Two or more businesses may share the cost of advertising or one of your company's vendors may supply ad dollars as well as camera ready copy to which you only need to add your company logo. This not only increases the advertising placement budget, but decreases or even eliminates production cost. As advertising costs grow, it is important that small business owners be creative with cooperative and bartering techniques. Some businesses have discovered that setting up an in-house ad agency will save 15 percent of media cost. This is a simple procedure and can save substantial amounts, but the small business person needs to consider the extra time spent in dealing with advertising salespeople and additional paperwork.
Any event held to increase sales and traffic is a promotion.
Creativity and originality are the keys to successful promotional efforts, and there are many low-cost and effective ways to do it. These banners highlight a special price on pizza immediately ready for take-out. The promotion costs nothing but the price of the banner, and the results are great because it targets working people, tired after a long day, and provides an immediate solution for dinner with no cooking. Creativity is the most effective way of promoting any business. Promotional activity should always be based on recognizing customer needs and making them feel special.