The Promotion Effort

How do you intend to promote your business and generate sales? You have the product/service but do your customers know about it? Does the product present itself naturally to customers - a shop in the middle of the High Street or do you have to get information about it out to where the customers are and persuade them to try it?

You are likely to need to use a mixture of marketing methods - assuming that you have

• the right product
• in the right place
• at the right price

You now have to bring together the right methods of promotion. These involve substantial costs but if you do not incur these costs will you be able to sell anything?

What methods will you use?

• Yellow pages - get your listing in early
• Local/national press advertising
• Adverts in trade magazines
• Tele-sales
• Leafleting - house to house
• Posters
• Bill-boards
• Hire a sandwich board person!
• Organise students, a party?
• Free tickets/discounts for the launch week
• Family deals?
• Freebies - champagn for first 100 customers, ballons for the kids
• Press releases
• Celebrity endorsements (expensive)
• Samples
• Stands at exhibitions
• Radio
• Don't forget your "Shop front and window display". This applies even if you do not have a shop. Think about your car, your van, your overalls!
• How do you get hold of your customer lists. Can you buy customer lists? Who from?

What is your promotion budget? How will you ensure that your get value for money? What will be the costs of printing product information, leaflets and brochures, postage, letters, envelopes, telephones, Faxes and incidental entertainment expenses such as taking key customers to lunch or to the pub!

Who is going to do all this? You? Will you have the time?

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