Aarti Krishnakumar
In today's world when economy doesn't seem to be too bright we would definitely like to get maximum outcome with minimum investment. Any small time business owner will love to have some effective advertising done within a limited budget.
A combination of advertising basics and strategies should be followed and the creative idea should be flexible in order to suit the need of the hour of the customers.
Word of mouth
The age old form of advertising; word-of-mouth advertising is one of the most effective methods of advertising even in this technology driven world. This form of advertising is effective only when the customers are happy. It is important to remember that the customer is the king and if the queries of the customers or their complaints are attended to immediately then naturally the customer is a satisfied person. This helps the customers to feel good about the product and the company and recommend it to other prospective customers.
Let the product do the talking
Krithika Nelson of Shopo.in believes in spending nothing or minimal on Advertising. She says "our products and services speak for us, and all it took was for the 1st lot of 3-4 customers and we got rolling. When i came up with the idea for Shopo.in i never thought it would grow so much in such a short span of time. I use our Facebook Fan page where we have over 1 lakh members to spread word about new products, activities and to draw customers."
Keep it simple
Nontraditional ideas like car stickers, magnets or logo projectors can be used to gain visibility. It is also very important to make each customer feel special so add a personal touch by sending a personalized note or a birthday coupon. This will create a lasting impression. Rakesh Raghunathan, Founder of PetaWrap remembers how during early days, when all he did was put up stalls at key conferences and events [ TEDx IIT to Metro plus Theater fest and so on], selling wraps to all those who visited the stall. The innovative bright Auto rickshaw style kiosks were all i used to advertise. I also handed out our menu to all those who came by. Today, i have kiosks across the city and have begun home delivery services, a big jump from where i was a year ago.
Alternative techniques
Veni, the owner of a SME clothing store, Potti Kadai, says, "I gave 10% discount to all the customers who came in the first month and made sure that I was around to attend to their needs personally and suggested clothes that will suit their body type. This helped me understand them and their expectations. Within a few months we have gained quite a lot of popularity that we have set shop in all the Odyssey outlets."
Another entrepreneur who has been successfully running a Consulting firm, Anjana Vivek of Venture Bean Consulting had similar thoughts. If you can deliver high end results, be it product or services that are all the advertising you need. Our clients vouch for us, and apart from having a website and our name in our emails, we don't believe in any other form of advertising. The bottom line of a good and catchy advertising is that the truth should be stated in the most captivating manner and a little effort and understanding of advertising can make advertising effective.
