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GETTING YOUR BUSINESS BOOMING!

PR is to business what milk is to babies. No milk; no growth. Know PR; know growth. Get your PR right and your business will be booming!

Here are some tips to help you get your head around the sometimes-puzzling world of PR:

1. Create a marketing budget. Decide how much you want to spend and set a limit.

2. Define your customers. Who are they? What are their buying motives? What are their buying habits? Where are they and how can you get them interested in what you are offering. If you do the research, then you'll know what bait to use to attract them.

3. Define the benefits of your product or service. Customers want to know what's in it for them. They are not as interested in features as they are in benefits. You may have a product that is lighter than any other product of its type. They don't want to know it's the lightest, they want to know that their job will be easier because it's the lightest. Work out the benefits and you are half way to making a sale.

4. Brainstorm your ideas. Put down on paper all the possible ways you can reach your customers. Fliers, media releases, business launches, vouchers, business cards, paid advertising, a website, word-of-mouth, e-marketing, events etc. There are loads of ideas on-line if you do a search for low cost marketing ideas. You can also ask a friend or get a professional PR person to throw ideas at you, although this can break the budget!

5. Put together a 3-month marketing strategy. Set tasks for every day or every week for the 3 months. This will help you to keep on track with your PR and to track how effective your PR ideas are in bringing customers to you.

6. Make the most of free advertising opportunities. Media releases that are human interest based with a great photo are great for local papers and create a local presence. Car magnets for your car or bumper or window stickers, help to let local people know you are in business. Network with local business complimentary business owners and offer to do a customer referral exchange. For example, you are into plumbing and they supply plumbing parts. It makes sense for them to have the names of a few good plumbers and you will need somewhere for your supplies. Also, set up an on-line presence and post your business details to as many sites as possible. Remember to add your website details to everything that moves!

7. The best PR that you can do for your business is to make sure that you always wear your business with you. Dress for success. Be confident and ready to go with your elevator script. Go everywhere prepared with business cards and fliers. Put your business contact details on everything that comes in and goes out of your house, including your wife and children! T-shirts, buttons, bags, hats, pens, notepads, caps, and the like help you to advertise your business.

PR is not difficult, it's just time consuming. A friend of mine who has been in network marketing for 15 years, every week stands at the top of the stairs at the central railway station and hands out up to 1000 fliers. She has found that this generates enough leads for her to maintain her $100,000 plus income from her business!

If you do the hard yards, you will reap the benefits. Finally, glean, glean, glean from anyone you meet who is successful. Why reinvent the wheel when you can get in the jet stream of someone who has gone before you?

Learn more about this author, Hayley Solich.
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