Cashflow tight? Review your advertising spend

Yup, it's tough out there, so we small business owners need to work smarter.  Sales are down (globally, for large as well as small companies) but costs keep rising.  There's no better time to take the opportunity to review your promotional spend - do you really need signage for your car?  Does that 0800 number really make a difference?  How about your advertising - is it working?

Now is the time to be ruthless with your spending.  If it doesn't bring money in to your business, don't buy it!  If noone has noticed your posh 4 colour transparent film of your logo and telephone number which you've had proudly displayed on your car for the past 3 years, don't renew it when it starts to fall off or your change your vehicle.  If all your business leads are local, get rid of the 0800 number (although don't forget to change all your stationery, website and have a crossover period with a recorded message telling callers).  It's costing you money - it doesn't make you money.

We've all been lured into believing we need to look like a large company, with posh answerphones, virtual secretaries, large advertising accounts and constant reminders of our company logo on everything we own.  But does it really work for small business, or is it an unnecessary 'extra'?

Local businesses, particularly trades and services, have traditionally done well advertising in all the local freebie magazines and papers, but with the growth of the internet, how many people still look in the paper for a gardener, or a painter or somewhere to buy a new carpet?  All the big telephone directories now offer free listings for your business online, and they are a great source of research.  I'm willing to bet that Yellow Pages will be able to tell you the exact percentage of people searching online or in the printed directory for your trade or service in your area.

If you're nervous about simply slashing your printed advertising overnight, then track it over the next few months.  Put a discount code in your ad which customers need to quote in order to qualify for a discount, and then see how many sales you get which have been directly generated by that advert.  If the profit from the sales you get doesn't cover the cost of the advertising, you'll know what to do!