Myriad Inventive Ways to Be Noticed

Question: I own the last large, upscale wallpaper outlet in Southern California. I advertise in the Yellow Pages and the local paper and have links on websites. Still, customers complain that finding us is difficult. How can I get the word out regionally without breaking the bank?

Answer: With stiff competition from home improvement and design store chains, getting your message out is crucial. Get creative about spreading that message, advised Gay Silberg, co-founder of Los Angeles marketing firm GSS Communiqations Inc.

“Buy a ‘sponsored’ link on Yahoo, Google, MSN, Ask.com and other search engines,” said Silberg. “The small box ad is a very effective way to get your firm’s name known and not extraordinarily expensive. The ads are usually sold on an auction basis depending upon how much the advertiser is willing to pay for clicks. In our experience, while you might have to set your initial bid high in order to get first or second position on a page, your actual cost will typically be lower.”

The winning bidder typically pays slightly more than what the next-highest bidder has offered, she said.

Your website should include as many keywords (sometimes referred to as “meta tags”) as possible relating to upscale wallpaper. These keywords, such as names of manufacturers, will get your site higher search engine placements and enhance click-throughs from your online ads.

Some lower-tech alternatives for driving customers to your store include billboard and movie-theater ads and door-hanger campaigns. A small billboard in a high-traffic area close to your store would probably cost $1,000 to $5,000 a month, Silberg said.

“You can control costs by doing a one-month test to see if that advertising drives customer inquiry,” she noted. Don’t forget to put your website on the billboard, and on any movie-screen advertising.

A door-hanger campaign targeting new communities can be extremely cost-effective, Silberg said. The hangers are inexpensive to produce and hand-deliver, and you can target ZIP Codes where there is new construction or extensive remodeling going on.

Take Steps to Help Ensure Timely Payment

Q: My asphalt paving firm has contracts with a large retailer. We don’t want to jeopardize our status with them, but we are having a problem getting paid. Any ideas on how we can get paid quicker or get out of contracts?

A: Your situation is not uncommon. Most business owners are frustrated at some point by slow-paying (or worse, nonpaying) clients. And those guilty of it are found across the board, including large retailers, micro-businesses and individuals.

Since you have what appears to be a slow-paying client, rather than a nonpaying client, do everything you can to maintain the relationship, said Stephen Dem, an Encino attorney whose firm specializes in debt collection. “Have a key person with good people skills at your company attempt to make personal contact with someone in the retailer’s accounts-payable section. Ask them if you are doing everything you need to do in getting them to pay your invoices in a timely fashion, including preparing the invoice properly and submitting it to the proper department,” he said.

Next, apply friendly persistence. “In many instances, the follow-up by a company like yours is lacking with regard to collections,” Dem said.

Set up a calendar system for your employee to communicate regularly by telephone (preferably) or e-mail with the individual in accounts payable and check on the status of outstanding payments. “Document these conversations,” Dem said.

As long as your client is paying eventually, your major problem is cash flow. You may be able to ease the crunch by using the retailer’s invoices as collateral for alternative funding, such as accounts receivable financing.

Got a question about running or starting a small enterprise? E-mail it to karen.e.klein@ latimes.com or mail it to In Box, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012.