So your business does its fair share of advertising, right? You run commercials on the radio and on TV. You post ads in the daily newspaper and in the weekly neighborhood tabloids. You have a quarter-page ad in the Yellow Pages and are listed in the Business section of the phone book. You have an Internet webpage and can be found on all the major search engines.

Granted, most small businesses cannot advertise in all these ways. Advertising normally requires a significant financial investment, and volume advertising is typically out of reach of the typical small business. But you probably are advertising in some manner.

Say you run a skin care product service. Perhaps your business's phone number can be found in the phone book or on its webpage. Perhaps you have a magnetic sign on your car door or even a sign in the yard.

So you're advertising…but are you marketing?

Marketing involves more direct targeting than advertising. It's a more personalized approach to reaching customers and potential customers. Marketing is essential to your business growth and ultimately to your success.

When you market, you reach out to the specific people you want to become your clients. You make contact with them: face-to-face, voice-to-voice, interest-to-interest. You know who they are and you focus the majority of your advertising effort on reaching them.

If you place an ad in the local paper, it will probably cost a pretty penny and who will read it? You don't really know. Maybe everybody in the city; maybe nobody for miles around. On the other hand, if you place a coupon or an ad in a small newsletter that is handed out free-of-charge to customers at a nearby nail salon, who will read it? Very likely people who are interested in, surprise, skin care products! It may cost you a few dollars to market in the publication, but chances are it will be less expensive than an ad in the newspaper. And do you think it might attract customers who will want to buy your products? You bet!