Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

There is a rule of 7 when it comes to advertising your small business, locally and especially if your business is location based.  Most small business owners see the cost of advertising in local magazines as a death threat to their advertising budget but it does not have to be.  Rule of thumb: consider your target market are not the brightest group of people. Why is that, because most people are attracted to what they see often and what they are used to.  Do not assume they are smart. For example: if your location is hard to spot visibly, make sure your map is idiot proof; if not, you could lose a potential customer from their frustration in finding your place of business.

Now, what is the rule of 7? Consumers need to see an advertisement at least 7 times in order to remember your business. Take the statistic that most people only retain about 10-20% of what they learn the first time, information retention increases the second time and so forth.  Advertising on a consistent basis, weekly, monthly, quarterly, is key.  But also keeping your message consistent is important as well. There's nothing wrong with changing minor discount or promotion but keep your logo, theme, the same.  If you advertise consistently but keep changing your company logo and theme, consumers would not have the opportunity to become familiar with your business.  Let's say you take the same route to work every day, after awhile, you're familiar with the route and don't need to pay attention to the streets signs, so if the street name (your promotion offered) were changed, you would still know where to go. Now if the street itself were to change with new trees, plants, color, change in roads, detour, building; all of these consistently changing all the time, you would be lost (there are people with no sense of direction, consider that as your group of not the brightest bunch consumers).

These are some tips I have learned throughout the years. I owned a small business previous to my current position, for over 10 years.  And have been in the service industry concurrently as well.  Ask me for service tips if you would like some thought, my vision has always been optimistic and logical.