Some of my readers already have a business. If that’s you, we need to talk. Promoting a small business is something I know a lot about. I have been a small business owner for over 20 years. More importantly, I’ve worked in advertising as a graphic designer and web marketing specialist. But I think this economy is so different, it requires a new promotion strategy. For example, the old method of flooding the market with mailers, brochures and TV spots is not going to work very well. People are making fewer frivolous purchases. They know what they want and need; and they are saving money for those items and services. That’s why offering them something they don’t really want is a waste of time. So how can you reach these new economy customers?

Find out what they want. The answer is online. Now that’s not to say that every other type of advertising is worthless, it’s just that companies also need to learn more about their customers. And this is more true every day, because young families are very is web-savy.

It’s possible to learn an amazing amount about your customer’s behavior by using the tools on Google and a few other widgets. Then you can apply this knowledge to your website provided it’s search friendly. I will sharing a lot of tips and tricks about online promotion over the next few weeks, so if you are feeling lost I can help. In fact, I’m planning an e-book that will be your roadmap in this new territory. For now, take a look at your website and see if it’s up to par. Then do a few Google searches with words you think your customer might use to find you. If your site doesn’t show up near the top, you’ve got some work to do.