Advertising your business online
Ricky, Los Angeles
I’m buying a hotel booking company, and I understand the importance of advertising. How do I advertise on the Web? I would like to target companies only in certain fields.
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DiggGetting your message across
Ask FSB’s expert tips for publicizing your products to the national media.
Andrew, Agel Enterprises, Provo, Utah
We’re a young company with distribution in more than 40 countries. We are winning numerous national and local awards and feel our innovative gel nutritional supplements tell a great story. However, we’re having a difficult time getting our message placed in the media. How do companies utilize national media? We have everything in place for a great story – innovative products, hyper-growth, overcoming the impossible, redefining an industry – but do not necessarily know the best way to get national publications interested. What can we do better?
Increasing fees during the economic slump
Cheryl D. Ajamu, Southfield, Mich.
I own an advertising media sales representation firm. How do I raise my fees to cover increased expenses at a time when my clients are experiencing lower advertising revenues?
Drawing sellers to a home-raffle site
A reader looks to gain exposure for her online real estate business.
Yvette Brown, New Start Concepts Management, Bronx, N.Y.
I started a small business that raffles houses online. How can I get exposure for the Web site? Read more…
How do I assure customers I’m not going broke?
Ask FSB’s tips for reassuring customers in a jittery home-building market.
Gloria Jarvis, St. Louis
My husband and I own a small real-estate development and home-building business. We focus on high-end, green construction in a new subdivision in a high-demand area, and we have little competition. Our customers are not affected by the current credit crunch. Our build time is 16-18 months, which reassures our buyers that they have some time for the market to recover to sell their existing home. Yet our customers are scared to buy because they hear that every builder is going bankrupt! In our case, this just isn’t true. We recently signed with a joint-venture concern that ensures our surviving the housing crisis. I am sure there are many small and medium-sized builders/remodelers that are experiencing market resistance now, but we are not in that category. How can I convince our prospective buyers that we are not going broke - short of showing my balance sheet? Suggestions? Read more…
It’s all about presentation
Get the right marketing tools to send your business through the roof.
Rosie, Saint Cloud, Fla.
I need a professional presentation booklet for my roofing company for sales expansion. How can I go about getting this done? Read more…
The high cost of doing business with Wal-Mart
A small apparel manufacturer struggles to comply with the giant retailer’s requirements.
Carolyn Deason, San Antonio, Texas
I got lucky and showed my shirts to Wal-Mart locally. They love them, and one store has already ordered $2,700 worth of shirts and plans to order more this month. Other stores wish to order as well. I am a home-based business, very small, in business less than a year. Wal-Mart pays their invoices net 30 and requires me to tag the shirts with bar codes. Once I am in their vendor system, I can sell nationally. It’s a great opportunity, but how do I afford the initial expenses to do business with Wal-Mart? It will run close to $6,000 to pay for manufacturing, printing, bar codes and tags.
Attracting new customers
Orna Sabbah, Union, N.J.
We operate an authorized Sprint sales & repair center in Union, N.J. Sales have been declining for some time now. Union is not the most happening city commercially, but we are located on the main business street. The repairs bring in traffic, but not new activations or upgrades, which is the meat of the business. Since our address is listed on the Sprint Web site, customers come to us to make payments, but not for new activations. What services can we offer to beef up business?
What do you recommend? Leave a comment with your answer. Read more…
Devising a winning package for your product
It’s both a science and an art, experts say.
Ibiam, Nigeria
How can I create an attractive package for my soap and deodorant product?
Setting prices for a new line of business
A pressure-washing business owner checks with Ask FSB for advice on setting prices for a new line of services.
Sylvia Suter, Brookfield, Wis.
I own a pressure-washing company in the Milwaukee area. I’m interested in expanding my business to pressure wash outdoor business signs. I think signs would be a great niche for my business. The problem is: I have no idea what to charge per sign. Would the charge per sign be according to size? Thank you for any information.
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