Laser business is an opportunity that is profitable and its industry is prospering. The laser business requires relatively small capital investment to start since the laser machine is easily affordable. The machine can be used to engrave as well as cut materials such as wood, marble, marble and plastic among others. Among the business ideas to start the business is photo engraving for families, designing of customized signs on wood as well as acrylic (signage) and ‘printing’ of wedding gifts (www.epiloglaser.com). It is easy to run a laser business as the location is not important as the quality of the products. In fact one can either start a store or simply work from the comfort of home. The minimum requirements for the business are simplify a laser, machine, a computer and graphics software. What is important to start and continue a laser business? Advertising the business is the most important aspect of ensuring profitability. People only need to know that you offer laser services irrespective where of where and how you do the business. When advertising helps one gather his customers, then the quality of your products market the business alongside the advertising.
There are several ways that one can use to market a laser business. Considering that the business is a small investment, it requires forms of advertising that are less expensive but cover a wide area. In regard to the nature of the laser business, I would prefer the following seven ways of advertising services for the business;
- Newspapers and magazines
- Radio and TV
- LinkedIn (join professional networks)
- Advertise at beauty salons (reciprocal discount offered to clients)
- Brochures for letter box
- Social media e.g. face book and twitter
- Yellow pages and opening of own website
There is several forms advertisement but for a small business they may be limited and constrained by factors like price, exposure, distribution, demographics as well as return on investment. The above forms of advertising can be compared based on the factors on marketing the laser business.
Radio and TV are relatively expensive form s of advertisement but cover a wide population reaching almost everyone. Almost every household owns a radio and TV set meaning that everyone is able to be informed by radio irrespective of their age and sex. However, the return on investment is low the laser business will be a small investment while radio and TV advertising require much money.
Joining professional networks such as LinkedIn can be a real productive way of advertising a laser business. The network is absolutely free as one only needs to have an internet connection and open an account with the network. The exposure of the network depends on the number of people you are connected to. One can send connection requests to several people and thus would be in a position to market the business to the people. The professional network is only limited to professionals from deferent fields. The return on investment is one hundred percent as in fact there is no much investment required. One requires just an internet connection which may be free. It is one of the most preferred forms of advertising.
Advertise at beauty salons is another form of advertising the laser business. The advertisement will include reciprocal discount offered to clients. This form of advertisement may not be such expensive as offering discounts is part of the money invested. Exposure of advertisement at salons is limited to the number of clients that visit the saloons but the clients may assist to spread the’ message’ if impressed by the laser services. Distribution of salons is also to the number of clients visiting the salons while the ladies may be the major recipients of such and advertising form. The discount offered to the clients is regarded as part of the resource to generate revenue as opposed to it being a cost. This means the more you provide discount the more the clients and hence the more the revenue. It is a specific form of marketing the laser business.
A brochure can aid a small business like a laser business control its printing costs because as a laser operator you can forego hiring a specialist and do the work by yourself. Brochures are well distributed marketing media and they present a specific powerful message (www.psprint.com). A brochure is all about what the owner of the laser business would want and therefore the distribution, exposure and demographics is decided by the person marketing the laser business. The return on the investment is profitable since a little capital is needed to run marketing.
Social media is increasingly becoming an advertisement media as the main idea in social networking is socializing which means a large market is covered. This method is cost effective because the WebPages do not require any money to create. Face book and twitter covers an even wider market and the laser business owner can choose the target market by forming information that only fits the targeted market. The business needs to make update and tweets frequently. The return on investment is profitable.
Yellow pages are expensive and hence it will be profitable to create an own website with a good name and excellent Meta data for excellent see in the Google search. Yellow pages and own website are exposed to all the internet users and with increasing number of internet users, its distribution will cover a larger market. The whole population is reached as long as a person uses the internet. The return on investment is low for yellow pages since they are expensive while the return for own website remains high.
Pros and Cons
There are a number of pros and cons arising from the seven forms of advertising based on the laser business nature. To begin with the social media, its pros include the ability to reach customers easily as compared to the traditional advertising. “You never know who will direct a friend to your blog, Face book page or social bookmark post, so your potential for reeling in new leads is unlimited” (www.psprint.com). In addition, social media is cost efficient comparing other forms of marketing. However, marketing on the social media consumes a lot of time it requires regular and timely updates on face book as well as tweets on twitter. This can be real challenging since the time is needed to run the business in other aspects such as making sales and production.
Newspapers have a high customer attitude regarding their advertisements. Most believe the advertisements are a true picture of the product. Newspapers enable the owner o f the business to alter the advertisement as they are regularly produced than other forms of advertisements. On the other hand, newspapers are relatively expensive considering that the laser business is small. “According to the Newspaper Association of America 81% of adults in 1964 read a newspaper regularly, in 2007 that number was down to 48%.” (www.wordspress.com). Newspapers are disadvantaged with demographics as the older population is most unlikely to read them. “If you’re not targeting an older white audienceforget about it!” (www.wordpress.com).
Radio and TV advertisements reach a large number of people. They endorse forced advertisements as the marketing messages come in between programs especially favorites. “You can't sell engagement rings to a married man. Most of your audience will not even consider buying your product” (www.glowstik.ca). They make impressive marketing, however, they are very expensive and one must be willing to spend huge amounts to see their marketing messages beep on national television. The advertisement can be annoying and untargeted since everyone is viewing the advertisement. This may create a poor image for the customers who are yet to taste your laser business services corrupting their future decisions (www.glowstik.ca).
Professional networks target specific group and are less costly as compared to other methods such as own website but however the own websites coverage depends on their fame. Yellow pages are expensive and hence it will be profitable to create an own website with a good name and excellent Meta data for excellent see in the Google search. Yellow pages and own website are exposed to all the internet users and with increasing number of internet users, its distribution will cover a larger market. The whole population is reached as long as a person uses the internet. This is a disadvantage as the marketing message may be forwarded when the user is offline and by the time they access the network, it is stale.
Brochures are well distributed marketing media and they present a specific powerful message. Brochures printing cost can be high and distribution can cost if you can't deliver brochures yourself. Pay school student. A brochure is all about what the owner of the laser business would want and therefore the distribution, exposure and demographics is decided by the person marketing the laser business. Most people throw straight in bin. Need to have a very clever design that is simple and easily understood. This will reduce the chances of being thrown away and increase the chances of relaying the message.
In conclusion, since the laser business is a small investment, it will best be served by methods of marketing that are less costly but yet reach the target market. The social media is highly recommended though it is engaging but one can decide to have a specialist in making the frequent updates. This method is cost effective because the WebPages do not require any money to create. Face book and twitter covers an even wider market and the laser business owner can choose the target market by forming information that only fits the targeted market. The social media marketing can be supplemented by brochures as both are cost effective. In addition, in a small business like laser business, the own manages the printing costs since the laser operator can forego hiring a specialist and do the work by himself. The two forms of marketing can ensure a good return on investment hence profitability.
References
Epiloglaser.com (n.d.) Starting a Laser Engraving Business with an Epilog Laser. [online] Available at: http://www.epiloglaser.com/start_laser_business.htm [Accessed: 26 Apr 2013]
domarketingright (2010) Ad Types - Pros & Cons: Newspaper Advertising. [online] Available at: http://marketingondemand.wordpress.com/2010/01/11/ad-types-pros-cons-newspaper-advertising/ [Accessed: 26 Apr 2013].
Glowstik.ca (2011) Toronto's Innovation Specialists | Why Social Media Marketing: Pros and Cons | Glowstik Social Marketing. [online] Available at: http://www.glowstik.ca/why_social.html [Accessed
