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Advertising Your Small Offline Business in Trinidad & Tobago

A Simple, Proven & Powerful Local Business Advertising Tactic

What’s the most effective advertising for independent small businesses in TnT?   

As a small business owner in Trinbago you must have asked this question, or something similar, over and over.  This is a question that is constantly on the minds of thousands of small business owners in Trinidad and Tobago.  It may come more frequently in anticipation of the upcoming holiday season; it is, however, a perpetual question.  

There are really only a few options available to the low budget, local small business owner.  If you have operated in Trinbago for any time, you already know how you advertise in Trinidad, there are limited options, they are:

·         Flyers: Distributed to the local community.  Typically produces a 1 - 3 percent response rate.  It means that 1000 flyers would produce between 10 and 30 responses, not sales.  

·         Newspapers:  There are the dailies and the weekly that all cater to a national audience.  This has worked to extend the reach of many local businesses.  It is much better for big ticket items, such as; automobiles, large appliances, industrial products and services. Unfortunately, for locally based small businesses, the only affordable option, in the newspaper, is the classified section. 

·         Radio and Television:  Both these mediums are national and rely on frequency to generate conversions.  These mediums are also best suited to big ticket items or in instances where there is a large inventory of a drastically discounted small item.  They both come with an unsustainable high advertising budget. 

That’s it; after that business owners must rely on word of mouth.  It makes no sense for small local clothing stores, shoe stores, appliances, accessory stores or similar small businesses to consistently advertise in the national media. 

 At best, the small business owner who advertises on the radio, TV or newspaper, do so sporadically or seasonally, both very ineffective in establishing top-of-mind awareness.  Ads in these mediums may cause a spike in sales but the real, inevitable risk is the possibility that the investment may not breakeven.   

What results are small business owners seeking? 

In three words you want “more sales revenue”.   You need more of your regular customers buying more frequently, more prospective customers, more sales.  The only way that will possibly happen is to advertise more; not less. Nothing happens when nothing is done. 

As a small business, if you don’t advertise you will eventually die.  Revenue is what keeps you going, if you don’t invest in advertising your revenue will stagnate or worse you will need additional investments.  

What you really need is a systematic inexpensive way to get local top of mind awareness.  “ Local” may be national for most big ticket items and rare services but for small independently owned local businesses; it means the city and area in which the business exists. 

For small business owners, every penny counts.  They need to know that when they spend money on advertising, it works.  Most cannot afford to take out ads in national newspapers, radio and television; many turn to distributing flyers.   That experience is short lived because of the returns on investment in copying and distribution.  

There is another way.  It is a bit of a strange concept to small business owners in Trinidad & Tobago’s independently owned small businesses community.  This type of advertising is dominated by the large business that can afford the cost of designing printing, and distributing coupons.  This is a sure way to get your business in the hands of the most unlikely prospect.  Big business use it because it consistently provides a return on their advertising investment.  

Soon this simple, powerful advertising strategy will be offered to local merchants in Trinidad and Tobago.  It’s presently in prelaunch and promises to change the advertising landscape for a select few independently owned local merchants.  

Find out more about this soon to be released advertising strategy in Trinidad and Tobago.  Clickhere  

Tracking and Testing - the ONLY Way To Attract More Visitors

by Jim Edwards

Every serious online business owner eats, sleeps and breaths targeted traffic to their website. They spend the most money and time trying to attract first-time visitors to their sites in hopes of generating new sales and subscribers. But, believe it or not, it’s easier to increase your income by simply selling more of the visitors you already get than trying to chase down more traffic.

The solution? Tracking & testing! Probably the most overlooked and underutilized, but certainly the most powerful strategy for increasing sales and opt-in subscriptions. If you spend any time or money on advertising, you must start testing and tracking. Simply put, “tracking” means you measure the effectiveness of each individual advertising source you use to promote your business.

For example, if you advertise in email newsletters, you should know how effective each newsletter ad rates compared to all the others in terms of sales and subscribers generated. This enables you to know whether an ad makes or loses money. Testing means you constantly look for ways to improve your ads in small, incremental amounts that add up over time.

The most common (and effective) tests you can run are A-B split tests, which pit two variables against each other to determine which converts more lookers into buyers. Split testing headlines, price points, and guarantee periods make, from my experience, the best places to start testing.

The reason testing and tracking can double your profits (or more) lies in the power of small, incremental improvements. Lets say, for example, you decide to do a series of split tests on a website that currently converts 1 in every 100 visitors (1% conversion). You test, headline, price, guarantee and a payment plan. If each of the 4 tests yields a .25% increase in conversion, you would not see an increase in sales to 2% (4x.25%), but actually an increase to almost 2.5% since each improvement builds on the last!

The most basic tool in testing and tracking revolves around the use of advertising link tracker software. These tools measure the number of clicks on individual advertisements (text links, banners, pay-per-click ads, etc) and then measure sales or subscriptions generated as a result.

You get two choices with link trackers: a hosted service or software you install on your own server. A hosted service offers the advantage of easy setup and use. Most of the time you just sign up for the service, enter the link you want to track, get your tracking code, and you’re off to the races.

The disadvantage of a hosted service is that, if it gets abused, using the URL of the service in your links can get your emails blocked or your pages banned by search engines. The advantage of hosting the software on your own server is that you maintain a higher degree of technical control and can avoid the banning issues. The main disadvantage of hosting it yourself involves the fact that you really don’t have anyone to call for help if something goes wrong.

One of the most popular hosted link trackers online is HyperTracker.com, though I’ve not used the service. My favorite link tracker is actually part of an integrated e-commerce system at http://www.MysiteSales.com. This service enables you to track your sales and subscriptions made through the shopping cart.

Two options for software you install on your own server are Dynatracker.com and ProAnalyzer.com. Both provide decent link tracking, though no system I’ve tested provides 100% accurate results. But, with that said, failure to test means you’re leaving money on the table by wasting visitors you could otherwise convert to buyers with basic effort at improving your sales messages.

Copyright 2006 Jim Edwards

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Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-creator of an amazing course that will teach you step-by-step and click-by-click how to get your own money-making videos posted online... "Finally! A Quick and Easy Way For YOU To Painlessly Create, Post and PROFIT From Your Own Money-Making Online Videos... Without Being a Computer Geek or Paying Outrageous Fees To A Webmaster!" => http://www.WebsiteVideoSecrets.com

Check out this One-Stop Ads, Visitors, Clicks, Actions & Sales Conversion Tracking / Split Testing Solution

Why Are Businesses In T&T Still Using Web1.0?

There is ample evidence to confirm the hypothesis that business owners in Trinidad and Tobago do not fully appreciate how the internet can affect their bottom lines.

The major internet service provider in Trinidad, TSTT, has done extensive research to determine exactly who is online but...

Let's not rely on statistic because it only tells one side of the story. You should be aware, however, that according to TSTT research there are approximately 224,000 people in this country connected to available internet service providers. In a population of approximately 1.3 million people that represents just under a third of the population. What are the implications?

It can be deduced that the online market is large enough to include clients for any business. The fact that almost one third of their potential local customers are connected to the internet is enough reason for every business to pay attention to what's happening online.

It's an unwise business decision to ignore this balloning online segment of the population. In fact, right now we know that online connections are increasing exponentially. in a few years, with the reducing cost of access to ISPs, the number of Trinbagonians online may increase even faster and in greater numbers than what has been forecasted. Doesn’t it make sense that businesses begin the process now?

Here is the thing. Unlike the general population, most businesses are connected to the internet, most not all. The problem is that the majority is still using Web1.0 strategies. That is, local businesses primarily use the internet for sending and receiving emails.

In addition, most of the existing websites, the exception being entertainment sites, are not interactive and not developed to convert visitors to paying customers. The more astute local online businesses drive traffic to their sites with the primary goal of generating revenue from advertisers.

Only a small handful has any definable online business model.

The next time you read the Trinidad Express, Guardian or Newsday scan the advertisements and see for yourself the number of ads with web site addresses. You will find quite a few with email addresses which tell you that the company or business owner is connected to the internet but does not have a web site.

The majority, however, even with full page ads, have no email or web address.

Also take a look at the business cards in your pocket or pocket book. How many of them have a web site or email address? I would guess very few.

So why would a business want a website? If the value is not apparent, it becomes a non-issue. If newspaper ads are getting business new customers; why worry about the internet? The answer is leverage. Consider this…

1. If you purchase a classified ad the newspaper charges you for every letter and they tell you what you can and cannot say. In other words they censor your ads. With a website you can add pages, hundreds or thousands of them at no additional cost other than what the designer charges per page.

2. For the price of a full page newspapers display ad or a one minute TV ad with a low frequency, you can have a full year of your company's information displayed online. The cost, your domain name and hosting, less than $100 USD. Your only challenge is getting people to visit the site.

3. The internet allows you to track everything that happens on your site. Every detail that is too combersome to track on any other mediums is trackable online. You can easily find out how many people visited your site, how long they stayed and what they are actually interested in. Impossible with any other advertising media source.

Essentially what is being suggested is NOT that businesses stop advertising on the other media but to leverage each ad so that they maximize the benefits. It will not cost one penny more to add your web site address or email address to an ad.

People who are connected and really interested will find you on the web and be more inclined to visit your business. The internet is just one tool in your arsenal and although it must be employed wisely; it cannot be your only strategy.

There is still a large segment of the population whose only connection to a business is either physical or phone but as we can see that is rapidly changing. So continue to place ads but leverage each. And while we are on the subject of ads, please ensure that every ad you place is a direct response ad, anything else is just a waste of your advertising budget.

Your choice as a business owner is to wait for the evolution of the internet to sweep you online or make the decision that you will be there when it reaches critical mass. As with everything else, there is a learning curve, the sooner you start the more experience you will have online and the more you will know. Find out how simple it is to do. Get a copy of the Internet Manifesto and be notified when the Trinidad and Tobago Special Report is completed. Go here.


Thank you for reading, comment if you feel so inclined.

Is There Such A Thing As Scientific Advertising?

"Understanding And Using These Simple Concepts Can Revolutionize The Advertising Industry in Any Country

Know what you want to do, hold the thought firmly, and do every day what should be done, and every sunset will see you that much nearer the goal. -Elbert Hubbard

Over 400 million dollars is spent every year on advertising in Trinidad and Tobago. Unfortunately approximately 90 percent of it is wasted money. Most advertisers may as well burn their money to keep the mosquitoes away because in the end they get about the same result. It is so bad that even the advertising that works are not maximized to its fullest potential.

There is a perception in this country that advertising is mostly unscientific. The idea is just to place an ad in the newspapers, magazines or write a script for television or radio and see what happens. In the hard print industry circulation is measured by the actual numbers of copies printed not sold or distributed. Rarely is anything tested or modified to measure the changes. Very little is monitored. The only thing that business owner can point to is the number of inquiries produced by the ad or visits to their business place. Stats on how many became customers and the volume of sale that transpired is hardly ever monitored.

Quite a few honest owners will tell you that sometimes they bomb. Meaning the response did not even pay for the cost of the advertisement. The ad agent response is that something went wrong but that could be fixed if it was tried in a different way. The crux of the challenge is that most business owners although they have been advertising for years have never taken the time to find out the right way to do it. Advertising can be scientific.

There is no excuse for someone in the advertising industry not understanding the concept of scientific advertising. In fact a very good criterion for choosing an advertising agent or agency is to ask this question. “Have you read the book, ‘Scientific Advertising’ by Claude Hopkins?” You can make your decision based on their answer to that one question. There are fundamental concepts in this book when applied to the advertising industry in Trinidad can literally transform what presently exist now.

This book was written in the 1920s so its now in the public domain it can be downloaded and read anytime so there is no excuse other than plain laziness that any business person who is spending thousands of dollars on advertising should not take the time to read it. It will literally save you thousands of wasted dollars. In fact, it is even more important that all advertising agents, agencies and others involved in preparing ads, writing copy or in any way involved in advertising should make it mandatory reading. Here is what the preeminent twentieth century advertising legend David Ogilvy had to say about this book.

"Nobody, at any level, should be allowed to have anything to do with advertising until he has read this book seven times."

When Mr. Ogilvy wrote those words information overload was just beginning, today it has double or tripled. But it is still true. Understanding the concepts in this book as it relates to advertising and selling will save business owners thousands in ineffective advertising. Here is a simple example of one of Mr. Hopkins fundamental concepts. Putting it In my words, not his.

“Any advertiser who does not measure the results of his advertising is not in a position to have an intelligent conversation about advertising.” Simply saying that each advertisement that is placed in any medium should be tracked and measured and the results recorded. On agency owner was so taken back by a question on measuring advertisement his response was that it was the responsibility of the client to measure the effectiveness of an ad his agency placed. And this was by no means a small agency in the heart of Port of Spain.

The internet offers a host of tools for analyzing advertising campaigns but what is done offline is done to some extent online. Fact is not that the ability is absent but when the business owner does not know what to ask for he gets what is offered. One company based in Dubai, Toucan recognizes the huge potential in Trinidad is targeting companies in the Caribbean. Read here. Understanding the concepts in this book will even help if you advertise online.

Ok here is the deal. You can download a free copy of the book Scientific Advertising here. Or you can purchase an audio copy that I have recorded and burned on a CD. The price of the CD is $29.95 TTD. Its your choice, read the seven chapters one word at a time or listen to it over and over in your vehicle or at home while relaxing doing something else.

If you have the time to read this book more than once just download the free copy and read it. If not, send me an email and I will prepare a copy of the CD for you. Either way just get to it now. It is that important. Don’t spend another cent on advertising until your have read or listened to this book. And if your are in the advertising business and have not read it. It should be your top priority, it will help you immensely.

Thanks and Be Well