7 Questions to Ask Before You Advertise

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One of my greatest struggles in my past 4 years of business has been finding effective wasy to advertise and attract new clients. I have tried magazines, high school sports sponsorships, ads in coupon books etc and still find that most new clients find my pet sitting business through online or paper yellow pages.  I found this article online and liked it as it gives some good suggestions for testing the market and includes an exercise to determine if you should be spending money on advertising.

7 Questions to Ask Before You Advertise

Guest Author Michele Pariza Wacek

Most business owners and managers keep a fairly close eye on their marketing budgets.

And nothing throws a budget out of whack faster than advertising.

Advertising, or paying good money to get your message in front of your target market, still has a place in your marketing mix, although it’s not quite as effective as it once was.

If you’re going to advertise, you need to be smart about it — or you can quickly find yourself with a blown budget and not much to show for it. Below are seven questions to ask yourself before writing out that check.

1. Do you need to generate customers/traffic/leads/etc. right away? If so, then you better pull out your wallet. Advertising is hands down the fastest way to get your message in front of your target market. (You’re paying for placement after all.)

2. Do you have another way to get the word out about your business? For instance, do you have a customer database or an e-zine list? If so, then you might be better off sending an e-mail (assuming you have customers’ e-mails). Although technically e-mail announcements fall under advertising, I’m not counting it in this particular case because it’s more or less free (or very low cost).

Perhaps you have a good news angle and a good relationship with a reporter. Or you have a high-traffic Web site and/or blog. Or maybe you’re an active volunteer with a large organization and can use networking to get the message out.

But if none of those really apply, then you’d better take a closer look at advertising.

3. Do you need to augment your other marketing efforts? Maybe you have articles featured on a Web site targeted to your customer base. Great when your article is front and center and not-so-great when your article is buried in archives. A little advertising on that site can keep you in your target market’s sight all the time. Or maybe you struck gold and got a big article written about your company in the perfect trade publication. Fantastic for that month and not-so-fantastic for the other 11 months of the year. Or maybe it’s taking you longer than you’d like to drive traffic to your Web site. Advertising is good for speeding things along.

Frequency is king when it comes to marketing — if you’re out of your customers’ sight, you’re probably out of their mind when it comes to buying time. Advertising is a good way to beef up or speed up what you’re already doing.

4. Are other marketing methods not appropriate in this situation? Let’s say you want to have a sale. But your customer database is small (or nonexistent). Your Web site has minimal traffic. And you aren’t going to get any bites from the media since having a sale isn’t news. What do you do? Run some ads.

5. Would you rather save time than money? Let’s face it. Running an ad is easy. Other marketing methods are more time-consuming. If you want your marketing to be easy, then advertising is about as easy as it’s going to get. (Now there is a caveat to this one, because you can hire people to do some of those marketing tasks, such as updating Web sites, running PR campaigns, etc. However, not everything can be hired out so you still might be stuck spending time you don’t have.)

6. Are you planning to test a new campaign or a new product/target market? Running small, inexpensive ads can be a good way to test certain marketing aspects before launching big, expensive, time-consuming campaigns. If you want to penetrate a new market or if you have a new product to launch or a new marketing message to try, buy some ads and see what the response rate is. Another strength of advertising is control — you have total control over your test.

7. Do other marketing approaches never quite measure up? It happens. Advertising in one or two specific media outlets seem to generate more sales and more leads then anything else you’ve tried. If that’s the case, then don’t mess with it. As the old saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Creativity Exercise — Advertising and your business

Is advertising right for your business? Try this exercise and see.

1. What’s your biggest marketing challenge right now? Write it down.

2. Go through the above list of questions and ask yourself each one. Does it apply to your situation? If it does, write that down too.

3. Do some brainstorming. In what ways can you use advertising to solve your marketing challenges? What media would work best? Online? Print? Radio? Television? Direct mail? Something else? Make up an ad for a variety of media.

Now do the exact opposite. Think of ways advertising WON’T work for your business. Brainstorm at least 25 reasons why advertising won’t work for your specific situation. Be silly. It’s a good way to loosen you up.

4. Go back and reread both your pro and con lists. Now read your ads. Do you like what you came up with? Do any of them resonate with you, even now after coming up with your list of objections?

You may have just come up with your next advertising campaign.

Michele Pariza Wacek is the author of “Got Ideas? Unleash Your Creativity and Make More Money.” She offers two free e-zines that help subscribers combine their creativity with hard-hitting marketing and copywriting principles to become more successful at attracting new clients, selling products and services and boosting business. She can be reached at http://www.TheArtistSoul.com.

National Be Heard Day Give Aways Will Help Get Publicity for Your Pet Business

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National Be Heard Day National Be Heard Day was actually last Friday - the 7th March. Sorry I didn’t report it on the day but it’s not too late to take advantage of a couple of great giveaway ebooks that will help you get free publicity for your pet business and get known. Don’t wait too long as they will only be available until March 20th.

Publicity pro Shannon Cherry of Be Heard Solutions (www.beheardsolutions.com) created National Be Heard day to help entrepreneurs find their voice, tell their story and be heard by using low-cost marketing tactics to promote their businesses.

This year, she’s gotten together a great lineup of 17 marketing pros to share some of their secrets.

All you have to do it go to http://www.BeHeardFirst.com to get 2 great free ebooks that will show you how you can attract more pet business customers by getting free PR!

Remember the secret to getting publicity is about informing, educating, and entertaining. You don’t want to be trying to sell your service or product. Some of the ways you can do this are:

1) Write press releases about exciting events that occur in your business such as expansion into an new city, hiring of first employee, a community event you are organizing, or launch of a new service or product. Submit releases to local media and online using services such as PRweb.com

2) Write a series of How-To articles about your pet expertise that will help pet owners. Publish these online but also use them to contact local papers to suggest writing a weekly pet column for them.

3) Submit your articles to professional association newsletters.

4) Offer to give a speech to a local association or non-profit group to get speaking experience.

Once you get media coverage make sure you put this up on your business website so prospective clients can read or listen to an interview.

What will you do this week to get some Free PR? Join us at the pet business forum to share your goals.

Starting a Pooper Scooper Business: The Inside Scoop…

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Today’s article is by guest author Tammie Peters.

A professional pooper scooper service involves cleaning up and removing dog waste from peoples’ yards. This home-based business idea has grown in popularity over the past few years as a result of the relatively low start-up cost, the growing need for the service and the potential to make good money. These were some of the very reasons that I started my own pooper scooper business called The Scoop on Poop. The business was in full operation over a period of 3 years—throughout which time, I learned a great deal. Most people hear of the success stories of others in the industry and feel that starting a pooper scooper business of their own will produce the same results. Although this can happen, based on my experience I know it is not as simple as it might seem. There is much to consider besides cleaning up dog poop if this is a business venture that you are currently exploring.

Research and Planning As with any business, it is important to complete all of your research and planning prior to investing any time and money into the venture. To start a pooper scooper business from home you will have to find out if any special zoning and/or permits are required. You will have to investigate your options and plan for waste disposal as well. This is one of the challenging aspects of a pooper scooper business: what do you do with hundreds of pounds of dog poop? How much will it cost your business to dispose of the waste?

Physical Demands Scooping poop is physically demanding, hard work, unsanitary and can be offensive at times. If you’ve ever cleaned up after your own dog(s), imagine doing this for 8 hours or more each day. It can produce an enormous physical strain on your back because of the constant bending over. Lifting heavy bags of dog poop all day (especially in the spring when the poop is wet) can be very tiring. You will want to be in good physical condition if you’re going to scoop poop for a living.

Seasonal Challenges One of the benefits to this type of business is the outdoor work, but this can also be a downfall. Scooping in extremely hot, cold or rainy weather can be difficult and this is why it is essential to dress appropriately. The condition of the poop will change according to the weather and different tools, techniques and approaches are required to scoop the poop efficiently.

Service Pricing For regular service, most pooper scoopers charge approximately $8.00 to $15.00 per week to clean a customer’s yard where only one dog is using the yard. Additional dogs will usually increase the price by $3.00-$5.00 per dog. Other frequencies offered are: bi-weekly, twice/week or monthly. One-time and first-time clean-ups will cost the customer considerably more as these jobs often take 2 workers 1 to 3 hours to complete, especially if a “blanket” of wet waste is covering the yard. Other things to keep in mind are: how large of an area you will offer your service in, whether you will operate it full-time or part-time, your customer payment policy, hiring employees and whether you’ll offer regular scooping or just one-time major clean-ups.Having said all of this, owning your own business can be very rewarding and with hard work, persistence and creativity there is potential to make a considerable amount of money with a professional pooper scooper service.

For further information and a detailed step-by-step guide on starting a pooper scooper service, please visit www.pooperscooperinfo.com.

Do You Know Your Pet Business Tax Deductions?

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Tax DeductionsTonight I have my annual visit to my CPA to prepare and submit my yearly taxes. I used to dread this experience but now that I have run my business for a few years it’s easier as I know what I can claim and what figures and receipts I need to collect and file.

There are so many great tax deductions available for small businesses and of course it’s hard to know them all when you first start a business. I know I missed many deductions on my first couple of tax returns.

Do some research when you are starting your pet business and make sure you keep records of all your business expenses in a file.

Many of your everyday expenses become tax deductible when you own a home business. Depending on the structure of your business these deductions can apply against your business and your personal income.

Some examples of deductions that I will be claiming this year include:

a) The Home-office deduction - you can claim a percentage of your home expenses if part of your home is used regularly as an office for business use. These expenses may include maintenance and repairs (that are not capital in nature), rent, mortgage interest, house or apartment insurance, power, heat, water, and property taxes.

b) Vehicle expenses for business purposes. If you use your car 50 percent for business purposes, 50 percent of your car mileage, maintenance and repairs, vehicle insurance, gas and oil, car washes, license and registration, and auto club can be claimed. You will need to keep a mileage log book to track and substantiate your business miles.

c) Office expenses such as internet access, office supplies, books, and association memberships.

d) Travel to and fees for pet industry expos and conferences. All you hotel room charges, meals, and taxi fares are deductions.

e) Phone charges - I use my cell phone exclusively for business so that the purchase price of the phone and the monthly charges are deductible.

f) Business coaching - take advantage of this deduction and invest in yourself by getting the help of a coach who can help you grow your business faster.

g) Fees for advertising your business in the yellow pages, in online directories, running print ads in magazines or newspapers, or sending postcards or direct mail.

h) Printing charges for producing copies of business forms and contracts as well as your business cards and flyers.

i) Business website design and monthly website hosting charges.

The purchase cost of large items such as computers, printers, and fax machines can be depreciated over several years so keep receipts in your tax file as well as your warranty files.
If you run your business as a sole proprietor or partnership the IRS allows a new business owner to claim business losses against their personal income for 3 years. Make sure that after 3 years you do show some profit as otherwise they may label your business a “hobby” and this means you may be liable for past claimed expenses.

A good book to give you some tips is Home Business Tax Deductions: Keep What You Earn

by Stephen Fishman and Diana Fitzpatrick.

I would also recommend talking upfront to your accountant about the best structure for your business to make sure you keep more of your money at tax time.

If you have any questions that you want to ask about business taxes please join us at The Pet Business Forum where you can get advice from experienced pet business owners.

Pet Business Interview - Pawsible Marketing

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Leslie MayToday’s pet business interview is with Leslie May -the President of Pawsible Marketing. Leslie is a marketing consultant to pet business owners and helps them plan and implement their marketing strategies.

1. What kind of business do you run?

I own and operate Pawsible Marketing, a marketing firm whose core focus and specialty is helping pet business with their all of their marketing efforts and needs to grow sales and revenue. Whether a pet business is just starting out or they have an existing pet business that needs help with marketing, I can help their business achieve what they need to get to the next level, through marketing tactics like:

* marketing planning and strategy
* brand development
* marketing direction
* online and offline marketing
* viral marketing
* blogging
* public and media relations
* websites
* corporate communications programs
* advertising
* cause marketing
* new product launches
* sales and advertising collateral development
* case studies
* freelance writing
* lead generation
* trade shows, events
* and more.

2. How long have you been in business?

In 2002, I opened the doors of May Marketing, Inc., and began helping a wide variety of small to medium sized businesses with their marketing needs. Over the years, my work has helped many companies grow their sales and revenue, and become much more successful in their niche.

I have always had a love for animals and decided in 2007 to bring my marketing expertise to the pet business world through Pawsible Marketing, in hopes that I could share my knowledge and experience with other pet lovers, just like me.

3. Why did you choose to start a pet business?

It was a natural progression from my role as marketing consultant for other small/medium sized business. And I had many friends who encouraged me to utilize my marketing skills to help other pet business with their marketing needs.

4. What advice would you give someone about to launch a new pet care business?

Plan to spend time and resources on your marketing. While it may be an expense, it’s key to running, creating and keeping a business successful. You need marketing to help your business launch and grow, don’t neglect it and don’t be limiting.

5. What has been the greatest challenge in growing your business?

My greatest challenge is the long hours. Starting, growing and sustaining a successful business takes a lot of work. It’s not a 9-5 job, by any means. Like any business owner I feel that sometimes the long hours interfere with time I’d love to be spending elsewhere. For me that would be doing agility with my dogs (our favorite pastime).

6. What are the pros and cons of your profession?

Marketing is a tough business. New and innovative ways to market products or services are constantly coming to the forefront. It is a challenge to keep up with the latest means of marketing, but I really enjoy the creativity involved and learning and growing myself. And I enjoy bringing these new ideas to my clients.

7. What daily tasks do you enjoy most?

I really enjoy talking with my clients, helping them make the best decisions for their business going forward. Learning about their business, and consulting with them on key marketing directions and tactics to take is incredibly rewarding. When they succeed, I feel like I’ve succeeded.

8. If you could have done anything differently what would it have been?

I rarely look back at anything as a mistake, only a learning experience; so thinking about what I would have done anything differently, really isn’t something I think much about or dwell on. I’m optimistic, open and am always looking for what can be improved upon – no matter what it is for my business or my clients businesses.

9. Did you have a mentor or business coach? If so how did they help you?

I did have some incredible mentors throughout my career and feel I was really blessed in that area. From the time I began my career in the early ‘80s, until now, I have always had someone (whether they be a boss, peer or even a past client) that has helped me learn, grow and succeed.

10. What form(s) of marketing have you found the most effective in reaching pet business owners?

Most all of my business comes to me through referrals, MySpace, word of mouth, and through leads from my website. I may do some prospecting or cold prospecting, but only to those businesses I find or come across that I see immediate key ideas that I would like to present to and share with them.

11. What form(s) of marketing do you recommend to your clients?

What I find is that every business is different, and every business has a target audience and potential client with unique and varied attributes, wants and needs. What may work for some businesses, may not work for others. That’s why the consulting that I do with my clients in the initial stages of our relationship is so important; helping them to understand their potential client base and how to best market to them.

I always tell my clients that offering a high quality service or product, showcasing that product/service in a professional and eye catching manner, providing that service/product at a good, competitive price, along with amazing service, are the keys to any business to help them stand out from the competition, no matter what that business offers.

For those that reach a national (or even International) audience, I have seen that blogging can be an incredible tool for their business. Because an important part of marketing is relationship building, blogging is a wonderful means to build a relationship with a customer or potential customer. And blogging can be an inexpensive way to market. But there are right ways to blog and wrong ways, knowing the difference is very important.

I have also found that in this age of the Internet and the gravitation toward network marketing, referrals are a very important part of acquiring new, and sustaining current, business for any company, local, national or International. But most importantly, knowing how to gain referrals and turn them into new business is key.

12. What have you done to differentiate your business from your local competitors?

One of the reasons I started Pawsible Marketing was because there isn’t a lot of competition for this type of niche business. There are a few marketing companies that help pet businesses, but most offer specialized services or target larger pet businesses. What I do is help the small to medium sized pet business with all of their marketing needs – whether it is strategy and planning, creating a brochure or blog, or implementing any marketing tactics that may be suitable for their particular business, client or prospective client.

Thank you Leslie for sharing some great marketing tips. If you would like to find out more about Leslie you can visit her site at www.marketingmypetbusiness.com

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