Advertising and Marketing

Even the most well-planned and tightly run business needs to reach out to its target market if it hopes to succeed. Effective advertising and marketing will help you understand your prospective customers and entice them to patronize your business, which is especially important for retail and other operations where consumers have a variety of choices. This section provides articles to help you effectively advertise your products or services, understand the legal implications of advertising, develop a marketing plan and build your business image. Links to resources from government agencies, including marketing strategies from the Small Business Administration, also are provided.

Advertising Essentials:

• Advertising Considerations for Your Business - What to consider when creating an advertising campaign, including endorsements and free offers.
• Directory Listings: Advertising That Works - Primer on directory listings, such as the Yellow Pages and weekly circulars.
• 7 Rules for Legal Advertising - Overview of bait and switch, deceptive pricing and other legal considerations related to advertising.
• When Your Business Ships Goods - Advertising laws for companies that ship goods, including the 30-day rule.
• Advertising Mistakes: Lessons Learned the Hard Way - Sampling of failed advertising campaigns by well-known companies.
• Fair Advertising FAQ: Guide for Small Businesses - Answers to frequently asked questions about fair advertising for small businesses.

Marketing Essentials:

• Marketing Basics - Overview of market research, target marketing and other marketing-related issues.
• How to Find New Customers - Different strategies for finding new customers, including classified ads and media campaigns.
• Your Marketing Plan - Step-by-step guide for creating a marketing plan.
• Your Target Market - How to define and ultimately reach your target market.
• Marketing Research - The importance of marketing research and tips to help you do it right.
• Primary Market Research for Your Small Business - How to conduct specific, targeted market research for your business.
• Competitive Analysis - How to size up the competition, including tips for gathering key information.
• Trade Shows - Marketing benefits and other reasons for attending trade shows.
• 10 Ways to Build and Market Your Business Image - Basics of marketing a small business, including media publicity and word-of-mouth referrals.

Tools and Resources:

• Marketing Strategy Questionnaire - Questionnaire to help you plan your marketing strategy.
• Sales and Marketing: Real-Life Agreements - Sales and marketing agreements drafted by 3Com, Amazon.com and other corporations.
• Advertising and Marketing Information for Business - Overview of advertising and marketing, including online advertising (FTC).
• Marketing 101 - Introduction to business marketing, including how to conduct market research (SBA).
• Marketing 201 - How to keep existing customers happy while extending your market reach and other marketing tips (SBA).
• Advertising Basics - Overview of advertising and what it can do for your business (SBA).
• Promoting Your Business with Public Relations - How to promote your business with a PR strategy (SBA).
• The "Ultimate" Small Business Marketing Guide - Understanding your target market, using online marketing and related topics (SBA).
• Conducting Market Research - Reasons for conducting market research and how to get started (SBA).
• Advertising and Marketing on the Internet - Important rules to consider when advertising and marketing online (FTC).
• Dot Com Disclosures: Online Advertising (PDF) - How to make effective disclosures when advertising online (FTC).
• Guides Against Deceptive Pricing - How to avoid the mistake of advertising deceptive pricing (FTC).
• Guides Against Bait Advertising - Guides to help you avoid bait and switch advertising tactics (FTC).

See also:

• Advertising Dos and Don'ts - What to do and what not to do when advertising your product or service.
• Marketing a Business: Stats and Stories - Statistics and real-life stories pertaining to business marketing.
• Email Marketing Best Practices - How to avoid being labeled a spammer and other email marketing tips.
• Marketing Chronology - Chronological list of steps for marketing your business.