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Publicity - What Every Business needs to know
By Abe Cherian
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Publicity - What Every Business needs to know
By Abe Cherian
Copyright ? 2005
Businesses from all over the world are always searching for
ways to get more publicity. You can let thousands of people
know about your service, your store, or your new products
without paying a penny.
Whether you want to make more sales, or get an offer on
television, you can broaden the scope of your clients by
free publicity. You don't have to send up huge banners
flying behind airplanes to attract attention. In fact, with
just a telephone, internet access, follow up letters and
flyers, you can be making much more money than you are.
What product or business are you involved with that needs
more clients or customers? You might have a neighborhood
store, or you might be seeking exposure for a celebrity or
politician. Maybe you have a new invention that you can't
get marketed or a recently released line of designer
furniture that you want to increase sales on.
How are you presently getting to customers? You may be
advertising in newspapers and magazines or trade journals.
Or you may be relying on a distribution agreement to retail
the products your plant manufactures.
Perhaps you're an author depending on a publishing house to
promote your book. Or you could be a young comic, trying to
get some more acts to further your career.
Regardless of your business or enterprise, free publicity
is available to you. And you don't need any particular
back ground or training to do it. What you do need is the
belief in yourself and your product and the diligence and
perseverance to continue when one idea doesn't pan out.
Whether you want a local increase in sales, or national
fame, free publicity is available to you at all times.
First, publicity is making something known to the public,
spreading information to the general local or national
market. It is information with a news value used to attract
public attention or support. Everybody utilizes publicity.
Politicians, manufacturers, celebrities even car makers use
publicity to further their causes and gain attention.
And publicity isn't limited to large organizations. Small
committees and enterprises use the local newspapers to
publicize events.
Publicity differs from advertising because it is free.
Although some groups or individuals do trade tickets or
services for free mention in publications, generally
publicity is newsworthy copy that a publication produces.
Publicity is a form of promotion, although promoting a
product or service may require other efforts that cost the
company money. Good publicity is one of the best ways to
let people know you have a worthwhile business.
In order to gain publicity, you have to be totally familiar
with your product, service or business that you are
promoting. If it is your own product, you are the best one
to describe the benefits and features. If you want to
publicize something else, talk to everyone involved to get
the facts and details.
Consider the radius of your market. If you have a local
business such as a small store or service shop, most of
your customers are from the surrounding five miles. If you
are located in a large city, you may have a larger radius,
but at the same time there may be stiffer competition.
Your business might be regional or statewide and your
clients may come from hundreds of miles, either in person
or by telephone to use your services. And if you are a
large manufacturer, your clients and customers may come
from the entire United States or you may have a worldwide
audience.
Profile your customers. Who are they and what do they do?
If you have a service, how often is this service used? If
you have a product, is it something that is bought again
and again, or is it a lifetime purchase?
How much do your customers pay for your products and are
you competitive with the other manufacturers of the same
products? If you have an unusual product, are you reaching
the widest audience you can?
What do the customers want? Sometimes, the least expensive
price is not the most important element. With today's
packaging, many customers expect and will pay for things
elaborately packaged. Where do these people go to buy your
products? Are they sold at retail outlets or through trade
publications or magazines? Or are they special items
available from online web sites or from certain regions of
the nation or the world?
Finally, why do your customers buy this particular service
or product, or use the particular business you have? An
architectural design company produces blueprints for
architects to construct buildings for homeowners and
industry. But your product may be aimed at a less precise
group of people, somewhat hard to define.
You can discover what consumers want from surveys. You can
get copies of surveys from special companies that conduct
surveys, or you can do your own. The best place to conduct
a survey is at a trade show for your product. Another good
source is your own email list or offline mailing list.
You might run a drawing and ask people to fill in
information. You can have cards printed with boxes to check
easily so people will spend the time to answer your
questions.
Manufacturers use surveys with warranties. Appliance makers
often include a few questions along with the warranty that
the consumer sends back.
Most major manufacturers have their own teams of product
testing. Toy makers bring in children and watch their
reactions. Book publishers have people look at covers and
decide which they'd buy. Even the car manufacturers run
surveys and opinion testing on style and pricing.
Before you seek publicity or even advertise, Know your
Product First! Be familiar with the people who buy your
products or services, and have a full understanding of the
general competition and the full scope of your market.
About the Author
Abe Cherian's online automation system has helped
thousands of marketers online build, manage and grow
their business. Learn how it can benefit you too.
http://www.imediatools.com
Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/15730.html
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| Some other articles by Abe Cherian | |
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