During the recession, many large businesses have had to downsize or close. Many of these casualties are in the finance industry. But how does it affect small business owners or home business owners? According to statistics, whether there is a recession or not, a staggering NINE out of TEN small businesses that start today will not be around in ten years time. For seven small businesses or home businesses, the figure is much lower: Five years or less.
How do you prevent the statistics from applying to you? You need to do something different than other businesses in order to survive. It is plain suicide to do things the same way other small business owners do. Marketing and advertising should be your main activity. Businesses that thrive during a recession double or triple their usual advertising budget. And they don’t make mistakes.
Which mistakes do small business owners make in their ads?
Their ads don’t have a headline
If you look at newspapers or yellow pages advertisement, you often see advertisements without headlines. They often have the business name, no headline, or a very weak headline. We see an average of 1,500 advertisements a day. Most people tune themselves out from those advertisements.
They don’t have a powerful offer
For the ad to stand out, it needs to have a powerful offer. You have to remember, you have between 3 and 5 seconds or less to catch someone’s attention get them to act on it straight away. Once they put it aside, you have lost them forever.
No testimonials
If you tell something about yourself in your ad, people are going to doubt what you say. But if someone like a customer says something, and especially if you have more than three people who say something about you, it is way more believable.
Their ads just sound like everyone else’s
Think of what people want the most, and write a free report on it. This establishes you as an expert, and you build up trust which gives you credibility and helps you to establish a relationship with your client. The report costs very little, and people need the information, and are more likely to hang on to the report and keep it with them. No other advertisement does this.
Their advertisements are just general and not unique
Make sure your advertisement makes you stand out. Give powerful headlines that make people think like “Seven reasons why you should ...” or “Don’t buy a ___ until you read this.” “Who else wants to ...” “The Truth about ....” This headline: “Attention Home Owners...” is written to get your target market’s attention. So target people in your headline. Find out what your customer wants, and target that in your headline.
Thinking that less is more
Many people think they have to have fewer words in their ads. They think no-one would read a longer ad. This cannot be further from the truth. Some people take longer to decide based on more information. If they are still reading, and you’ve stopped writing, you’ve lost them.
Not giving your prospective customer enough information
This is really the same as the previous point. We all have a natural degree of scepticism until any doubt is gone. A prospective customer won’t be convinced about what you can offer until you persuade him. So you need to give a prospective customer as much information as he needs.
Thinking that advertising doesn’t sell
If you have a well written ad that pulls in sales, it is like a salesperson that you don’t have to pay. So, if you have a sales letter that does everything a salesperson does: Presenting your offer, overcomes objections, and closes with a call to action, you can let it work for you over and over and over again until it stops working.
It doesn’t take away the risk
Changing to a new provider or service seems very risky to the prospective customer. Take the risk away with a guarantee or giving a lot of educational information.
Not talking directly to your customer
Your advertisement should be written as if you are talking directly to one person. Imagine your ideal prospect sitting right in front of you and talk to him.
Not making it easy for people to call you
Now if you have all the above right, and you don’t make it easy for people to contact you, you have lost your prospective customer. So make sure you have a dedicated phone line for your business, and that you are at the end of that line.
Not having a deadline for your offer
People like procrastinating, and if they don’t have to act, they won’t. As soon as they decide to wait until later, you have lost them.
Offering discounts in your ad
Often giving a discount means to a customer that you can’t get your product or service sold. Rather than discounting, give a reason for the discount, like you are getting in new stock and need to make space, or that you have some products that got damaged through delivery and you are offering these at a discount, people would have no problem buying.
Instead of a discount you could add value to your offer. Say to them that if you get this product or service, I will add an e-book or several e-books on a related topic, or add a couple of low cost products on top of your offer. Or if they get their nails done, they can also have a free pedicure.
In conclusion, make sure you have an attention grabbing headline with an irresistible offer, and you will pull in more clients and grow your business.
Get your free report here for more information on how to write advertisements and sales letters that sell.
