Buying advertising is one of the biggest expenses your business will incur. Apart from staff, it has the greatest impact on your bottom line.

Nonetheless, most business owners walk into advertising almost "blind." Everyone in business must advertise, but which advertising you should use and how much you should spend is critical to your business growth. It also influences your long- and short-term profitability.

Most companies in the carwash industry are small or medium-sized businesses, although that may not be how you think of your business. In any case, running a carwash usually demands that you wear many different hats, and hope that they all fit. Finding the time to plan when you're working 60 hours a week is difficult, but it's the most productive time you'll spend because of what you'll accomplish.

Set Your Goal

A properly researched and written advertising plan will:

* Help you assist your customers better

* Help customers with service selection

* Save you thousands of dollars.

It may be hard to picture how an advertising plan can save you money, but consider this: Let's say your business is generating $200,000 a year in revenue, and you're spending $20,000 on advertising. With good planning, you can generate the same revenue while spending half as much on advertising. That's like putting $10,000 in your pocket! Because the advertising plan may take you 25 to 30 hours to write, you could say that writing it earns you $350 an hour.

It's a good idea to use a computer to write your plan. A computer makes it easier to keep track of your costs and to analyze these costs against the possible results from each of the options open to you. Business planning software such as Biz Plan Builder from Jian Inc. will save you a lot of headaches and make the process much more rewarding. Expect to spend around $100 for an adequate program.

Research Your Market

Someone once asked David Ogilvy (founder of Ogilvy and Mather, one of the world's leading advertising agencies) what the secret to advertising is. His reply: "Research, research, research."

Advertising today offers a vast variety of choices. To pinpoint your most cost-effective option, first you must know exactly who you're trying to reach. This is your target market; don't spend a dime on advertising until you know who it's comprised of and why these people want your service.

To get this type of information, ask your customers. You'll be surprised at what they'll tell you about their likes, dislikes and preferences. Find out which TV channels they watch, what radio stations they listen to, and what magazines and newspapers they read. If you ask them the right way, they'll even tell you how much they earn. If your customers are other businesses, they might even tell you what they intend to buy next year.

Your local library can also provide you with a wealth of information about the people in your market, whether they live in your town or in another part of the world. Ask the librarians for help. Research is their business.

Develop Your Message

Even armed with the knowledge of who your customers are, you must learn to speak their language. Advertising is all about communication; it begins with listening. Ask customers what they think and desire, and use the simplest language possible to get your message across.

The biggest mistake is to use words that your target audience doesn't understand. Keep your message simple. Every time you mention a feature of your service, talk about the benefits the feature offers the customer. Sell the sizzle, not the steak.

Customers don't care if you spent five years developing your system; they only care that because you spent five years doing so, your system can do things for them that other carwashes' systems can't. Customers want to know, what you can do for them.

Know Thyself

It's also important to understand your competition and the advertising they use. Your competitors are probably listed in the yellow pages for your area. Once you identify them, pay attention to their ads.

The final key to success is to know yourself. Once you understand your strengths and weaknesses and those of your competitors, you'll recognize your unique selling position and you'll have an advertising message that sets you apart from your competitors.

Writing Your Plan

Writing your plan begins with setting a budget. There's substantial evidence that the company that will own the lion's share of any market is the one advertises the most. About 99 times out of 100, it will also be selling the one with the highest price tag. People realize quality has a price, and they're generally willing to pay for it.

You should set aside anywhere from 5 to 20 percent of your sales revenue for advertising. Before you go for the 5 percent, don't forget that advertising is the expense with the greatest affect on your bottom line.

Your budget must not only provide for advertising space or time, but also for producing advertising material and any support materials you may need to get the most from your advertising.

You have a lot of advertising options to consider. Radio, TV, newspapers, magazines, direct mail, bulk mail, shopping center promotions and special promotions such as sponsorship of a Little League team are just a few options.

Each option offers its own list of choices. Your decisions depend on your goals. Make sure you write down specific, clear objectives. Then use strict criteria to decide where to spend your advertising money. Ask yourself:

* Does this advertising option communicate with my target market?

* Is this option the most suitable to help me achieve my objectives?

* Will this option give me the best per-dollar results?

When you consider the dollars spent, calculate the costs involved in every option. With direct mail, include postal costs and printing costs. With TV advertising, include production costs. Many costs can be easily overlooked. Try to consider all angles.

Shop Around

Get prices for all the media at your disposal. Listen closely to media salespeople and ask a lot of questions. Let them recommend to you the best way to reach your target market. Be patient and persistent, and you can save between 10 and 25 percent -- but never buy just on price. A cut-rate special that doesn't meet your needs is a waste of money.

You may want to stretch your advertising budget over a few different advertising options. One of the most cost-effective forms of advertising for any company is direct mail. With direct mail, you can contact your existing customers, generate a mailing list through your own advertising, or buy a mailing list from a direct mail house.

To advertise a special, you could send a letter; to develop long-term customers, you could send a newsletter about your business and its attributes.

Set aside some money for testing your advertising approach to measure its effectiveness. You should never continue to advertise in any medium unless you see a return. Set up a system to keep tabs on what advertising is working. Ask people where they heard about your carwash.

Most often, poor results mean poor targeting. Examine your customer profile again to make sure it matches the medium and the message you're using.

You may also want to set aside a part of the budget for the costs associated with using an advertising agency, public relations consultants, graphic designers and other types of communications professionals. In the end, following your plan will save you a lot of money. More importantly, it will achieve better results than buying advertising blindly.

John Rawson is an advertising and marketing consultant with Rawson & Bright, East Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.