 17, 2007

Business Startup Skills - Marketing

The excerpt below is from a series of articles on business marketing ...

Having completed all of the initial legwork, you may be well on your way to building a successful new business. To ensure your success however, you need to take the time to make sure that your marketing and publicity efforts are not going to waste. You need to evaluate the effectiveness of your business marketing and advertising so that you can maintain the vital link between you and your customers.

New business owners must find alternative marketing channels, as television commercials and print ads are generally cost prohibitive. Fortunately myriad options exist, each with its own pros and cons.

Many companies use direct mail advertising and its email equivalent successfully. This type of advertisement can be guaranteed to get into the customer's hands (or email box), and may encourage a second look. However, this method has a number of potential drawbacks. First is the expense. Postal direct mail requires a heavy outlay of both money (paper, ink, stamps) and labor (printing, folding, stuffing, addressing). Electronic direct mail eliminates the monetary costs, but requires an equal amount of labor. Electronic direct mail has less chance of reaching the targeted consumer, however, due to Spam filtering in most email programs. Additionally, much direct mail of either type is simply trashed without the customer ever considering the offer. Due to the significant drawbacks, this type of advertising is not generally recommended for a new business.

Read the full article here: Small Business Advertising

Posted by David at April 17, 2007 3:31 PM