The biggest lesson I’ve learnt from business is that no matter how good your product or service is, if people don’t know about it, then you’re in big trouble. You could have the best product in the world but you’ll only find success if enough people know about it to buy it. Marketing is king and if you can’t advertise effectively, then be prepared to fail.

So how do you get people to know you and your business? Shouldn’t be too hard right? But ask any business owner and they’ll tell you that advertising effectively is one of the hardest things to do. So where do you begin? Well, here are a few key tips to start you off. (1) Define your target market and break your ideal consumers down into different segments. This allows you to create custom marketing messages for different customer segments. (2) Once you know who you’re targeting and what message you want to send, research different advertising methods. Find the best ways to reach these consumers and discuss the pros and cons of each method. (3) Don’t be afraid to spend money on advertising. Free forms of marketing such as blogging and setting up Facebook and Twitter accounts are fine and can play an important role in your entire marketing strategy, but you also need to advertise in the “real world.”

Put time and effort into building a solid marketing plan and focus on generating awareness for your company. I recommend reading Duct Tape Marketing by John Jantsch. It gives you practical advice on how to reach your ideal consumers and discover what works for your business. Remember, if they don’t know you, they can’t buy from you.