Generating more sales without hiking your marketing budget

Q: How can I generate more sales without spending so much on marketing (advertising and promotion) that I break the bank?

The Printer Depot

A: No matter what business you are in, start by asking three questions:

First, how much are you spending now on advertising and promotion? Add up what you have spent over the last year and how you have spent it. Is your spending geared to introduce potential customers to your business, remind current customers of what you do, or a combination? Lay out your expenses month by month.

Second, how effective is your current spending on advertising and promotion? How do your advertising and promotion expenses impact sales? Keep in mind that there can be a lagged impact between advertising and sales.

Now, look at your 10 largest customers and your 10 "newest" customers. Call each of these customers and ask their awareness of your advertising and promotional efforts. I guarantee they will offer you insights you cannot replicate.

Third, where are your customers coming from? Look at your sales year by year — identify customers as well as product, parts and service sales.

Look at your customers by industry, not just location. You may find that you are doing more business in certain sectors and your marketing efforts should target these areas.

At this point, you will see advertising and promotion spending that should be redirected to customer segments, geographic areas or product/service areas that you are profitably serving. The basic idea is to fully serve segments rather than spreading too widely.

Now contact your major vendors and ask them to help you identify business like yours in other metropolitan areas where you do not do business. Just as you learned from your customers, the insight you gain from talking with these peer businesses will help you profitably grow your sales.