Business Owners Can Make Themselves the Obvious Choice

Many entrepreneurs struggle with how to market their goods and services, especially in a weakened economy. The result is a follow-the-pack mentality. The simply copy what others in their industry do, inserting their name for their competitors. Stop reading this article right now and go and pick up the Yellow Page directory for your area. Look at the ads of companies who do what you do. What do you see?

Most businesses do random chance marketing. There is no compelling marketing message which would provoke the prospect to call them first. They then try to compensate for the lack of a compelling message by shouting louder. They think that by making the ad larger or more colorful or by adding a cute logo they are improving their chances of being called. They aren't. With no change in the message they are just throwing their money away. It's sheer luck when they prospect calls them instead of their competitor.

Here are what successful small business owners do to not only improve the return on investment on their marketing dollars but thrive, profit and grow.

Attract attention with an interesting headline. Your business name or "Dentist" is not an interesting headline. Think of how you read the newspaper. You scan the headlines for an article that might interest you. The purpose of the headline is to get you to read the next paragraph. Thus, Local Doctor Shows the Secret to Running Without Pain is much more interesting than Dr. Smith Announces the Opening of his New Office, or worse a headline that says. Tom Jones, M.D. You don't want to be boring.

Motivate Them to Contact You First and Stop Their Search for Your Competitor. Most ads try to make the entire sale

BEN GLASS is a Fairfax small business owner and marketing and small business consultant. He runs monthly marketing meetings for Northern Virginia business owners and entrepreneurs. To come to our next meeting for free, and get one of Ben's books, for free, visit http://www.Glazer-Kennedy-Virginia.com or call 877-IBA-GKIC (877-422-4542)