Las Vegas businesses, here’s the lowdown… advertisement is simply not marketing, it is only a PART of marketing. It’s like saying you want to have a rich market, but you don’t want to market to you client base. Forget about online marketing, web marketing, a sound corporate identity. You don’t need ‘em?
So wrong. Same is true for revenue generation… if done in your own bubble, none of these valuable strategies and tactics will get the results you’re looking for. For your Las Vegas professional services, where your relationship with your target Las Vegas audience evolves and solidifies based on their trust for you - it is all about layering your “marketing touch” in a way that builds trust solidly over time. You will scare potential clients with too much too soon!
You, as a Las Vegas business owner, have to know which strategies to use and when, based on clearly defined objectives. Each and every marketing strategy has a different and unique purpose. Here’s an overview to making sound choices.
Advertising your Las Vegas business means getting the word out to potential clients about your company through paid advertising which includes ads or commercials in the Las Vegas media, including potentially print, radio, television and internet. You should consider advertising to:
- establish awareness for your company’s products and services
- heighten interest in the marketplace
- educate potential customers
- influence perceptions customers may have about your business
With that said, advertising can be fairly costly, but if you do it correctly and with a marketing perspective in mind and a fair budget it can indeed be effective and produce results.
Public Relations or PR is getting the word about your business products and service through the press, including articles, interview and newsworthy stories. As a business, you should use Public Relations to:
- build credibility and trust for your Las Vegas business
- move up a level in the eyes of your target audience and clients
- create a buzz
- get free attention
Getting good publicity requires a What’s In It For Me (WIIFM) messaging, so you have to pass the “who cares about my Las Vegas business” test each and every time. If you release a PR new item, for example, with “My Las Vegas business is proud to announce the…,” you’re going to end up dead in the water! Good relationships building with the local press is essential.
To promote your business equals getting the word out through articles, blog articles and email newsletters that you write and that potential customers will VALUE. These types of communications give you publicity and allow you to get enough visibility to become a speaker, a sponsor, will allow you to join committees and help you promote to:
- entice your target audience to consider your company’s products/service
- invite your audience to an a real time or online event or seminar
- introduce a new offer your business is promoting
- meet a short-term objective like a monthly sales goal
- test new ideas about what your clients are looking for
- invite interaction with you and your company
Promotions are one of the most effective ways for professional businesses to build trust with customers in the vast marketplace. The options in your promotional tool kit is both vast and can be cost-effective. Get a basic plan of both online/offline promotional strategies and tactics in place you will be in pretty good shape.
As a professional business owner, you will have to make critical choices for each and every strategy you undertake…. online, offline, etc. Here are some rules of thumb to help guide you:
- utilize the WIIFM factor always
- unless you have the backing of a fat marketing budget, promotion and PR tend to be your wisest and smartest investments for ROI
- online marketing and promotion is in general more cost-effective than print media
- permission-based marketing is a always a must
If you want your business to build awareness, interest, and credibility, you really will need all three strategies: advertising, PR and promotions as par of your marketing mix.
