Advertising=Awareness: Jason Arsenault

ADVERTISING = AWARENESS

By Jason Arsenault

Owning a small business can be tough. Not only can it be one of the most rewarding things you do in your life, but it also can be the most grueling venture you ever undertake. Many times, our business will come to define us; it becomes one-in-the same. Say you’re an accountant and you no longer seen in the eyes of your friends as the person who enjoys hiking, but now you are the person they are asking tax advice from. However, it takes some time to get to this ‘I have arrived moment’.

In the beginning, it is all about finances. What is the cost of the space I will need? What equipment is essential for the job; do I purchase the equipment or lease? Do I need to hire employees? How much inventory should I have in stock? How much money do I need to keep this business afloat until it starts to earn a profit? We get so concerned with money that we often forget the most important question: How will I reach my customer?

When you are a business owner, you need to think of yourself as a brand. Is it your desire to become like Dell Computer, rather than Gateway? This should always be a focus of your business throughout its life. You stop advertising your brand when you stop being a brand. You must make this financial decision, and then go with what makes sense for your brand and the best bang-forthe-buck.

The first thing you need to figure out is who your customer is. If you want to open a restaurant here that serves a more expensive meal, it probably doesn’t make sense to put your brand-awareness dollars on social media. Expensive meal tickets draw an older crowd, not young people who spend the majority of their time on social media but fail to have the money to be a regular

customer at your expensive restaurant. However, if you are thinking about a food truck that serves $3 breakfast burritos, then social media is exactly where you put your advertising money. Updates on location, menu, and hours are perfect messages to deliver to your younger on-the-go crowd. It seems easy; you probably already think you know who your customer is going to be, but this is definitely an area where you do not want to make a mistake.

Gallup is unique when it comes to creating a brand. You could go all out with a television ad, but does it really make sense to have something advertised to the whole state? If I am living in Albuquerque where the largest New Mexico market is, I probably will not make the trip to Gallup to buy an automobile or an enchilada dinner. Also, it is critical not to think of advertising as how many sales did I get. What you are doing is developing a brand. For example, you don’t want a potential customer saying they want a “GMC pick-up truck,” but instead you want them saying it is “time to go to Rico’s.”

It is easy to think we are doing a good job because Gallup is a small market. If you are in the food truck business, you probably have a chance of being successful because you will not have a lot of competition. Meaning, you can figure out what works, where to set up, times to be open and how to be reaching lots of potential customers that nobody else is reaching. The story could be completely different if you are ready to open your New Mexico food restaurant. Gallup is already home to some incredible New Mexico food dishes and this would be a more difficult market to break into. So, if you have very little competition and don’t do much branding, it opens the door for someone to compete.

One of the things I enjoy most when I visit other towns is seeing what local businesses thrive. Communities that have a strong economic base have successful locally-owned businesses. Too often, outside brand-awareness-dollars are used for national chains that drive locally owned businesses out of the market. We are strong supporters of our local businesses and would love to be part of your brand-building campaign.