Building a loyal customer base is vital to the success of any new business - but competing for attention in a world bombarded with advertising may be a young company's most daunting challenge. Packed with advice from experienced entrepreneurs, this video highlights smart ways to generate recognition for a start-up business and drive traffic to it. Viewers learn the necessity of researching a competitor's advertising tactics, developing a marketing plan, and testing various promotional strategies. Topics include the need for targeted messaging that connects with the customer base; effective Web site building and development; networking through involvement in the community; the idea of business referral or liaising with other firms that aren't direct competitors; and smaller-scale advertising based on repetition as an alternative to more splashy and expensive methods.

Encoded with permission for digital streaming by Infobase on October 02, 2011. Learn360 is distributed by Infobase for Films for the Humanities & Sciences, Cambridge Educational, Meridian Education, and Shopware.

Customer Base (1:39) -- Growing a Customer Base (2:23) -- Marketing Tools & Branding (5:25) -- Free Marketing Strategies (4:23) -- Advertising in Print (5:03) -- Advertising in TV & Radio (2:41) -- Advertising Online (3:30) -- Email and Social Networking (4:01) -- Credits: Finding Your Customers: Marketing and Advertising Your Business (0:48).