Since you’re only an Engineer I’ll advise you that there is a slight difference between marketing and advertising.
Advertising is typically what everyone does, paying for ad space or airtime in radio.
If it’s not working after 3 months, drop it! Change to something else. Not to mention if you’ve ran one for 3 months you’ve hit the “newspaper readers.” Who else is your target customer? Take ads out or advertise where they might see it.
One of the biggest mistakes I saw franchisees make was getting “suckered” into an expensive yellow pages ad. Even after advising them to stay away from there. Do not renew!
So like some said get some young people or whoever you can and have them door-to-door hangers, shopping centers. It’s been and always will be one of the most cost effective ways to advertise.
Marketing is more of getting the public to know “who you are” and “what you offer.”
In my business our product was our pride and there also was no cutting costs to get it cheaper.
Now remember, “cheaper” and “less expensive” are two different things.
So product pride; nothing is more valuable than getting your product into a potential customer’s hand. Give some product away!! We always had franchisees squawk at the cost. First it’s only COG, second if you’ll spend $200 on a print ad that doesn’t allow people to sample your product and many don’t read it why not spend $200 on product that you know is directly getting to people.
So how should you market? “It takes money to make money.”
Any kids? Any friends with kids?
Get some T-shirts and or ball caps printed up. Give them away to the kids or people who, hrmm let’s see it’s football season, how about go to high school football games. People who might not know you exist will see this walking advertisement of your business.
Remember that give away product? Will the school allow outside food into the game? Give a few pizzas out and have them sit in the stands and hand out free slices, with a coupon on your flyer. Even if they don’t eat it the smell will get to them and they will be thinking Pizza, maybe see someone in your t-shirt and go try you out.
Take some pies around to local businesses. We always hit up the car dealers and hospitals. AND ALWAYS with a coupon on your flyer.
You have beer sales. Get your beer rep to kick in some “marketing products” so you can do some loss leaders with the beer sales.
Something like Monday night football special 2 pizzas and half off a 6 pack. You can work the details out
I remember once having this discussion with a franchisee about running an ad putting out flyers for giving away a can of coke with every order on a specific upcoming day.
He was balking at what it would cost to give away a free can of coke with every order bought for a single day. What he was really balking at was the lost revenue from the coke sales for the day.
Again, I asked that if he thought it would drive so many people into his store just to get a free coke with an order and he would lose so much in sales then obviously he would have a ton of customers. All he was “losingâ€