The hardest part of developing a customer base is informing your customers and potential customers about why they should purchase your product or service as opposed to purchasing from any of your competitors.  A good advertising campaign will inform and remind your current and prospective customers of your business, as well as of your product or service, and why it beats the competition.  In fact, if you have an excellent advertisement, you may even be able to encourage your current customers to buy more than they usually do and to tell their friends about your company. 

Advertising is also to your advantage because you will have control over the direction that you want the advertising to take.  There is not the same gamble as is often common in public relations matters because you will be the person making the decisions on how, where, and when to advertise.  You can also create a long-term advertisement so that you continue to be identified by the public and so that you can build your reputation.  For example, the golden arches of McDonald’s are extremely recognizable to the public and if your company duplicates a similar approach with consistent advertising, you will also become recognizable to the public.

While advertising seems to be a fantastic solution for generating a customer base and increasing your sales, remember that it will not be the miracle cure for your business.  Because it may take some customers awhile to see the advertisement, you will not get an instant customer base or sudden increase in sales.  Additionally, advertising is expensive and therefore, if your business is undergoing financial problems, you will not see an immediate change in your situation.  Finally, advertising is only a medium to get customers in the door, if you do not have what they are looking for or if you have poor customer service, you will lose those customers, so it is important not to neglect those fundamentals of business.

Another problem with advertising is that it will take time.  In most cases, advertising is at its most effective and least expensive when you plan everything ahead of time.  Therefore, you would either have to pay more for immediate advertising or be patient and wait for a better opportunity.

The first step is to sit down and figure out the very basics of how you will advertise and what you will be able to afford.  You will want to look at your company’s future, what your goals are, and then how you can use your marketing to meet those goals.  You also have to figure out how much money you can put into the advertising budget because that will determine the type of media and how often you can advertise.

Secondly, you should figure out any details like the features and benefits of your product or service, who your audience will be, and who your competition is.  The answers to these questions will help you figure out how to properly market to the segment of the population you are trying to reach and how to make yourself stand out from your competitors.

Third, you should gather as much information as you can about your industry, the market, and buying trends.  This step does not require you to spend a lot of money on extensive market research because there are free government publications that will provide a good majority of this information.

Fourth, you should examine all of your options when it comes to the type of media in order to choose which medium is best for your business by knowing your audience.  Traditional forms of advertising should not be the only options that you look at—you should also look at any manufacturers that offer co-op advertising programs or any special editorial or promotional coverage; i.e. newspapers running special sections that feature real estate.

Fifth, you should also consider other ways to promote your business, which can include imprinting your company name and logo on pens, papers, clocks, calendars, and other giveaway items and putting your message on billboards, buses, subways, on displays, and shopping bags.  You can also co-sponsor events with nonprofit organizations to send your name out to customers.

In order to set out an effective advertising campaign, you need to know your industry, market, and audience inside and out.  You should also design some sort of media plan and schedule.  You will also need a detailed list of what your product or service offers and what makes it stand out from your competition.  Finally, you should also create long-term goals for the business’s sales, revenue, and any other goals. 

Advertising.  You must pay for space or time.  You will be the one to decide what message you want to convey to your audience.  Your basic intention will be to sell your product to current and potential customers.

Public Relations.  You will not need to pay for coverage.  You cannot decide what is conveyed to the public because it is in the hands of the media.  The public relations effort often focuses on creating good will or humanizing a company.