Humor is a great way to make an advertising campaign memorable and successful. However, it can also be a great way to ruin a rapport with clients, waste thousands of dollars in promotional fees and cost you even more in lost business than you can calculate. This is because what is funny is highly subjective. Everyone has a different type of sense of humor. When a humorous advertising campaign pays off, it pays off big. However, when the campaign flops, the fallout can be exponential as well.

Here are a few tips on how to incorporate and evaluate humor and its role in your advertising:

• Make sure that the humor reinforces the message in your advertising
  If you are simply funny for the sake of being funny, people may remember your ad but have no idea what services you are providing or what you are selling. When this happens, you have done little more than provide some free entertainment.
• Keep your audience in mind when you weigh your alternatives
  Some types of humor are appropriate for public consumption while others are not. However, there is a broad middle ground that incorporates “inside jokes” into the equation. These allow you to make your target audience feel included and part of a joke without potentially offending other members of the viewing or listening audience. Since the demographic of your target audience plays a major role in the success of your humorous advertising and “R rated” audiences generally do not respond to “G rated” jokes, this may enable you to find a way around potentially offensive material.
• Avoid punch lines
  Generally humorous advertising is more successful when it uses a memorable humorous image or concept rather than relying on a one-line punch line. Focus on images and concepts that will make a connection with your target audience.

And remember, market creatively, carefully and often!

If you are the sort of business owner who never takes time off, then you may actually be hurting your business! How can this be, you may be wondering. I devote every waking hour to making sure that my business runs smoothly. In fact, I hardly ever leave my office. However, in reality, staying that close to home base can take a serious toll on your business’s growth and expansion because you lose the ability to network when you are inside your own office 24/7.

Fortunately, you can give yourself a break from those same four walls and get some serious work done at the same time.

The key is simple: networking.

No matter what your business, you can benefit from knowing other people in related fields and who work in compatible arenas. However, often business owners neglect their networking responsibilities once their businesses start to grow because they become mired in the responsibilities of running the business from day to day. However, having a good name among your peers and clients can work wonders for the growth of your client base and your sales.

In order to network, you do not have to spend all your time “schmoozing” with potential and current clients and co-workers. Instead, plan your networking strategy just as carefully as you plan the other aspects of your business growth and development. Decide where you want to go, and then determine who may be able to help advise you, assist you or even catapult you there. Those are the people that you need to network with.

Networking does not need to be a “kiss-fest” that lasts for hours. Other people are busy with their businesses too, but they, like you, may welcome the chance to get out of the office for an hour or so. This makes a networking lunch ideal, and will keep you from gluing your nose to the screen all the way through your lunch hour. Of course, the traditional business golf outing can also be popular, and playing a game together can bring you and a potential client, mentor or partner together in a way that a board meeting or office appointment never could.

If you do not feel that you have time for this type of absence, then you may decide to take a more reserved approach. Many people simply dedicate a few 15-minute periods a day to making phone calls or having coffee with people that they need to network with. You can make these interludes more memorable by leaving your coffee partner with an item of promotional merchandise such as a pen or a coffee mug that will bring the meeting back to their mind later when they use it. Just remember, do not be afraid to leave the office. That “time off” or time out could be the key to dramatic business growth and expansion.

And remember, market creatively, carefully and often!

While it is certainly up for debate whether the economy is actually “frozen,” it is undeniable that people and businesses are struggling in at least some sectors of the business world. In order to keep up your hopes – and the hopes of the customers that your business needs to survive – you need to understand how the eventual economic “thaw” will happen. Once you know what to look for, you will not constantly be raised up with excitement and then plunged into despair when it looks like the signs of an upswing were not there after all. I recently read an article by Michael Dotson called “Clearing a Passage through Today’s ‘Frozen’ Economy” that I thought really summed up the best way to look at the economic conditions of today through a positive yet practical lens.
Here is a summary of Dotson’s points:

•    You need to understand the “terrain” of the present economy.
Because most businesses have battened down the hatches and are trying to weather the storm, the economy at large may remain largely static until these businesses or new businesses emerge. You will need to determine based on your budget and your bottom line whether you have the wherewithal to be an emerging force or whether it will be better to simply try to ride it out. In general, adapting and emerging will be the key to growth in the future.

•    Do not be frustrated by slow progress.
Your business plan needs to factor in that growth may be agonizingly slow – especially for those of us who may not have been in business during the last major recession and have only the past few booming decades as a reference for the speed at which we should be making money. Plan for the long term, and you will have the resources to get there.

•    Be different.
Standing out will help your business develop a niche market now while other businesses are “underground.” When they emerge, then you will already be the established leader in your arena.

•    Use technology wisely.
Email marketing is very inexpensive and highly effective – if you know how to make it work. If you do not, then invest in some education or a tech assistant to help you implement this highly effective advertising opportunity.

•    Understand that you have to make an effort to reap the reward.
If you just keep your head down and hope you will make it through, then making it through is all that you will accomplish. However, if you do your homework, understand the market and take action to build your business even though these are frightening times, then the rewards will be proportional to your efforts.

And remember, market creatively, carefully and often!

When the economy becomes uncertain, everything suffers. Businesses may fail, and families may fall apart. Many times people who own businesses are the hardest hit because they feel a double responsibility to their own families and to the families of their employees. Hard times can force cut-backs and demonize the people who are compelled to make them. This is unfair, but it still creates a serious toll on businesses and business owners everywhere. Even if your business is thriving, you may still feel pressure from the uncertainty of the economy and from everyone around you who may be having difficulties. This can put strain on a marriage and even take your business under when it should be doing well.

Here are some tips for keeping your head up and your business afloat when times become uncertain:

• Focus on the positive

You should be realistic about the economy, but it does no good to dwell on it. Instead, look for opportunities to alter your business to create new clients and meet new markets’ needs. This will help you feel positive about your options, and keep the people around you (employees, clients and family) feeling good about what they are doing and how they will be moving forward with your business in the future.

• Cut judiciously

It can be tempting to cut every corner possible when the economy becomes uncertain. You may want to save as much money as possible, and this is reasonable. However, cutting advertising or services can actually knock you farther out of business and take you under when you should be afloat. Investigating new options, like promotional merchandising which is a cheap and effective form of advertising, is better than eliminating advertising completely. Also, you will feel as if you are invisible if you cut your advertising – because you are! Taking new approaches will keep you moving forward and prevent you from getting discouraged.

• Take a break

This does not mean take the day off work, but it does mean leave work at work! Giving yourself just an hour or two in the evenings to relax and enjoy your family or some quiet time alone will help you return to work the morning rejuvenated and ready to get going. Your employees and your clients will also notice a difference if you stop taking all your worries home with you and come in with a fresh outlook each day.

And remember, market creatively, carefully and often!

During these exciting and tumultuous times, we may find ourselves longing for the “good old days” when things were predictable and we could foretell, fairly accurately, what tomorrow would bring for our business based on the steps that we took today and the results that those strategies yielded. However, it is indisputable that this type of “normality” is over for today’s successful businesses. In fact, we may as well accept that the “new normality” is one where our businesses will be exposed to turbulence, a certain degree of uncertainty and a variety of surprises on an unpredictable basis that will totally change the way that we live, work and make money.

And you know what? I don’t think that this is necessarily a bad thing. While we may occasionally long for a return to “normal” times, a lot of this turbulence is actually positive. The massive economic shake-up presents vast opportunities for your business to move into new areas of customer service and take over new markets, in addition to providing the opportunity that seldom came along in the past to literally knock a competitor out of the competition simply by providing better goods and services for a better price. Historically, when things are predictable people do not make changes. However, when things get “hairy,” then the best man, woman or business nearly always reaps the rewards.

However, living in this “new normal” will take some getting used to. You will have to cultivate an attitude of flexibility, and those de-stressing breathing techniques you learned at that one yoga class you attended last year may come in handy as you learn to keep a clear head in unusual and surprising situations. The best way to adapt to the new business environment is to be as prepared as possible for all eventualities, but also be prepared to be unprepared. Instead of worrying constantly over every detail that you cannot predict, focus on controlling what you can (your level of quality and service) and rely on your own intuition and honest business sense to help you identify areas where you can provide better quality and service to customers.

Be open to new marketing ideas, such as the current popular trend of using promotional merchandise to make all of your marketing do “double duty” by promoting your business not only to the person using the merchandise  but also to everyone who sees it,  you can prepare yourself for a new era of flexibility and profitability when it comes to marketing and business success in the “new normal” of business and strategy.

And remember, market creatively, carefully and often!

I have decided that the time has come to accept the fact that the world of business has changed forever. As a result of this acceptance, I believe that business owners can no longer simply hope to “hold on” until things return to normal, but instead must push forward using all the resources of our current and future technology and innovations to continue to sell and promote our products and services. In this time of change, there are definitely some old business practices that need to fall by the wayside as we move forward into this new and exciting world of changing business opportunities.

• Overconfidence is out - While it is important to express confidence in your abilities and your business, arrogant, over-confidence – which used to inspire confidence in a lot of buyers – now turns them off. This is largely because of the public failure and humiliation of large, confident fixtures in our business world like banks and insurance companies. Being “too big to fail” is no longer a good thing, because companies that fit that description are failing right and left. Be confident, but back up every word of your pitch with a solid fact that can reassure a troubled or cautious buyer.

• Do not apologize for other people’s failures - In an attempt to seem humble and aware of the possibility that a business might fail, many business owners are overcompensating for potential problems by apologizing for them in advance. If someone offered to sell you a car, then made you a list of the things that could go wrong with it, you would probably not ultimately make the purchase. In the same way, pointing out potential problems is not the way to win over potential clients. Instead, point out how those problems are not really problems for you because your business model is designed to deal with them before they escalate out of control.

• Don’t overdo it – be conservative. - This is not a political statement, but rather a statement on waste. More than ever, people want to see businesses using money wisely rather than spending extravagantly. Advertise effectively, but do not go overboard and send your potential customers large volumes of material that they probably will not read anyway. Instead, multi-task by sending them something that they can use that has your logo and contact information on it. This type of marketing tool is called promotional merchandise, and in a time when proving your intent to provide great value means everything, a good piece of promotional merchandise will outsell a twenty-page sales letter any day.

And remember, market creatively, carefully and often!

When it comes to promoting your business, now is the best time in the world to take an active, personal approach to your marketing. After all, when times are tough, word of mouth is one of the best ways to get your message out there in a manner that gets a positive response. Here are just a few ways to make sure that you and your business are active in marketing at all levels during this crucial time of change and growth.

• Network like never before. It is more important than ever that customers and potential clients feel like they have a personal relationship with you. Working with someone that you feel you have a rapport with and can trust is vitally important to people in these uncertain times, so the more accessible and familiar you can be, the better.

• Bring all employees in on the action. Even if your employees were not hired to create marketing strategy, you can still reward them when they bring in new clients. Offer incentives for this achievement. It can be something as simple as a good parking spot or as attractive as a vacation or a bonus based on the amount of money the new client brings in.

• Provide incentives to employees and customers. Just as you are motivating your employees, motivate your customers to bring you new customers as well. For example, if a customer brings in a new client who names them as a reference, then that customer might get an additional service or a discount on another service they are already receiving.

• Offer something for “nothing.” Giving away free stuff is always a good way to make an impression. However, the best way to put your free stuff to work for you is to make sure that it is not only accruing the goodwill of the person who gets it, but also exposing everyone who sees it to your company logo, contact information or slogan. This can be done through promotional merchandise (pens, mugs and golf balls are among the most commonly used items but almost anything can become promotional with little effort) that you distribute personally or provide for others aiming for incentives to distribute.

And remember, market creatively, carefully and often!