Monthly Archives: September 2009
It Isn’t A New Idea But A “S W O T” Analysis Of Your Business Is Still A Good One
Door Hanger Advertising is an effective way to grow your business. However, all advertising should be part of an overall plan that sets your business apart from the competition and creates a demand for your products or services.
A “S W O T” Analysis is a simple yet effective marketing exercise (first introduced in the 1960’s) that can help a business focus on improving sales.
The initials stand for:
- “S” – STRENGTHS
- “W” – WEAKNESSES
- “O” – OPPORTUNITIES
- “T” – THREATS
You don’t need a marketing guru to conduct the analysis, you can do it yourself, if you are willing to be honest. Start with 4 blank sheets of paper and title each with the headings shown above.
Here are some examples to help get you started:
STRENGTHS could be –
Your location, a one of a kind product or service, a reputation built over the years, your staff, etc.
WEAKNESSES could be –
Your location, similar products and prices offered by nearby competitors, not enough parking, a bad reputation
OPPORTUNITIES could be –
A competitor goes out of business, new homes being built in the neighborhood, new products available from a supplier, using the internet to expand sales, etc.
THREATS could be –
New competitor opens nearby, gas prices go up, temporary road construction, etc.
With a completed analysis, you will be better equipped to develop an effective marketing and advertising plans, including a door hanger advertising campaign.
Grow Your Restaurant Business: The Advantages Of Door Hanger Advertising
Door Hanger Advertising is a great way to grow your restaurant business. Unlike newspapers, radio or tv, door hangers allows you to put your advertising dollars exactly where your potential customers live. You can target geographically by neighborhood.
Door hanger advertising also allows you to control your budget, by the size and frequency of your distribution.
There are many other advantages of door hanger advertising, here are just a few:
- It’s personal, between you and your prospect
- It’s not as public as other media, your competitors won’t have access to your coupons and special offers as they do in newspapers and other media
- It’s limited to one door hanger per household, which means special offers will not be abused, for example, by prospects buying more than one newspaper and clipping multiple coupons
- Response is easy to track
- You can compare results by neighborhoods and determine your best market area
At this point, you might be asking yourself, if door hanger advertising is so powerful, why isn’t every restaurant in town doing it?
It’s true, distributing door hangers can play a big role in growing your restaurant business, however, it is going to take some effort and a budget. It’s not just a matter of putting your menu or a few coupons together and distributing them. A successful campaign is a bit more complicated than that. To gain some insight into the process, I suggest reading this BLOG, which contains ideas and tips on design, strategies and more. It’s written for busy owners and managers. Each posting can be read in a minute or less. Feel free to leave comments and I’ll do my best to answer your questions.
Of course, everyone wants to hit a home run the first time at bat, but prepared for some hits and misses. Every distribution is important and provides an opportunity for you to learn more about your market area. Results will vary, even if no one responds, that is still a result (obviously not what you were hoping for) and the result, that no one or few people responded, can be used to make a course correction.
So, if you have decided to start a door hanger advertising campaign, begin with a distribution that is large enough to establish a base line of results, usually about 2000 to 3000 pieces. Don’t be tempted to save money on printing by ordering large quantities to be used in future distributions. What if your offers fall flat and don’t work? Then you’ll be stuck with the extras or worse, feel obligated to put them out and repeat the results.
Door hanger advertising works. It can work for you. But, unless you are prepared to stick with it, you may be wasting your time and money. It is going to take some trial and error. The good news is, that over time, with experience, results will become predictable. That’s when you can expand your efforts, and door hanger advertising won’t be costing you money, it will make you money.