Between the Lines
  

Getting the Word Out by Fred Martel There isn’t any one thing you do as a business owner to achieve and maintain success. A good combination of tools wins. We all know that the more impressions you make in the marketplace, the more sales you will get. Proving which method of attack works best is less important than knowing that a good combination does work.    Outside sales, phone sales and various types of advertising together make the most impressions to achieve results. It is a game of numbers.  I have been asked way frequently “how do I know that the advertising works?”  It works. I know that Mercedes Benz, Pepsico, Coke, and all other mass market advertisers do need to know which ad in which media at what time of day got your attention (some ads may draw more attention than others, but they allocate a budget for it). The important factor is they know that advertising works because it makes impressions on readers/ viewers/listeners.  Story continues below ↓ advertisement | your ad here

They also know that you cannot put a meter to it and get a reaction count. Advertising works. Added to the mix of print, radio and television advertising is the internet. Your web site is important (and is taking over as the electronic phone book) because people now “Google” for anything and everything they need. There are lots of industry web sites to advertise on, and some have directory listings, state by state for HVAC services.  There are business related sites such as Plaxo and Linkedin, and others that promote networking among business people within various industries via e-mail. The latest entries in the world of advertising are Facebook and Twitter. They are the new world “word of mouth” method of making impressions. You may think that this form of advertising is a joke, but it is real. Social networking like this adds impressions to your exposure mix and should be considered.  Your “neighborhood” is now a network of people communicating on their computers and cell phones. The same formula works here: the more impressions you make the better. More and more businesses are slipping into this media which originated as a personal chat forum. The bottom line is that you have to keep an open mind and explore all avenues for exposure.  Advertising works when you use it to your best advantage. Frequency equals impressions. I’ll leave you with my favorite quote: “Not advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. Only you know it happened.” Make sure you visit the New England HVAC Insider web site at www.nehvacinsider. com.                                                            ###