You’ve got a catchy name, you’re equipped with all right tools, your website is up, and now you’re ready to do business. So you start to network online, join right groups, check out search engine adwords, subscribe to applicable newsletters for insight, and buy some of better known marketing gurus books.

Hmmmm, not much is happening.

Okay, so now you begin to check out local networking groups in your community. You may join Chamber of Commerce, Elks, Friars, various business networking groups….. and a little more is happening.

Then you look into trade shows in your area. You need collateral materials to hand out so you create an attractive flyer, perhaps start to mail out some postcards, let all your networking associates know about your trade show booth. Then you work show…… and a little more begins to happen.

Now you start in earnest a referral program for your existing clientele. You know, if you send me a new client I will give you ____% off your next order.

Hmmm….didn’t get much from that.

So you then conclude that you have to start process all over again. Work harder. Put in more time. Network more and better.

Okay, all good. But what’s missing? The fact is that regardless of your category of business, you will actually, on average, do business with less than 10% of all those who are aware of your company. That’s it????? Yup.

So what can a business owner do? There’s only so much time in day. I’m doing all I can.

Your job as a business owner and advertiser is to make responding to your message as easy as possible for consumer. By printing it upside down, this advertiser has only succeeded in making it more difficult for potential consumer to read darn thing. But somebody thought that this was a totally clever “gimmick” to attract attention.

There are all kinds of gimmicks that you see everyday. If a gimmick actually works, it will only be successful for a very short period of time. Your goal as a business owner is to develop and maintain long term devoted clientele, not a spur of moment responder who is not responding to actual message of your company, but to gimmick.