Does press advertising really work for small business - final conclusion

This is our last press advert in the chosen 'test' publication. We haven't had a sausage - not so much as a tug on the line let alone a nibble! Not a single enquiry.

What did we do wrong?

The answer is in the detail of course. Market conditions, the nature of the work we do at Whype, the proliferation of suppliers in our area etc. etc. I think that probably the publication may be wrong for us too.

We dipped a toe in the water of press advertising and it was cold! Oh well, onwards and upwards. So far it seems that the best methods of marketing ourselves is getting out to networking events and meeting people face to face.

We'll keep trying new things to see what floats and of course let you know how it goes. The next thing we are considering is a local business exhibition. Fingers crossed.

If you've got any ideas for marketing a small web and marketing design company do let us know, we'd love to hear about some positive experiences.

IDEA DNA - the secret to creative thinking

Designers don't simply produce designs, they create ideas.

And what are ideas? They are new combinations of old elements which you may not have considered before. The process of coming up with these new combinations is accessible to anyone who wishes to pursue it. It's not a walk in the park but I firmly believe that anyone can do it and should be encouraged to do so.