Back when I ran my own company and I was first approached by a local radio station for advertising, the idea seemed very exciting. As I did a bit of research, I began to understand the different strategies in small business contracting sales. That’s when I realized that Radio and Television work OK, but only after you have exhausted every other avenue of advertising which are within your budget. Your typical sales and advertising strategies include flyers, mailings, referral incentives, magazine ads in senior citizen magazines and home improvement magazines, advertising on vehicles, bonus incentives for your technicians and of course your office staff as well.

All these are proven forms of advertising that provide you with a return on investment if done properly. On the other hand, Radio does not have a great track record for small business contractors. The segments are usually short and comparatively quite expensive, and have no time structuring. Although your Radio sales person may be nice, the Radio DJ may be quite difficult. And on top of everything else, you may be running a segment with other trades people. Meanwhile, it is highly unlikely that a customer will listen to the segment and write down the phone number or your website address and add to your customer base.

As a small business owner, you can and will find much more effective and proven methods of advertising that won’t cost you an arm and a leg. I like to call Radio and Television advertising ‘Passive’ – that is, the customer hears and watches the ads in a passive manner, and that it does not have much of an effect on them after the segment is over. On the other hand, Magazine or Newspaper advertising is what I like to call ‘Magnetic Advertising’ – where you stand a better chance at attracting your target audience and they have your contact details right there in front of them where they can easily rip off the paper or add your number to their cell phone.

Businesses that do invest in Radio and Television advertising usually have sales figures over and above 5 million dollars or more per year – and they usually combine these advertising spots with a mail blitz or home shows.

Watch your financials and learn what they are projecting. These details will help you determine your advertising budget and its allocation.

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