SMB

I can’t tell you how many small business owners have told me that they don’t need to advertise because customers “will just come”.  Why do they feel that way?  I think I have the answer after all these years;

When a person opens a business, it’s not a spur of the moment thing.  They have probably spent a good deal of time thinking about it.   Then they begin to gather money to fund the new business.  Then they rent or buy a space, send time and money and physical effort getting it ready and stocking it with what they need to sell.

Then they open, after what might have been 2 or 3 years of investment in time and dollars.  No wonder many business owners feel ready for some kind of payoff.  Unfortunately that is not usually the case.  Even though you have given birth to this enterprise through lots of blood sweat and tears, to the marketplace you are simply another entry to consider when making a purchase decision.  Further more you are a dark horse in the race because being new, no one has heard of you or knows what and how your product or service delivered and what the customer experience will be.  Again, unfortunately for them, customer experience is the number indicator that a new customer will come to your store…and you don’t have much in the way of customer experience to show off because you haven’t had many customers.

Advertising can help. It can show potential new customers what you’re all about.  What they can expect in doing business with you.  Like a colleague of mine always says, ‘Business goes where business is invited’.  Even after you are up and running well, do you market?  Let me answer that question with a question, have you seen a McDonald’s ad lately?  Ford? Budweiser Beer?  Yes, and most likely it wasn’t that long ago, because even household names in business know that their competitors are out there trying to gain customer share.  And so are yours.