ublicity plays a critical role in
the overall success of a business.
Offering an outstanding service
that no one knows about doesn't
generate a great deal of income. Some
entrepreneurs like P.T. Barnum (who
is credited with saying "There is no
such thing as bad publicity") are
natural born promoters and make it
look easy to market a business or ser-
vice. But many business owners fnd
generating publicity to be diffcult,
time consuming, expensive and just
plain exhausting.
Fortunately, growing the aware-
ness of your company is possible with
only a moderate investment of time,
resources and capital. Business pro-
motion can even be energizing and
exciting by following a 3 step process
for success:
• Decide what story about the busi-
ness is worth sharing with others.
• Discover who would be interested
in listening to the story.
• Use local tools and people to
help tell the story A.F.A.P. (As
Free As Possible).
Step 1:
Develop a story to
share with others.
Every business has a story to tell.
Perhaps the business was created
from a passion, or the business was
resurrected after a period of decline.
Maybe the business is dedicated to
a cause, or is motivated to succeed
due to a family member's battle with
illness. Whatever story a business
owner is interested in sharing with
others should be the basis for all pub-
licity work. Defning and developing
"your story" creates a clear, confdent
message that can easily be shared
with anyone and everyone who's
interested. The story need not focus
on the nuts and bolts of the business
— publicity is about awareness and
does not mean closing a sale. Publicity
creates interest, and as many good
salespeople will affrm, warm poten-
tial customers are far easier to close
than cold ones.
I know an OCS operator who
started his business because of a
crazy obsession to always
have the perfect
How to produce
publicity
By Ben White, Contributing Editor
Promote your business without spending a
fortune by marshalling local resources and talent.
P
''
Many a small
thing has
been made
large by the
right kind of
advertising.
''
– Mark Twain from his novel,
"A Connecticut Yankee in King
Arthur's court" 1889
28 Automatic Merchandiser VendingMarketWatch.com March 2015
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