Even small startup companies can borrow a page out of Donald Draper’s handbook to discover new ways to promote their businesses. No, a Mom and Pop company needn’t hire a Madison Avenue advertising firm to conduct a multi-million dollar campaign, but they can still use some of the same tactics that advertising agencies use to promote their own business.
Clever written copy can get inside a potential customer’s head and stick there. Who doesn’t remember Coca-Cola’s clever tagline, “It’s the Real Thing”?
So can an eye-catching, logo. Who doesn’t want to dash off to the gym every time one sees Nike’s iconic swoosh?
It’s not just catchy slogans and attractive logos these days, though, that get customers knocking on a company’s doors. Thoughtfully written articles on a company’s blog that not only sell, but also educate potential customers how they can conquer various challenges their businesses face can drive those customers into a company’s hands if the company has the solution to their problems.
A company’s staff can also rewrite those blog posts to submit to article websites such as HubPages.com, TheFreeLibrary.com, Squidoo.com, as well as trade publications and journals. This kind of publicity can help the company to further promote its goods and services to potential customers looking for information about a business challenge they may face.
Yet, just as in Madison Avenue’s heyday, a well-crafted slogan can still help companies get customers’ attention quickly. When creating a slogan, a company needs to consider several things:
- Is the slogan is an accurate, memorable representation of what the company stands for?
- Does the slogan drive home in a few words what the service or product does for the customer?
- Will the slogan appeal to the target population that is most likely to need the company’s service?
A slogan by itself, however, won’t be as effective as a slogan combined with a logo in a design that reflects what the company represents—its culture, its products, and its promise—all wrapped up in an eye-catching design.
One of the least expensive ways to use the company slogan and its logo to promote the company’s products and services is to incorporate them into labels. Again, companies should take a lesson from Coca-Cola. Customers can recognize cans of the bubbly sweet stuff a mile away by their unique label while they’re out doing their grocery shopping. They head over to the beverage aisle, grab a 12-pack, and think about the company’s latest slogan as they drive home. They just can’t wait to open up a can of the stuff so they, too, can experience the seductive slogan’s promise.
Whether a company hires a copywriter to craft its slogan or creates it in-house, combining that slogan with the company logo on an attractive label can help the company build brand awareness quickly. If the company doesn’t have a talented graphic designer on staff, a quality label company will certainly be able to supply one who can create a logo that will attract the company’s target customers.
Even if a company sells services rather than products, the company can give out promotional merchandise that bears the company’s label. Once a company begins to make enough money to afford it, it may also consider adding promotional wear to its marketing strategy. Satisfied customers who walk around town wearing the company’s logo and slogan will go far to build brand awareness.
With carefully crafted labels, combined with other promotional tactics that help solve their customers’ problems, even a startup company can promote its wares effectively to its target customers. Low-cost marketing solutions allow a company to pour more of its assets into what it does best—its own work.
