I am a chartered certified accountant who has been advising SMEs and running my own businesses for many years.
This guide is based on personal experience in addition to advising clients, and is intended to make new entrants into the small business community aware of the main issues that will influence their decisions on a daily basis. Some topics are given greater coverage due to their importance and you will find further reading on all topics to be beneficial.
If you have any questions please email me at nsy@formationsdirect.com and I will do my best to assist you.
Accounting
Traditionally the role of the accountant has been seen as that of a compliance assistant to prepare accounts and file tax returns. Nowadays you should view your accountant as a business adviser as well.
Call them up for a general business chat, discuss new projects with them and ask them for ideas on cost-cutting and tax savings. If your accountant isn't up to it consider finding one who is more switched on to the modern business climate.
Put yourself in the shoes of the reader and bear in mind that they may only be seeing your advert for one or two seconds
Advertising
Beware of men bearing gifts
I've lost count of the number of times that advertising salesmen have called to tell me that they have a cancellation and I can get a full page for a fraction of the cost. Sometimes I take it after further haggling but more often than not I let the opportunity pass. Why?
Simple – it's in a publication that I have already decided is not for my company because it's the wrong target audience. A bargain is not a bargain if it's useless to you.
The salesman will sound enthusiastic and give you a myriad reasons why you should proceed but if you capitulate once you'll be called every month and before you know it your budget will be blown on useless adverts.
Advertising placements
Did you know that some pages and positions are better than others to place adverts? The bottom right of page 3 is more valuable than page 14 on the top left.
Everything is reflected in the price of course, but often you are better placing an advert in a classified section everybody looks. Each publication has to be examined on its own merits and it pays to undertake research properly. If a new publication approaches you to come on board ask to see the previous editions to get a feel for the layout.
Better by design
A good advert is carefully planned and targeted. Some business people have the knack and others need to rely on agencies. Whatever route you take it is crucial that your advert has a clear message aimed at a particular set of potential customers. Put yourself in the shoes of the reader and bear in mind that they may only be seeing your advert for one or two seconds.
Online
Most SMEs cannot ignore online advertising but it is crucial to check carefully whether or not it will bring any benefits. Whether it is a banner advert or a pay-per-click campaign take care not to get carried away.
It is a case of trial and error and can take time to perfect but keep a constant eye on the costs and the benefits. Your resources may be better spent on a getting your website spot-on for organic searches.
whichever route you choose beware of firms offering the impossible.
Picture or text
Some adverts famously only used pictures and others were laden with text inviting the reader to read it carefully. Each approach may be correct in its own context but whatever you settle on try to ensure that there is consistency across the various media that you use as this makes your adverts more easily recognisable to readers who may need to come across it several times prior to responding.
Research hows that on average an advert is seen nine times before the reader is persuaded to act.
Think outside the box
A leaflet campaign to households may be very attractive in a small area but for some types of trade such as an emergency response plumber a magnet or boiler sticker will be even better.
Unless your leaflet arrives when their boiler is broken they are unlikely to keep it but a sticker or magnet will almost certainly be affixed to the boiler for use at a later date. If you're short on ideas then brainstorm with a friend and look to see what other similar businesses are
doing and consider whether you can copy or do better than them.
Selling or branding
An advert designed to sell will be different to one that is designed to “put your name around” i.e. to increase awareness of your brand.
Before commencing a campaign think carefully what the object of the exercise is and then work on ideas. Often a sales campaign will be preceded by a branding campaign to achieve maximum impact. Some media are better suited to branding than selling and it really pays to do your homework properly.
