Five FREE (or Almost Free) Ways to Promote Your Business
By Barbara BurbidgeThe Burbidge Company

OK, so you've chosen the right franchise, found a great location, and opened for business. Now it's time to start attracting customers.

Naturally, you'll want to develop a long-term, comprehensive marketing and advertising plan. The plan will help guide your allocation of advertising funds, function as a barometer for success and act as dynamic leverage with bankers, vendors and other business relationships. However, there are several activities you can do every day to support your marketing plan and help extend your advertising dollars. Here are some easily executed ideas that can help build your business fast.

Always accept coupons from your competitors. How often has someone wandered into your store and produced a coupon from a competitor? Rather than explaining he's come to the wrong store, let him know he's in the right store by eagerly honoring the coupon. By doing this, you take advantage of the chance to introduce your service to a new customer while giving him a reason not to visit your competitor. You also position yourself as a merchant who welcomes new customers and is genuinely interested in earning their business. Don't forget to give these customers one of your discount coupons and business cards, and remind them to return.

Wear your nametag everywhere you go. Like most business owners, you probably spend time away from your place of business during the day: getting that much-needed cup of morning coffee, buying office supplies, meeting suppliers at lunch and depositing funds at your bank. When you're away, let your nametag be a free ad for you and your business. A plus: wearing your nametag while visiting other places of business lets your fellow business owners know you patronize local businesses, and invites them to patronize yours.

Give all your employees business cards. Remember how good it felt when you got your first set of business cards? You couldn't wait to hand them to everyone you knew. Take advantage of this feeling of pride by making sure each of your employees-even part-timers-receive a number of personalized business cards. Encourage them to hand the cards to everyone they encounter: friends, family and other business owners. In addition to making your employees feel like they're part of the team, this is another inexpensive way to get your business's name out in the community.

Always ask customers how they heard of your business. Too often business owners have no real idea of the effectiveness of their advertising and other promotional efforts. To help you know which are working, be sure to ask customers how they heard of your business. Keep a tally sheet that lists everything you do to promote your business at each of your cash registers, by the telephones, and at other locations where employees have contact with customers. Train your employees to ask customers where they heard of your business, and to mark that information on the tally sheet. At the end of every month, total the results and use them to help guide your advertising decisions.

Conduct casual surveys often. Asking customers for feedback makes them feel important and lets them know their opinions are valued. One way to accomplish this is to create a simple three to five question "survey of the month" asking for input on business hours, product offerings, new services wanted, etc. If you have a e-mail or standard mailing list of customers, send the survey to them and ask them to drop their completed survey the next time they visit. Another way to get input is to have your employees ask customers for their answers during the sales process. At the end of each month, calculate the results and publish them in your store. And, when you implement one the suggestions you receive, be sure to let your customers know their ideas helped improve the way you do business.

As you can see, with a little thought and effort, it's easy to extend your advertising dollars. Once you've implemented these tips, you can probably think of other ideas that can help you get your business off to a good start.

Reach Barbara at her Web site: www.theburbidgecompany.com, via e-mail: barbara@theburbidgecompany.com , or by phone: 760-747-9011.