It is very important for any retail business to have an annual advertising plan and budget. Your advertising plan will constantly be changing throughout the year as market conditions change and internal variables come into play. However, you should have an annual game plan to grow your market share. What type of media you use (Print, TV, Cable, Radio and Direct Mail) should be determined by researching each one of them to determine which one or combination of them will work best for you. IFDA's media department will be more than happy to assist you and help you choose what's best for you.

After your research is completed and reviewed, your promotions should be scheduled and planned throughout the year. The best time to gain market share from your competitors is in your historically best months, 'fish when the fish are biting'.

Every market and every store is different; IFDA treats every member on an individual basis and will work with you to satisfy your individual advertising needs. Ifda has the advantage of working with hundreds of floor covering retailers across the country. Now, working with IFDA you have the advantage of receiving the benefit of other's experience.

Now that you have a monthly budget to work from you can plan out how, what and when to have your promotions. As mentioned earlier, it is very important to do consistent advertising and by creating this budget it makes it possible for you to plan out your schedule.

There are a number of ways to schedule a promotion. If you have run a promotion in the past that has been successful you should automatically reschedule that same promotion. You should always schedule the quarterly IFDA circulars and build around them, they will be the back bone of your advertising schedule. They should be planned for each quarter and distributed based on your local circulation, number of stores, salespeople and budget.