Craigslist is not always the best advertising option but there are some situations where a business can afford not to advertise on Craigslist. For this article, we will consider two common situations in which a business owner may have to consider advertising on Craigslist because failure to do so could be detrimental to his business. These examples include small start-up companies that do not have a large advertising budget and companies that have their direct competitors who advertise heavily on Craigslist.
The First Small Companies Benefit From Advertising on Craigslist
Small start-up companies often have a lot of work ahead of them to start competing with existing developing companies. These companies may already have established a customer base and may have a large budget to acquire new customers. Customer loyalty can be hard to break and new companies should offer better quality products or services, similar products or services at reduced prices, or a clever marketing campaign that appeals to consumers.
However, small companies seldom have the necessary marketing budget to run a highly detailed advertising campaign. That’s where Craigslist becomes a necessity. Small companies can focus their efforts on creating an outstanding copy without having to spend huge sums of money to advertise themselves in other media, such as newspapers, magazines, television, or radio.
It is important not to assume that while free advertising is attractive, advertising should be as complex as it is in markets where business owners will have to pay a fee to run an ad. This will help the business to maintain a professional image and will entice potential customers to try out their products or services.
Do Not Let Competition Enter the Market
Another situation where a business cannot afford to be unable to advertise on Craigslist is when specific competitors take advantage of advertising opportunities on Craigslist. This is important because businesses that do not advertise in the same areas as their competitors allow potential customers to read those sites from their competitors.
Imagine you have a dog-walking business in Portland, Oregon. If there are a large number of members of that community who use the local Craigslist website to find dog walkers, you will probably miss out on these business opportunities because these people will likely choose one of the people who advertise on Craigslist for their dog walking needs. If you put a well-written ad in the appropriate section of Craigslist you may find that you can earn a share of the available business market share.
There is, however, one warning to place ads wherever your competitors advertise. This practice is not considered important if the market is already full of competition. Consider the above example of a dog walker in Portland. If there are a small number of competitors competing for business on Craigslist then you should place your own adhere. However, if hundreds of dog travelers are full of websites with their ad it is not appropriate to post an ad because your ad may be lost in the trailer. It is very important to advertise in other places. Checking Craigslist from time to time may be a good idea because those who advertise on Craigslist may not see much benefit from this advertising and may turn to other options. If you see a drop in competing ads, this is a good opportunity to add to your ad.
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