Most startup businesses do not do much advertising in the initial years. They feel it is expensive and not worth the effort and money. Most businesses are short of cash as they start and advertisement costs seem the logical place to make cuts. Nothing could be further from the truth. Advertising can be the lifeblood a new business needs to survive. In a startup business, your first goal is getting people to know your business exists. What you are selling, and what do you do to achieve that goal.
People are skeptical about new startups. It takes a lot of repetition of an ad to make people realize you are there to stay, and to get them to try your product or service. An ad is there for a number of reasons.
o It is there to try to get you customers.
o You want brand recognition for the product or service you are selling.
o There is a benefit to what you sell. You can explain to your clients that they benefit from buying whatever you sell.
o You want your existing customers to have the confidence to spend more on whatever you have to offer.
o You can build sales for your clients and investors.
Advertising by itself cannot increase your sales. Solve any cash flow problems that you might have and sell any products or services if you have a pie in the sky business. Advertising is just one of the means you should employ to build your startup. Advertisement can take different forms. There is print advertising, flyers, radio, TV, online on the internet and direct media to name some. What works best is dependent on the type of business you have.
Let us take an example of say color printing, any media that shows you color printing piece in a good light is what you want to use. A TV advertisement will be better than a radio advertisement or a Newspaper advertisement. because you can effectively show the quality.
Be precise in your advertising, let the consumer know exactly what you are selling or doing. Go to the right media and use the right demographics to target your ads, be aware of boring styles and avoid them. Mainly give your ad time to work. Do not expect immediate results. A consumer sees an ad at least 6-8 times before he begins to remember and trust an advertisement.