We are an impatient country. We expect instant gratification for every effort we extend.

We expect that if we run a terrific advertisement that new customers will be standing in line the next day waiting to get in to buy.

It does happen but on  very rare occasions, like for the new I-phone G3, people were standing in line waiting for their turn to buy, but remember there was a huge advertising campaign running for many months prior to the release and a few million already rabid users just waiting for the next edition to come out.

A few video games were like that as well but remember again there was a huge pre- release promotional marketing program as well as millions of already satisfied loyal customers wanting more and waiting for the next release. Not the same as a typical small business add campaign funded with a small, make that a tiny budget compared to the above examples,  promoting a product or line that no one really must have but may want.

As consumers we are all jaded, we learn to shut out the message or reject the pitch as we are all assaulted with sales spiels constantly and must screen them out to survive the onslaught of media hype.

Thus when a small business spends a few dollars on the local radio and perhaps a few print adds, and waits expecting a line to form on Monday morning and snake around the block, and when this fails to materialize we stand there dumbfounded, disappointed and wondering what went wrong? What should we do now? The answer is, our unfulfilled expectations are grossly unreasonable and must e adjusted.

How many times do we spend our tiny add budget (large to us  but compared to Apple its tiny) and expect an immediate response and we barely get a slow trickle, so we feel defeated, we believe we may have  wasted our money.

Why did we expect a huge return on such a small add budget, yet we ask ourselves were did we go wrong?

Well the answer is easy. We did not go wrong at all, except in believing a tiny add budget was adequate to turn out the populations and force us to have to fight the crowds back, that’s the miss.

Here is the deal. We are besieged with hundreds of thousands of advertising messages daily, weekly, monthly, annually. From radio, tv, print, billboard, signs, you name it someone has put a add on it, and we wonder why our meager add program failed to change the buying habits of the targeted community.

Whatever our message may be it is questionable if anyone would be willing to stand in line to purchase, no matter how clever the add, how good the deal (within reason). Small business owners cannot spend the money required over a long period of time to capture the results we all hope for. It is simply not going to happen.Its totally unrealistic yet we all wait for the add to break and keep waiting for the crowds to form.

On the other hand if we run adds for a year, modest adds, small ones, affordable ones and place a few radio spots and maybe if we  put a few inserts in the local newspaper, and possibly alternate these programs so we are not doing them all at once, but a smattering here and there, and maybe send out a press release and develop a web site, and maybe a contest or a giveaway, over time the market place will slowly awaken to your existence and possibly buy, one at a time.

The same applies to business to business marketing, slow and steady wins the race, no crowds will be forthcoming clamoring for a response, one account at a time, thats the way.

Word of mouth spreads and slowly, momentum is developed, as we slowly but surely penetrate the market and build our customer base slowly one person or business at a time.

That’s the best we can expect and its very good, its our expectations that are unrealistic not the results.

So here is what you need to keep in mind. Determine your add budget, and use it judiciously, spread it out do not concentrate it in one media vehicle. This will give the market the appearance and feeling that you are everywhere, that you are running a huge campaign and more people hear your message from more different sources developing a solid but slow and gradual ramping up of your sales, with a controllable budget spread over the full year.

The worst thing you can do is blow the whole budget in one month expecting a large return which will support ongoing marketing and when it doesn’t happen your out of steam and have not accomplished the goal.

Be patient, build slowly, expect a long ramp up and count each new customer as a huge success. Make certain you do the best job you can satisfying each customer that walks into your business and rely heavily on word of month and referrals. Use your add budget  carefully and respect the enormous job in front of you, advertising and promoting your business.

That works. Forget the home run, you can win with a few singles and maybe a bunt and a steal. Thats the best small business can do and expect, hard work, perseverance and consistent building one customer at a time with an affordable add program that is well thought out and spread out over time  using many different media tools and this is all very good. It works.

Adjust your expectations not your add budget or program. Do not expect a line Monday morning…one new customer at a time is good. Call for help 413-549-2966

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