Like most of you, with things a little slow, we are taking a hard look at our business, trying to figure out the best things to do to keep us moving forward. This economy is forcing us to readjust, to consider what we’ve done in the past and compare it to what we need to do in the present and for the near future.

We’ve already cut the less productive employees, unnecessary perks, lunches out and the entertainment budgets.

But what about promotion and advertising? Should it be cut out entirely or scaled back, or should we be looking for new ways to advertise the business?

It’s certainly been noted that, when business is slow, cutting your advertising will only make things worse. Instead, we need to work smarter and harder to get the lion’s share of the business – and there is business out there. Consumers have not stopped buying kitchens and baths; they have just slowed the process.

With regard to advertising, the good news is that, in tougher times, advertising rates for newspapers and local magazines become more competitive. In addition, terrific deals are being offered by radio and television stations, as well as cable companies. They need business and they are ready to deal.

This is also a good time to look at opportunities that offer multi-pronged benefits. For example, we recently had our cable provider bring a program at a great value that would not only give us excellent exposure, but that we would also be able to use on our Web site to double the benefits.

HOME SHOW BENEFITS

Another great area to look at with regard to promoting your business is through home and garden shows. Our home show is run by the St. Louis Home Builders Association and has been one of our most successful marketing tools. We have always had a great home show manager, and that makes a big difference in the success of it.

For the past 20 years, I have presented seminars about kitchens and baths to attendees, usually at least two or three a day. Most home show managers are looking for presenters, because this brings them more attendees. As the speaker at an event, you become the expert, and what you say has more credence than someone in a showroom telling the client the same exact thing.

Home show managers also look for articles from kitchen and bath dealers that they can submit while advertising their home shows. They are doing all they can to get homeowners to attend their shows. By writing an article and submitting it to the home show office, you can sometimes get free publicity that you would otherwise have to pay for.

I’ve had local dealers ask me why I do home shows, and my answer is always the same: “Where else can you get face to face with thousands of potential buyers for the same cost of a home show?” On average, we have 50,000 to 100,000 attendees at a show. If we only sold 1% of them, that would more than pay for the time and energy expended by attending.