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Points of Influence

20 Influential Points for a Maximized YOU

Advertising for the Small Business

1.  Advertising is the process of communicating how your product and service satisfies a consumer's need.  Advertising is an aspect of marketing.  Marketing goes beyond advertising in that it involves the process of identifying what the consumer's needs are.

2.  In today's constantly changing market environment, it is necessary to have both a product and a service.  Consumer needs are better met with complimentary products and services.

3.  No amount of advertising will work if you fail to keep your word.  You must meet and exceed the expectations you create through your advertising efforts.

4.  Word of mouth is still the No. 1 advertising tool available for small businesses.  Utilize it well.

5.  Family members are oftentimes an underutilized advertising resource.  Are your closest loved ones enthusiastically talking about your company, product, and service?

6.  Utilize only those family members who understand your passion, product and service.  The enthusiasm of only one family member will more than balance the unwillingness and disinterest of other loved ones.

7.  Your friends are also an underutilized advertising resource.  Do your friends understand your passion, product, and service? If not, your failing to communicate to your own hurt.  If you don't talk about your company, who will?

8.  Research shows consumers must hear a message a minimum of seven times in order to remember it.  The point: the most effective advertising message is communicated for an extended period of time. Continuing to change your advertising message only confuses customers. Confused customers do not spend money.

9.  It is essential to identify your Target Consumer Group.  You cannot know what need or needs you will satisfy -- or how you will satisfy them -- until you know whose needs they are.

10. The clear, consistent, and simple communication of your company's mission statement is an excellent advertising tool.

11. Mission Statements are for customers, therefore -- for the sake of memory -- they should be no longer than one sentence.

12. Community involvement is another underutilized advertising tool.  Efforts to show the relevance of your company in the surrounding communities through consistent community action will be rewarded with customers. How are you communicating your company's importance in your community?

13. The following are examples of community involvement: public displays of various sorts, informal and formal community gatherings, compassionate involvement with individuals of the community, tackling the difficult issues of a community, and being a voice against injustice in the local community.  Such consistent actions will be rewarded with willing customers.

14. Empowered employees are another underutilized advertising tool. Your employees talk about your company.  Do you know what they're saying?

15. You must saturate your geographical market place -- that place immediately surrounding your place of business -- with your advertising efforts.

16. The following questions will help you determine whether you have saturated your geographical market place:

A. Do the residents surrounding your place of business know your company, product, service, and mission statement?

B. Do you personally know and have on file the names of the residents and business owners most closest to you? (A minimum of 20 each)

C. Do the other businesses in your market place know you personally, your company, product, service, and mission statement?

D. Do consumers naturally identify your city with your business?  For example, "Oh, Detroit. I know Detroit, that's where So-and-So company is."

17. An easily remembered and idenfifiable logo is another underutilized advertising tool.

18. To fully realize your advertising potential, you must partner with like-minded businesses.  What unites this partnership? The desire to make a difference and a profit.

19. Giving away valuable freebies to your Target Consumer Group is another underutilized advertising tool.

20. Small business owners should have an advertising mentor.  Who is your advertising mentor?

Other Points of Influence

Public Speaking

Fatherhood

Leadership

On Being a Husband

Motherhood

On Being a Creator

On the Art of Receiving

Points of Influence may be used or reproduced in any manner as long as Max-Influence.com is referenced as the source.  Maximizing YOUR Influence is Our Goal!