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Promotional Tools
Before you can successfully market your business to your target demographic, you need to understand all the different tools in your communication arsenal.
Marketing: Any direct communication with customers or potential customers. Marketing is relationship building. It includes mailings, e-mails, phone calls, and client lunches and meetings.
Advertising: Mass media circulation of a message. A new business often relies on mass advertising to effectively get the company's name out there. The demographic of a target market determines how and where an ad is placed.
Public Relations: Anything a company does in the community to build a general awareness of the business. It's a way to develop a public persona and differentiate a company from others in the same industry. This can include a company open house, a store grand-opening celebration, a charity fundraiser, or a golf outing.
Media Relations: Building relationships with local media. Whether it's being quoted or used as a source in a story or sending press releases to media outlets about upcoming events, products or promotions, communication with the media is an important part of getting a company's name out to the public. |
Dorene White doesn’t sell just sofas and armchairs. She sells a culture.
"We wanted to have a store culture here," says the owner of Cottonwood, an upscale furniture store in Chagrin Falls. "A place where people would want to shop and even hang out."
Staffed with friendly employees who take the time to get to know customers, Cottonwood’s bright and open store creates a personal connection that makes furniture shopping as non-intimidating as it could possibly be.
"Our store creates that homey feel people are looking for," White says.
White aimed for that atmosphere to be the benchmark of the store. To do so, she had to communicate that message to potential customers in her marketing efforts.
Creating a marketing strategy is one of the most daunting tasks new business owners face. How do you bring the strongest aspects of your business to the attention of your target customers? How do you get the right people to notice you?
"Contacting [customers] directly has really worked for us," White says. Cottonwood sends numerous mailings throughout the year, including newsletters, postcards and flyers advertising the store’s promotions. The store also works with mail houses to get the addresses of potential customers who have recently bought or renovated a home.
"We also are taking advantage of the Internet because that’s where our people are," White says. The Cottonwood Web site (www.cottonwoodfurniture.com) is updated every week, highlighting new products.
White’s marketing of the Cottonwood culture has paid off. The store has enjoyed an average 25 percent annual growth since opening in 1998 and recently the store expanded to twice its original size.
White maintains that the success is due to the marketing of not only the store itself, but of the comfortable atmosphere the business creates, a strength that remains Cottonwood’s most marketable product.
Entrepreneurs should follow White’s lead by carefully looking both at the market they wish to target and their own strengths, says Nicki Artese of Artese Communications, a business consulting firm based in University Heights.
"The first thing you have to do is define your target market," Artese says. "Some customers come in not even knowing who they are trying to reach."
Aspiring entrepreneurs should define that target market by where the greatest demand exists and, most importantly, by what market is best served by the company’s strengths. Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of focusing on too broad a market, Artese says. Entrepreneurs must make an effort to clearly identify what they are able to do and stick to that.
Once a specific market is clearly defined, entrepreneurs need to understand that group. "You need to understand them at a more intimate level," Artese says. "That’s how you are to determine where to place your message." Age, gender, education level, geographic location, and buying habits are all pieces of information that can be extremely helpful for shaping an entrepreneur’s effort to reach desired individuals. Cottonwood, for example, determined that its customer base consisted of individuals who were educated and technology-savvy, so the store emphasized its Web site in various company mailings.
The most scientific way to understand the preferences of a target group is to use a consumer research firm that will administer client surveys, Artese says. However, such a service can be too pricey for a small business’s budget. Instead, Artese advises an entrepreneur to rely on his or her internal staff to go out and meet with clients to understand their likes and dislikes.
Entrepreneurs must know the people they hope to reach, says Christine Zust, president of Cleveland-based Zust & Co. and a growth strategist for Nead Brand Partners. "Research is critically important to determine where your market is," she says. "You must keep a finger on the pulse of what happens in the market."
Through it all, entrepreneurs must be mindful of their budget. "Everything needs to be driven by margins and net incomes," Artese says. A good benchmark is to set aside between 2 percent and 5 percent of gross sales for marketing efforts. "Monitor that number against the net income," Artese says. "You don’t want that number to become too sparse."
After the groundwork is in place, entrepreneurs must develop a commun-ications plan. "This all depends on the life cycle of the company," Artese says. A new company will want to do a lot of advertising to build a name in its desired market. An already established company may work on building its personal relationships with customers, would-be customers or with media contacts.
The Reserves Network (TRN) has built a successful market base by knowing its strengths and directly shopping them to specific customers. The Fairview Park company offers staffing solutions for big businesses. "We learn about a company first," says Mark White, TRN’s director of communications. "We look if they have turnover problems, retention problems or billing problems."
After assessing the situation, the company formulates a staffing solution specific to each client. This approach has served TRN well. Today, the company operates from more than 25 locations in six states. "Sales and marketing go hand in hand for us," White says. "This isn’t retail. We market solutions."
TRN also attracts potential customers with its detailed Web site (www.thereservesnetwork.com). The site offers clients the use of the Staffing Resource Center, an online library consisting of articles on staffing methods, downloadable tools, helpful links, and other informative resources. TRN’s site also allows visitors to search job opportunities available through The Reserves Network.
Whether a company markets a unique store culture or custom-made services, entrepreneurs must rely on their strengths to sell a business.
"There’s a science to it," Artese says. "You must understand your organization and your goals." Entrepreneurs must also be aware of the ever-changing face of the market. "You are only going to move as fast as your marketing," she says.