Q: I’m thinking about starting a debt advice business. What would be the best way to advertise on a budget?
Nov 05 2008
Answered by: Ashley de Safrin Ask a question
Your idea of starting a debt advice business is timely in view of the current economic situation. Before you go ahead, depending on your previous background, you might want to think through the realities of running such a business.
Without being flippant, I hope you are not trying to court popularity as a debt collector! I could imagine you being about as popular as a traffic warden, an estate agent, or even a banker! You have quite a challenge to find ways of getting money from people who are in genuine hardship. Be clear who you customers are. Are they companies who need you to collect payments or are you working for private individuals who are owed money?
One way of marketing yourself on a low budget might be to work closely with the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB). As CAB advises people who have debt problems, you may be able to work in partnership with them to schedule debt payments with their help.
Another way is having a website, which you need to ensure gets picked up through search engines such as Google. If you can set up a regular blog for both those who owe you money and the companies or individuals you are working for, you are more likely to be successful than if you take the hard debt collecting approach.
You might want to think of joining networking organisations such as Business Network International who meet early in the morning. Although they are mostly smaller businesses, this could be a useful way of getting your service known.
You also need to know who your competition is and how they market themselves.
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