How to Promote a Business

Video Transcript

"So I'm here this morning to talk to you about how to promote a business. Now there is the old adage which I found to be true, fifty percent of marketing is a waste of time and money. Trouble is, you don't know which fifty percent it is. That's a real problem for any small business or any business that's involved in marketing. However, there are some things you can do, and in my book Sex, Leadership, and Rock 'n' Roll I've got a very simple model on how you can actually approach marketing communication. So starting with the model you really must make your message potent and simple. Keep it simple is the maxim for all messages. If you can't get your message down to a few simple words the perhaps you should try again. Just think about the example of Hoover, it beats, as it sweeps, as it cleans. Now that message is probably about seventy years old but some people, particularly people of my age still remember it. Secondly, you need to use the right messages for your business. If you have a small business the messenger could indeed be you but not all people who run businesses are really good at advertising. So you might choose someone around you that's really good at advertising that can expand your business in ways that reach customers. Of course it could be one of your existing customers, makes perhaps the best messenger. People believe people that have already experienced the service. If of course you've got a bigger business and you have the luxury of having a bit of a budget then of course you can invest in professional advertisers and speakers, and indeed even celebrities to advertise your business. But be careful that you don't end up advertising the celebrity rather than the business. In other words, if you're going to use an advertiser make sure that you've got a tight brief that represents your business and not everyone else's interests. Thirdly, the receivers, in other words the organs must be awake, alert and receptive. It's no good doing a fantastic marketing campaign if people are not awake or receiving that message in a way that meets their needs, and that really is about targeting your campaign towards that most predispose to want or need the service or product that you have. Finally, the channels. There are thousands of marketing channels. What do I mean by that? I don't mean television channels. I do mean things as simple as newspaper adverts, word of mouth, networking, the Internet, blogging, and other things, PR and other things. As well as advertising there is PR which is my favorite form of marketing. It can be very inexpensive to do and it can actually reach people in ways that advertising does not. If you're going to advertise you often need to do a campaign over time with public relations you can build up a reputation, get involved in writing articles for magazines or do a TV interview, and that can have just as big as an effect as a formal advertising campaign which you pay for. So my message is get your message right, get the right messengers, use the right channels, and use a range of channels to create your message and get to the people you want to reach. And make sure the segments and the receivers you want to target are awake and receptive to your message."