Congratulations – you jumped off that ever unknowing ledge into the world of self-employment. Running your own small business is a very rewarding feeling, but it comes with its worries as well.

Turning a profit, getting a grasp at the market share, providing exceptional customer service, having enough man power – these are all worries that a small business owner should expect to feel. And the number one worry usually is “how do I get customers?” Without customers, your business doesn’t exist – or is always in the red. Relax – small business owners don’t necessarily need to hire a public relations professional if the budget isn’t there. Promoting your business isn’t hard; it just takes a little time and know how.

Promoting Your Business One Step at a Time

Public relations professionals may not want you to know this, but there are a few simple tasks that any business can do to promote their services. While it can be time consuming, PR isn’t rocket science. And, those who own and operate a small business are probably the best at promoting their business because they don’t want to see it fail.

The first step promoting a business is to write a communications plan. Sound intimidating? It isn’t. It is just as easy, if not easier, as writing a business plan. A communications plan should be treated like a business plan – it is a document that contains all the information about how you plan to communicate issues about your business and should be used as a reference for the period of time the plan is in effect.

A communications plan should contain the following information:

Objective: Under the objective category, list what you are trying to accomplish. If you want to promote your services, you may list your objective as: To make the target audiences aware of the services X Corporation provides. To be more specific, include the percentage you would like to reach - To increase my target audiences’ awareness of the services X Corporation provides by 15 percent. Including a number value in your objective statement allows for a quantitative, rather than qualitative, measurement during the evaluation process.

Key Messages: When creating a communications plan, be sure to include your company’s key messages, or well thought out statements regarding your business. For example, if your business provides a shopping service for individuals, one key message would be: X Shopping Service places time back into your hands by handling the tedious chore of shopping. Or, X Shopping Service provides a cost-efficient, quality shopping service or your money back. Think of key messages as sound bites for your business. They tell the public what your business is about, and why they should become your customer. Now remember, your key messages must honestly represent your company. If you tell half-truths or outright lie in your key messages, it could cost you your customer base.

Target Audience: Under the target audience section, list all of those groups that can use your service. Break it down into Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Audiences. Under primary audience, list those groups who you absolutely know can use your service. For example, if you sell hospital equipment, hospitals, clinics and private practices would fall under your primary audience. Under secondary, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers and group homes may be listed. Under tertiary, caregivers, private residents and equipment wholesale businesses may be listed. This allows you to see which audiences are most important and who you need to reach now, as well as who you can reach as the business grows.

Tools: This is where all the communications tools you plan to use in order to promote your business are recorded. Common tools include: billboards, television advertisements, radio advertisements, flyers, news programs, expos, client meetings, website, press releases, open house/grand opening and testimonials. Have a brainstorm session regarding all the ways you can reach your target audience. Each tool you list will be tied into the actions/tasks portion of the plan.

Actions/Tasks: This one of the more important pieces to a communications plan. Under Actions/Tasks, you will list each action your business will complete in a certain timeframe in order to successfully support the plan itself. When creating this portion, be sure to add a few headings – Action, or the task you plan on completing; Lead, or person responsible for completing the task; Deadline, or when the task is due; and Comments, or where you would write notes concerning the task. You may find it easier to place this information in a table. Placing all of this information in a table certainly makes it easier to read, and so attractive that you are bound to look at the plan frequently.

Writing a communications plan may take a few days or a few weeks, depending on your public relations and marketing knowledge. Once you have it in place, it will definitely make your business run much easier. But, you have to use the plan. A good suggestion is to go over the task portion of the plan during a weekly staff meeting, or if you are the lone employee, review it at the same time every week. This allows you to update any of the tasks, review your goals and keep you motivated.

Using Public Relations Tools

Let’s back up to the tools portion of your communications plan for a minute. This is where many may get stuck because of the number signs floating around their heads.

Yes, you must have a budget for promoting your business. You know your business better than anyone, so you know how much you have to spare. Now, don’t go deep into debt making outrageously priced television advertisements or brochures, but do have at least a couple of thousand dollars you can invest wisely.

Decide on a few higher priced communications tools that you would be interested in utilizing, but before you invest that money, follow these tips:

Television advertising can be pricey, especially if they make the commercial. Check and see if they run specials if you advertise monthly or weekly – this can help cut down the budget while getting you some play during those times people watch the most – during the national and local news and primetime. Also, if you can’t fork over the production fees, call a local college up for help. Most colleges have a Radio, Television and Film program, and students are always looking to add work to their portfolio. Just because it may be cheap doesn’t mean you can expect low quality – students may have an edge over professionals because they are learning the tips of the trade in the now, not 20 years ago.

Billboards are a relatively good way to promote your business. They tend to be fairly priced and usually offer discounts when ran for more than 6 months. The key is getting the best location possible. You want the most bang for your buck, so be sure to get traffic count numbers before deciding on a billboard location. Also, another way to cut on production costs is design your own billboard. If you aren’t good at graphic design, you probably know somebody who is. All they need to do is ask for the billboard measurements, put some graphics software to good use, and send the billboard company the artwork. This can save up to $1,000 easy.

Every small business needs a nice promotional piece to give clients. Brochures, business cards, magnets, etc. are a great way to get your name, number and services out there. Remember – over 90 percent of people call on a business based on word of mouth. Yes, seems silly to spend all that money on advertising when you can do it for mere pennies. Be sure to have a brochure specifically designed for your business – you may want to hire a professional because they are in the business of knowing how to catch people’s eyes, as well as how to make things sound just perfect. Once you have a brochure that contains your company’s name, contact information, services offered and testimonials, print at least 500 to 1,000 immediately. Every time you meet with a client, hand them two brochures – one for them, and an extra for a friend. If they are satisfied with your service, they will let others know. Also, purchase a promotional item to giveaway to customers. Magnets, pencils, pens, flashlights – you know what best fits your company. Have them printed up with your contact information and hand them out. This is a great way to stay in a person’s home even after the brochure has been passed around. People like to use who they are familiar with, and your magnet may be just the reminder of their experience with your company.

Get as much free press as possible. Does your business offer something that no one else offers? Do you have a unique situation that may make your business a human interest story? If so, pitch it to the media! The media are always looking for great stories, and your business may just be the next headline. Yes, many companies have PR professionals who write press releases daily and send them to different mediums, but half the time they go unnoticed. Build up your media contacts, and offer yourself as an expert in your field in the case that they need one. This helps get your foot in the door and your name in the press.

Don’t forget your website. Every small business needs a website, period. This is an inexpensive way to show people your business. Be sure to do it right. Don’t have a disorganized, out of date website live – it can only hurt you. Spend at least once a week updating information and adding new things. If you are unable to create or maintain the website, find a local business that provides this service. Not only can you write off the expense, but you can save yourself some time too.

Network, baby. Don’t just sit behind your desk – get out there. The more contacts you make the better. Arm yourself with a pocket full of promotional items and go around to other businesses or groups that more than likely could use your service. Tell them what you do and how good you do it (here is where your key messages come into play). Even throw out a few bonuses – give a free service or product away to be raffled off for non-profits or other organizations. Talk to your friends too. Don’t harass them until they use your service; instead, have a barbeque or party and discuss your operation, and ask them for insights. They may help you see any blind spots you missed, or better yet – give you a few names of people who are in need of your service.

Love the ones you’re with. Make sure that you provide the best customer service at all times to those customers you already have. This is where you save the most money. Since they are your biggest PR tool, treat them well. If they are well known within the community and happy with your service, use their testimonials on your website or other promotional items. It could help you.

Managing Your Communications Plan

As noted before, a communications plan doesn’t manage itself. You or an employee must review the communications plan at least weekly to make sure everything is on track. This also allows you to make notes in the Actions/Tasks section about different costs or people who are good contacts to call on again.

The communications plan should be a living plan that grows with your business. Even though you update it frequently, you should set a time (usually six months or a year) to evaluate the plan’s success. This is where you measure your tasks against your objective. Did you meet your goal? If not, why? Evaluation allows you to fine tune your plan for the next year.

There are a few ways you can evaluate your plan. If you chose a number for your goal (increase sales by 10 percent), then look at your sales records. In one year, how much more business did you do than the year before? That is your key to determining if your plan worked or not.

If your measurements were quantitative (increase awareness, increase knowledge, etc.), then you must conduct a survey or other measurement tool. Local chambers of commerce and economic development organizations can help with this task. For a fee, they can create, conduct and evaluate the results of such a questionnaire. If your area doesn’t support this, again, visit your local university’s Public Relations majors. They are always looking for field work.

Promoting your business isn’t like pulling teeth. It can be quite fun, especially when you get the results you want. Take time out now to pull together your communications plan. If used as suggested, it can be the biggest asset any company could have.