Promotion and Advertising

1. 1

   Small employers think the most effective means to promote their business is positive word-of-mouth and associated referrals. Eighty-two (82) percent report word-of-mouth contributes substantially to generating their sales revenues.

2. 2

   Of the promotional means that small employers directly and immediately control, personal selling and business location generate more sales revenues for more firms than other means. Advertising and Web sites also appear reasonably effective in generating sales revenues for the small, employing businesses using them.

3. 3

   Few small, employing businesses generate significant revenues through telemarketing (5%), trade shows and events (10%) or free publicity (13%). Also, neither the strategies of price changes, that is to say, sales and specials (10%) nor changes in the mix of goods and services offered (15%) appear to yield significant revenues for many firms.

4. 4

   Forty-one (41) percent of small, employing businesses advertise enough so that it contributes more than marginal amounts to revenue generation. The most frequent forms of advertising include Web sites; fliers, circulars, and handouts; newspapers; newsletters, bulletins, etc.; and direct mail. The least frequent forms include television; value packs or shopper supplements; outdoor off-premise signage; radio; and magazines.

5. 5

   The single most important means of advertising for small, employing businesses are the Internet (16%), word-of-mouth (15%), newspapers (15%) and direct mail (14%). Since multiple means are often employed, the importance of an advertising means and its frequency of use are not necessarily related.

6. 6

   Half (50%) who advertise, advertise steadily throughout the year and another 25 percent do so with periodic ups and downs. Just 13 percent confine their advertising to a season or short period. The content of advertising material is typically (57%) developed by someone inside the business.

7. 7

   Virtually all small employers use subjective means to evaluate the effectiveness of their advertising.

8. 8

   Fifty-one (51) percent of small, employing businesses have a Web site, but their owners do not think that their site contributes much toward generating sales. Twenty-one (21) percent of those Web sites are equipped to make a secured financial transaction.

9. 9

   Sixty-four (64) percent of small employers change the content on their Web site less frequently than once a month. Five percent do it daily or more often.

10. 10

    Sixty-six (66) percent of small, employing businesses have a logo or trademark, including 84 percent of those employing 20 or more people. However, just 43 percent have theirs registered with the government.

Volume 6, Issue 7, 2006
ISSN 1534-8326

Gerald E. Hills
University of Illinois-Chicago

Claes Hultman,
Örebro University

• 1How much does advertising, such as newspaper ads, direct mail, fliers, etc., contribute to generating your business’s sales revenues?
• 1A(advertise) In newspapers.
• 1A1Is that daily newspapers, weekly newspapers or both?
• 1B(advertise) On television.
• 1C(advertise) In newsletters, bulletins, etc.
• 1D(advertise) Through direct mail.
• 1E(advertise) In magazines.
• 1E1Is that trade magazines, general interest magazines or both?
• 1F(advertise) In fliers, circulars, hand-outs.
• 1G(advertise) On an Internet Web site or sites.
• 1G1Is that your Web site, the Web site of others or both?
• 1H(advertise) On radio.
• 1I(advertise) In value packs or shopper supplements.
• 1J(advertise) On outdoor signs off the premises.
• 2Which of these is the single most important method of advertising for your firm?
• 3Does your advertising tend to be:?
• 4Is your advertising material typically designed by someone in your firm, by an ad agency for you, by an advertiser on your behalf, or by someone else?
• 5Which best describes how you know whether or not your advertising has been effective?
• 6Does your business have its own logo or trademark?
• 6aIs that logo or trademark registered with the government?
• 7How much does telemarketing contribute to your business’s sales revenue? Would you say:?
• 8How much does free publicity, such as news stories, contribute to your business’s sales revenue? Would you say:?
• 9How much does changing prices, such as sales or specials, contribute to your business’s sales revenue? Would you say:?
• 10How much does word of mouth or referrals contribute to your business’s sales revenue? Would you say:?
• 11How much does personal selling contribute to your business’s sales revenue? Would you say:?
• 12How much does trade shows or events contribute to your business’s sales revenue? Would you say:?
• 13How much do changes in the mix of your goods and/or services contribute to your business’s sales revenue? Would you say:?
• 14How much does your physical location contribute to your business’s sales revenue? Would you say:?
• 15Does your business have its own Internet Web site?
• 15aHow much does your Web site contribute to your business’s sales revenue? Would you say:?
• 15bIs your Web site interactive, that is, does it respond or change to a customer’s inquiry?
• 15cCan customers place orders on your Web site and pay for them on a secure platform or environment in the site?
• 15dDoes your Web site provide you market intelligence, such as the number of people who clicked on a particular topic on your site?
• 15eHow often do you typically change the content on your Web site?