I’d go out on a limb to say advertising worked for Henry Ford. He was relentless with his ad dollars and to this day the company he built continues to advertise non-stop.

Coke, McDonald’s, Apple and the Ford F-150 are all category leaders and they all advertise relentlessly. It’s one thing to get to the top, to stay there is even more difficult.

As a small business owner you may say, “Well all those guys have a bunch of money to spend on advertising. I’m just a little guy and I can’t afford that…” All are valid points, but YOU can learn from the big guys. YOU must have some money to market your product.

Find something that works and beat it to death.

You think all the companies above started out with millions of dollars in their advertising budget? HELL NO! They found ONE medium that worked for them, beat it to death, made a ton of money and then branched out into other mediums.

Your advertising budget should be 2-10% of your sales budget. If you have a high margin of sale (most car dealers) your advertising dollars should be around 10%. If you’re a mom-and-pop shop it should be around 2-3%. Notice how EVERYONE should have an advertising budget?

Story time

When I was growing up in Winnipeg, the coffee and donut market was owned by Robin’s Donuts. They had very little competition, so they didn’t advertise much. They did some marketing here and there, but nothing significant. “I’m at the top, so why should I advertise!” Then Tim Horton’s opened up a couple shops. Robin’s still didn’t do much. Then Tim’s opened up more shops and started to advertise…relentlessly. By that time, it was too late for Robin’s. They were too late to the party even though they used to have a strangle hold on the market.

The funny thing is – when people leave, they all leave at once. It’s not a gradual decline. It’s quick and painful. Tim’s took over the Winnipeg market (as it did most Canadian markets) in a few years. Now, Robin’s has a few locations in Winnipeg whereas Tim’s is on every corner. And guess what, Tim Horton’s continues to advertise RELENTLESSLY.

There will be some who say, “Well, the coffee at Tim’s tastes better. Duh!” GO FUCK YOURSELF. You know why it tastes better? Because Tim’s advertises that it tastes better. If you were blindfolded, you wouldn’t be able to figure out Tim’s coffee from Robin’s Donuts coffee. It’s the same thing with wine. I know people who will buy $50 wine glasses because some marketing genius (no sarcasm here, it’s a brilliant scam) advertised the fact that their glasses enhance the taste of your $100 wine. Does it actually work? NO! OF COURSE NOT! In a blind taste test, even the best wine connoisseurs in the world couldn’t taste the difference between wine in a $50 glass compared to wine in a fucking toilet bowl (okay, it wasn’t a toilet bowl it was a $5 glass, but you get my point).

Advertising helps you decide. It plays off your existing thoughts and tricks you into believing what’s right and wrong, what’s better and what’s awful, what wine tastes like in a $50 glass compared to a $5 glass.

This also reminds me of a sports bar that was located across the street from one of the busiest entertainment venues in North America. I was on a sales call with the sports bar manager and she mentioned they didn’t need to advertise because they were always full and they were across from one of the busiest entertainment venues the city has ever seen.

My response, “What would happen if that busy venue opened a sports bar across the street right next to your business? What would happen if they brought their sports and rock stars across the street to their venue for after-parties, autograph sessions, etc…?

The manger kind of shrugged like she didn’t care. She was on top of the world at the moment as people and money were flowing in every week. She was short-sighted. She thought it was a sprint and not a marathon. I’m sure you can guess what happened next. The large entertainment venue sent out a press release stating they were buying up the lot across the street from their venue. They would go head-to-head with the aforementioned sports bar. The money and people going to the old sports bar dried up in less than a year. It went from the top of the hill to six feet under in 11 months. Like I said, YOUR death will be quick and painful if you fail to market your business relentlessly.

Never stop

You may not be in a position to spend the big bucks like the big guys, but you can own a chunk of whatever market you’re in. YOU NEED TO MARKET YOUR BUSINESS. Whether you have $500,000 to spend or $500. If you’re a small restaurant in a small neighbourhood, find something you can own. Whether it’s a street lined with houses or an apartment complex. Print off some coupons (like 50% off or a free appetizer, I will slap you if you give me a 10% off coupon) and deliver them personally or whatever you need to do to own something. If you don’t own something…you own nothing and you will die. Because someone out there with half a brain will figure out you’re not marketing your business. That person will open shop in your neighbourhood, advertise relentlessly and take all your customers.

Want to stay alive? Shoot me a note at effumarketing@gmail.com or leave a comment below.