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One of the most overlooked and under-appreciated aspects of growing a business is the advertising plan. In today's marketplace people simply need continuous, prolonged exposure to your marketing/advertising in order to remember you. It's no coincidence that about 1 out of 2 new businesses fails in the first year or two and one out of two businesses refuses to advertise. While the failure to advertise properly is not the direct factor in all business failures, I think the statistics would show a significant co-relation.

A few advertising principles: 1) People need to be exposed to your ad on average 6-8 times before they make a decision to buy. 2) Most prospects (just like the rest of us) have the attention span of a gnat. With so much to keep on top of in today's world, you simply have to work just that much harder to be on their mind when they need you. Don't depend on word or mouth or referrals only. While valuable, they should not be the main hope of any business who's serious about generating new customers and retaining existing ones.

Why do you think companies like McDonald's and Pepsi spend millions of dollars a year on their advertising budgets? Is it because people don't know who they are? Of course not. It's because they know they have to continuously remind their customers of their presence just to keep their place in a competitive market. If you are in a very competitive business (and who isn't, really?) then you need to have that edge over the competition that makes you just a little more visible than them.

When making advertising purchases, one of the most important questions to ask is what is the Cost Per Thousand (CPM)? Also find out who the advertising will target. If it's not your likely customers, it won't work. Don't fall for an advertising program that promises to cost you ony a few hundred dollars but only gets your message out once or twice. Instead, look for the advertising program that will provide you with the most repetition, targeting and measurability that will make your advertising dollars go the farthest. A good advertising program should pay for itself in new business within 2-3 months if not sooner.

I can't agree with some of the information posted by JMCAUL. While "continous, prolonged exposure" is sometimes effective, there have been many high profile failures of businesses and products who attempted to build new brands via advertising. [Pets.com, for example. I could name others.] Often, prospects simply tune out. When was the last time you bought a product because you saw it advertised? How often does this happen? Using advertising to build a business is not only extremely expensive, it's extremely risky and best suited for companies with deep pockets. Public relations is a much better tool. As JMCAUL states, most prospects simply don't pay attention to advertising. I don't think a statistical examination of business failures would show any correlation between advertising and success. If there is a correlation, please show me. Cite some statistics or something. Advertising is not the same as promotion, just like price is not the same as cost.

What's most important to small business is continuous focus on the fundamentals. 1. Cash, 2. Expenses, 3. Management. Another disagreement I have with the information posted by JMCAUL is that it seems to say that a small business should behave like a big business. Small businesses are not big business and cannot behave similarly in most respects. That defies common sense. It's just a question of resources. Of course Burger King can afford to lose a couple of million dollars on an advertising campaign for a new product. Burger King is a large, resource laden company. Those are the rules of the road.

Memorability through differentiation involves having a product that is actually different or finding a way to create or foster that perception. Brand strategy for new products and services requires clarity and focus above all. It's very difficult to cram a complex idea into someone's head, just as it's difficult to get any idea into anyone's head if the concept is vague and poorly communicated. It's the equivalent of mumbling. Much better to use short, clear marketing communications to position your product or service. Mumbled marketing communications are doomed to failure. Complex marketing communications are doomed to failure. Why is this? Because most people won't pay attention.

Ramping up isn't a question of advertising. Ramping up is a question of scalability. Is your small enterprise scalable? By scalable, I mean production-wise, finance-wise, etc. You can only ramp up as far and as fast as you can scale. Ramping up has nothing to do with advertising at all. Does ramping up mean growing the business? That's definitely a question of scaling and operations, not advertising. Will advertising help anyone grow a business that isn't in a position to scale its operations? That's cart before horse in my opinion.

1. Using advertising to build a business is extremely expensive.
2. Most prospects tune out when faced with prolonged media exposure.
3. Numerous, high profile failures used this method. EX: Pets.com and most new products.
4. This approach is best suited for companies with deep pockets.
5. Show me a statistical correlation between advertising and business failure.
6. Advertising is not the same as promotion. It's one method of promotion.

1. Small business requires consistent focus on the fundamentals.
2. The fundamentals are A. Cash, 2. Expenses, 3. Management.
3. Small business is not big business. Question of resources.
4. Burger King can afford to lose millions on an advertising campaign.
5. Burger King is a large, resource-laden company.

1. Memorability through differentiation requires carefully crafted marketing communications.
2. Branding for new products requires intense focus and clarity.
3. Complex ideas are difficult to communicate.
4. Use short, clear marketing communications to position the product/service.

5. Ramping up isn't a question of advertising.
6. Ramping up is a question of scalability.
7. Scalability: production-wise, finance-wise, etc.
8. You can only ramp up as far or as fast as you can scale.

Uhhh-hh, Cookiemonster, you sure read alot into my post that simply was not there. First of all, the topic is "Ramping Up AWARENESS AND DEMAND", not simply "Ramping Up" which is what your post seems to address.

I don't have any facts or figures to directly tie refusal to advertise with business failures. Go back and read my post. I simply stated that roughly half of all businesses fail in the first two years and roughly the same percentage does not advertise. I explicitly stated that while it's not true that advertising was the deciding factor in all business failures, it's not unreasonable to see a possible co-relation.

I also was not suggesting that start-ups should try and match the advertising expenditures of Forture 500 companies. A start-up has to be smarter than that. There are many economic means of "Ramping Up Awareness and Demand" including certain advertising programs and Public Relations plans. The main point of my post was that start-ups should not underestimate the power of advertising to "Ramp Up Awareness and Demand" in their local area.

You also mis-quoted me that people tend to ignore advertising. What I said was that most people have the attention span of an gnat (myself included) and we need to have repeated exposure to an advertising message for it to take effect. I don't have the exact study that shows 6-8 repetitions are needed, but I have heard this figure quoted often from numerous authoritative sources including American Writers and Artist's Institute (affiliated with Agora publishing and Nightingale-Conant) While customers may not respond immediately, you are building a sub-conscious awareness of your business in them that is more likely to come to mind when they DO need your business than if you had not advertised.

Your post seems to pooh-pooh the effectiveness of a well-crafted and executed advertising program. If advertising didn't work as you seem to suggest, why is there so much of it?

I happen to know of hundreds of small local businesses who have used a particular, cost-effective method of local advertising with great success and have attested, in writing to it's effectiveness. These are not big multi-million dollar companies, but often, mom-and-pop shops with limited budget. Go ahead and try and tell them that advertising isn't a good investment!

Your website is really cute! I would move the four pictures (Order,Bake,Deliver,Enjoy) up on the page so that it's visible in the "top fold" (the part people see when they first navigate to your homepage).

You may also consider searching out Websites that specialize in Naturopathic Medicine that sell advertising on their websites when your budget allows for that. Some companies that specilize in helping to maximize online marketing efforts are: Internet Marketing Center of Blaine, WA http://www.marketingtips.com/ (they are not cheap, but they've basically written the book on online marketing) and also: SBI http://buildit.sitesell.com/main/home.html. Browse through their websites for a few weeks or months to get a feel for what they offer and what they cost. SBI may be the more economical in their approach. Although they sell a whole turnkey website and marketing approach, they also work with businesses who already have a website up and running.

Hope this helps!