Advertising can:
- provide basic facts such as your website address and contact details
- increase ongoing sales by telling potential customers about your product or service
- tell customers about changes to your service, new product launches and improvements
- increase your short-term sales with a specific one-off message - informing people of a special offer or a particular benefit of your product
- prompt specific action - getting customers to visit your premises or website, or use a discount voucher by the end of the month
- remind existing customers about your business
- change people's attitudes and perceptions of your business
- help to create or develop a distinctive brand for your business to help you stand out from your competitors
- put your business at the front of people's minds, ahead of your competitors
Remember that advertising isn't solely about sales and marketing. You can also use it to:
- recruit staff - a recruitment advertisement can also say something about your business
- source suppliers and contractors - this also helps to market you as active and expanding
Target your customers
Decide whether your target audience is local or regional, national or international, or a mixture. Remember that a local business might benefit from national advertising, particularly if it is looking to expand into new territories.
You can advertise in a wide range of different media. The use of different media can help to reinforce the message or information you are trying to communicate. Advertising can be anything from your shop sign or a website to an advertisement in a trade magazine or a 30-second radio slot.
Before selecting a particular type of media, you should establish from the provider and other independent sources what the audience penetration, or "reach", of their product is. Figures can normally be broken down into age groups, average income and other useful indicators.
Remember you have a duty to ensure that your advertisements are legal, decent, honest and truthful