Business Question for Tom: When Should a New Business Begin Advertising?
Listener's Question for Tom:
Hi Tom,
I am reading your articles on your website. I just love your articles... well written, knowledgeable, informative. Tom, I want to know, is it necessary to do advertising, promotion at the inception of the company? Or, afterwards, when the company starts making profits???
Thanks
Tom’s Answer:
Advertising and promotion depend on a couple of things.
First, what do you want to accomplish?
For example, you might want to advertise from day one to build your brand name. Or, you might build your business slowly, by word of mouth. Using that method, you can create an advertising message based on the needs of those customers currently doing business with you. This is helpful in reducing the amount of advertising testing you might need.
How you answer these two questions depends on your target market. What are they looking for? How do they benefit from doing business with you?
You can build your business faster by advertising, as long as you are advertising to the right people. Advertising must always be an investment; it can never be an expense. It must pay for itself over time. And, it takes time for advertising to work for a new business. People need to hear your name several times before they begin to notice you and to become confident in doing business with you.
Here are some additional articles that might help you out:
Hope that helps to get you started. If you would like to give me more specifics about your business perhaps I could give your other tips.
Thanks for the email,
Good Luck