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Advertising and visibility is extremely important to the survival of your business.  If no one knows who you are, then how are you ever going to make money?

Money needs to be spent on advertising and it needs to be spent wisely. Different businesses lend well to different advertising mediums. Some businesses succeed with radio, others with newspaper, and others depend on the YELLOW PAGES®.

Where should you advertise?
You need to determine what type of business you are in and whether it is a \'push\' or a \'pull\' product/service. A \'push\' product/service is something which people will buy on impulse upon hearing or reading about it, or it can

be something that may be in the back of the customers mind but requires your business to advertise to them so that they can be turned into a buyer. A \'pull\' product/service is something which the customer will want/need at a time of their own choosing. A Yellow Pages ad lends well to this type of business, because when the customer decides they\'re ready to buy and opens up the Yellow Pages for a supplier, you had better be there!

Making your advertising work for you
If you are looking at a YELLOW PAGES® ad then you need to spend some time weighing up the various alternatives and pricing options. You\'ll need to study what your competitors have got and what exactly it is they\'re advertising on their own ad. Are they advertising a price? If so, is yours cheaper? If not, maybe you should get a bigger ad? Or maybe put it in colour? Additionally, if you cannot undercut competition then you need to push values such as superior customer service. If you\'re going to spend all this money on a YELLOW PAGES® advert (and it can be a lot of money), then it is crucial that you make sure you are the most attractive ad on the page, and if you can, make your business the \'first call\' for the potential customer.

Turn them into a buyer
Once a customer has decided to get in touch with you, then it is all up to you to turn them into a buyer. You must treat your customers like your future depends on it, because it does! Put yourself into the shoes of your customers, ask questions like: \"Why should I buy from this business?\", \"What am I looking for when I\'m buying?\", \"Is price or service more important?\".

Word of mouth is the most powerful form of advertising; it can work for you and also against you. Treat your customers with respect and they\'ll return the favour.