Do you decide to make a major purchase based on a single fact or piece of information?

What type of business do you have?

For major purchases like home improvements, there are few consumers that need your product or service at any specific time. This is referred to as a "thin market." For example, there are few consumers that are in the market right now for the services of a plumber, or that need a new roof. A "thick market" is for mass consumed products and services, like food. Of course there are many businesses that are in between these two extremes, but in general, the higher the average ticket of your product or service, the more "thin market" your business is.

If you are in fact a thin market business, it's important that your message be available when the consumer is in need of it. One of the best ways to keep your message available (you guessed it), is through a consistent advertising campaign, both print and online if possible.

Your business needs top-of-mind awareness

The way consumers make a buying decision is not an exact science and many factors should be taken into account. Quality, professionalism, and price are certainly important, but how do you get them to call you in the first place? You want your business to be the one that consumers think of first when they need your product or service. That is called Top-of-Mind awareness, and you get it by developing a compelling and consistent message and keeping it in front of your target customer as often as possible.

I could stop now by telling you to call Tlehs Publishing and advertise, but you already knew that. There is one more very important and compelling reason to try our program.

Cut through the clutter!

Wouldn't it be great if every time your target customer that was in need of your service, saw your business name in a publication that they trusted? Tlehs Publishing delivers that customer to you via frequent community newsletters, long lived resident directories, and 24/7 association websites; all reinforced by our TlehsBest rating service.

Email or call us today for a no obligation meeting to help you build your brand awareness.

 
Why would you want to choose between online media or traditional media? One very good reason is cost. But since nobody lives their life entirely online, and each day we all are exposed to many different types of media and marketing messages, going entirely to online media becomes a double edged sword. Here's why.

Let's start by discussing social media. It doesn’t mean just having a Facebook or Twitter account, or a blog, or even a website for your business. When a consumer repeats the tag line from a print ad, hums a jingle they heard on the radio or TV, or tells a friend about their experience with a certain brand — they’re engaging in social media. For any media that you use for your business there is an obvious component of social media, whether it be from online or traditional.

Social media is hard to control
Online social media is problematical from the standpoint that your customers are not spreading the same message, and very possibly NOT the message that you may want them to spread. You essentially loose control of the message as it may morph into something far from what you intended, possibly even detrimental in some cases. By combining both traditional advertising — where you can better control the message, with online and social media advertising, you have a basis to guide the social media aspect of your message instead of losing control of it. You can craft and remain in control of the “official” version of your message, which sets the foundation for your customers to spread the word through both online and offline social media.

Traditional media sets the stage for your online brand
This ability of traditional media to set the stage makes it even more relevant and important, despite the higher costs. If you can preempt negative conversations by using traditional media, it makes online social media even more important, i.e. it is amplified. That's important, because when a customer writes an online review of a product, it’s viewed as honest and credible. THAT is the secret to the power of social media, but it must start with traditional media.

At this point let's point out the obvious. Defining your brand experience is entirely up to you, and ultimately it will be up to your customers. The better your product or service means to them, the more they will become an advocate for it. Is your business ready?

Fragmentation is a long tail
As media continues to fragment, an integrated approach to your advertising strategy is quickly becoming a necessity. Not everyone is online, yet everyone is bombarded with media every day.

Look for an integrated media mix of both print and online as you seek ways to cost effectively grow your business.

These are difficult and demanding times for many businesses, especially if your a small to medium sized business.

Consumers are price conscious, but the reality is that everyone still needs gas for their cars, they need to eat and take care of their homes, children need clothes and school supplies, and people still need everything from medical services, to light bulbs and razor blades.

Businesses are struggling to pay their bills and to keep good employees, all the while trying to meet the cost-cutting tactics of their competitors.

The turnaround is inevitable because the economy always ebbs and flows. Too many businesses are missing out on an enormous marketing opportunity by trying to weather the storm until the economy picks up and cash-flow improves. Companies must show the consumer that they are capable of withstanding difficult times.

Business owners must remember what it was like to start a new business, to gain name recognition through networking, to provide insanely great customer service, and to entice customers through referrals and advertising.

Unfortunately, businesses cannot afford to spend their way out of a bad economy. Even more reason for shrewd companies to act now and seize market share by being very selective in the media that they use.

"When the economy is bad and business is slow, that is when the experienced advertise and the inexperienced wait for better days."

To most businesses, advertising in multiple media means expense, headaches and frustration. Often it's the only way to get the attention of your audience. Here is a way to simplify the process and get the job done.

Let's preface this discussion by saying that the more specialized your business is, or if your average ticket is high, the better this methodology will work.

If budget is a concern, and it almost always is, you want to determine the best media for your business that will give you the best return on your investment, called ROI. Generally speaking, the more targeted a media is the more it will cost per unit, but since targeting allows you to select far fewer units, the overall price may actually be lower. So by using targeting, you can actually increase your ROI. So how do you target?

If your a typical small business, your customers come from a certain geographic area. If your a home service provider or medical professional, that area may be a county, certain zip codes, or a city. If you have a retail, restaurant, or automotive business your target will be much smaller, so a radius or an area with street boundaries may be more applicable. So look at your current customers and determine where they come from geographically.

In the geographic area you just mapped out, make a list of the different media that are available. That list may include a city wide newspaper, local newspapers, TV, radio, direct mail, billboards, mobile, and of course online. There certainly are others.

If a particular media cannot target the aforementioned geography of your business, scratch them off your list. An easy example to understand is radio, because radio is not able to target geographically. Same thing for TV. One of the biggest mistakes made is when a business with a single retail location advertises on radio or TV because they received a great price. That is until they realize that the majority of the audience that heard the commercial are too far away to do business with them. TIP: Determine where 80% of your business geographically comes from. That is the geography where you want to spend your money in.

Now that you have a short list of media, ask which ones are able to target the demographics of your business. Demographics are the ages, incomes, home types, education, etc. of your customers. Many media can target demographically, including radio and TV, but you may need to ask. A good example would be if you are a home service provider that does roofing, you may want single family homes that are over 15 years old and over $300,000 in value. Again, determine where 80% of your business comes from demographically. Now ask your short list of media companies if they can target those demographics.

The list of those left standing will be very short. Now your targeting your advertising and maximizing your ROI!

Never before has there been an opportunity to spread the word about your business.

Just like there's never been a better time to buy a home, the same applies to the marketing of your business. Despite the tough economic times, this is the BEST time to brand and imprint your business name in the minds of consumers.

There is much less advertising as compared to the go-go days of a couple of years ago, and your competitor's advertising is probably down. As a result, it's very easy to understand how your advertising could be more effective right now.

Tlehs Publishing can help you take advantage of this advertising opportunity. Not only can we give your business entrance into the finest communities across Atlanta, but when the economy does pick up, and it will, you'll be at the top of consumer's minds when they need your services.

Our latest promotion is 50% OFF advertising on our Tlehs Interaction community web sites!

Call us to find out how our community newsletters, directories, and web sites can get your business ready for the economic recovery!

There are many choices these days for small businesses (SMBs) to advertise, but not much time to choose.

How are you to decide what to focus on? Hopefully this overview will help you through the process.

There are 5 broad areas of advertising to choose from that range in cost from your time spent, to tens of thousands of dollars. Let's review them and some of the choices for each.

1. Print - Includes newspapers, magazines, directories, direct mail, newsletters, flyers, etc.
2. Broadcast - TV, radio, satellite, cell phone, etc.
3. Outdoor - Billboards, storefront, mobile signs, job and truck signage, etc.
4. Online - Website, organic and paid search, email, blogs, social networking, etc.
5. Internal - Trade shows, executive events, referral programs, telemarketing, etc.

In addition, you have to decide if your going to...

1. Manage your advertising yourself
2. Use a marketing consultant
3. Hire a full service agency
4. Use a combination of the above

Read this to see how other small businesses are marketing in 2009.

Read this to see how to use a best method approach to choosing multiple media.

After studying the above, we hope that you investigate a solution that for 15 years, many of Atlanta's small businesses have chosen - Tlehs Publishing. We offer media in most of the top methods that SMBs are currently using, and offer print and online solutions for the smallest of budgets to total saturation, without spending money outside of your target market.

If your time is money, try our one-stop-shopping with a dedicated representative. They will provide a no cost analysis and quote on our many solutions for your business.

Anyone who advertises has asked this question a hundred times. Certainly, it is a legitimate question. All too often the finger is pointed directly at the company that you are paying.

No doubt, some media companies will get better results for you than others. While this article does not speak to which media is best for your business, it does speak to the mistakes to avoid in order to minimize the risk of your advertising dollars.

Mistakes to avoid

1. No white space. The most common mistake is to use every available bit of open space on an ad for text, with no "white space" left over. That is the reason why the reader's eye completely skips over your ad.

Does your eye focus on anything on a page of text in a book? Of course not. The same applies to your ad. You need to keep your text to an absolute bare minimum. The single goal of your ad should be to get the consumer to call you. That is when you can tell them all about your business, not in your ad.

2. New creative. Hand in hand with the above is your creative. If your campaign is ineffective, redesign your ad copy. Give your media vendor the opportunity to add color, photos, and good design to your ad, and don't forget the white space!

3. One time is ineffective. Once deciding on a media company, repeat advertising is the only way to establish your brand and to start getting response. If you expect to run your ad one time to gauge the effectiveness of the media, you will be very disappointed. Here's two reasons why...

4. Voice mail is not the answer. Do you realize how negative it is for a consumer to call your business and to get voice mail, or worse yet to go to voice mail that is full? Either have someone answer the phone or have it go directly to your cell phone if you are not in the office. You must live answer your phone.

5. Ask the question - twice. You absolutely have to ask the question, "How did you find out about us?" Too many businesses, in their hectic day-to-day activities, still fail to ask this all important question.

A critical follow up question to ask is "Are there any others?" If you are like most businesses, you are advertising in multiple media and may also have an active referral program. Consumers will often answer with the first thing that pops into their head. They will say your sign, the newspaper, or a friend's referral. Secondary media, like our community newsletters or directories will not be mentioned unless you ask this second question.

In all cases, if you are dissatisfied with your advertising results, tell the media vendor. Ask them what they can do to maximize your results. They, like yourselves, are in business because of repeat business, and they should be able to help you with the reasons and give you ideas to make your advertising more effective.

Sponsors have the perception that consumer buying power in our publications is concentrated in the high end country club and golf communities, as well as the mansions scattered throughout the suburbs of north Metro Atlanta.

No doubt there is a lot of value represented by these homes and communities, but the monthly income streams needed to pay for that luxury have been reduced due to the bad economy. Likewise, the seemingly endless buying power of home equity lines has evaporated because of declining home values.

While there are still opportunities at the higher end of the market, we believe the real opportunities lie in the mid-priced communities, where a more conservative approach to living is paying dividends in these bad economic times.

These mid-priced communities realize that good deals are to be had, and they are looking for value. They have the money to spend because their available income in proportion to expenses may be higher than it is for homes at the high end of the market.

In addition, because the mid-priced communities have fewer advertisers, the opportunity exists for you to avoid some of your competition.

Consequently, we now have available "Mid-priced bundles" of communities to target your advertising. You certainly can still focus on the high end of the market if your business caters to that demographic. But if your service has broader appeal, then these specially priced bundles could be the answer to generating more business.

Call your representative and ask about our "Mid-priced bundles" for your business.

Interesting statistics (from Forrester Research) on what small businesses with less than 20 employees are spending their marketing dollars on during 2009.

Our services in each area are bolded in parentheses.

• 87% use web sites. (TlehsBest and Tlehs Online)
• 81% use email. (Tlehs recommends using Constant Contact)
• 57% use search marketing. (TlehsBest is crawled and listings show up in search results)
• 48% use direct mail. (Tlehs Solo)
• 47% use blogs. (TlehsBest, Typepad, or Wordpress)
• 43% use trade shows. (Chambers, trade or group associations)
• 43% use inside sales/telemarketing. (Internally from your business)
• 37% use executive events. (Chamber events and company sponsored events)
• 31% use print advertising. (Tlehs Directory, Tlehs Newsletter, TlehsBest Magazine-Coming soon)

The ones at the top of the list are very popular because their cost can be low, but managing them requires significant time on your part. The ones nearer the bottom are more expensive, but are easier to accomplish in many cases, especially print advertising.

So if you have time and not much of a budget, use the services listed near the top. If you are busy or near capacity and have a marketing budget to spend, the services closer to the bottom may be the best choice. We think the best choice is always a combination of them.

Tlehs Publishing can provide the vehicle to get your message delivered directly to your target market, ranging in price from free to $50,000+ per year. Few media companies can offer this mix and one stop shopping convenience. We make communication easy. That's Tlehs Publishing.

If one thing is certain, the economy will improve. The economy, and your business, always run in cycles.

But figuring out when to start advertising is much like surfing a wave. Catch the wave just right and you get a great ride. If you catch it late or let it pass you by, you miss out on the fun. The analogy for your business if you miss the wave, is that you lose market share to competitors that anticipated the upturn correctly. Don't wait to advertise until the wave passes you by.

A Forrester survey from 1st quarter 2009 shows that larger companies (with more than 1,000 employees) are cutting their marketing plans. Yet 14% of small business with less than 20 employees are actually raising marketing levels above their competitors. Those that anticipate and advertise as the wave arrives will gain market share. Are you watching the waves!

Small businesses are typically more focused and reactive to customer needs. So be visible and available when consumers are looking for who is riding the wave. Adjust your marketing mix and strategies to take full advantage before the wave hits. We think that time is upon us.