As a businessperson, you spend a great deal of time trying to think of
ways to expand your customer base. You might pull off some unique sale
that will entice normally wary customers to check out your products.
Perhaps you change your advertising strategy to better target a
different demographic. You may even alter your product or service to
cater to a while different set of consumers.
But there are some
places that you might not have considered before that will give you
some great ideas for expanding your business. Simply talking to your
customers can often be a surprise source of inspiration; the trick is
to actually listen to what they tell you.
Perhaps the most
valuable – and most overlooked – source of business eureka is your
community newspaper. You have probably advertised in the paper, but
have you ever used it as an idea generator? Probably not.
Let’s take a look at some sections of the paper that might just put some unique business strategies in your head.
The Style/Fashion Section
You
do not have to be in the fashion industry to benefit from reading this
section of the paper. You can usually get a very good idea of the
trends that are popular in your community by studying this section,
even if your business doesn’t appear to have anything to do with it.
For
example, if the style section of your paper is loaded with classy,
high-end attire, that is a pretty good sign that your community
consists of a lot of high paid professionals. You can use that
information as you promote your business, perhaps by altering your
strategy to better target customers with a more luxurious taste. On the
other hand, if you see a lot of “old western” inspired themes in the
style section, you will take a far different approach to your marketing
campaign.
The Arts/Culture Section
Not all daily papers
include this section, and many only publish it on Sundays. But if your
community does have an arts section, that alone can tell you a lot
about your potential customers. The arts section is geared towards
people that enjoy somewhat cultured activities, such as art museum
visits and opera shows. The presence of an arts section tells you that
there are at least a reasonable number of customers in your area with
distinguished tastes. You can get an even better feel for them by
reading this section more thoroughly. Again, the information you glean
from this is really up to you. If you think creatively, you can use it
to alter your strategy ever so slightly, in order to expand your
customer base.
The Cars/Automobile Section
This is
perhaps the most valuable section of the paper for your business, even
if you are not in the car sales industry. The types of cars that are
featured most prominently will tell you a lot about your community.
Take a look at these vehicles, and then find out what type of people
usually buy those cars. That will tell you they types of customers that
live in your community, and you can use that in your advertising
efforts.
The Booklets/Newsletters Section
These are
usually included as inserts in your paper. While these are almost
entirely advertisements, you can use them in the same way as you do the
other sections of the paper. Take a look through them, and see what
types of products are most heavily advertised. This will tell you what
is most popular in your area.
Another good idea is to actually do your own newsletter printing or booklet printing.
Once you have a firm grasp of what kind of people are in your area, and
how you are going to target them, design a newsletter or booklet
(printed by a quality commercial printer) and have it included in your
city’s newspaper. You will (hopefully) have a step up on the other
booklets, because you have done your research.
Sometimes, reading the paper can do more for you than just give you the latest baseball scores! |
