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No business can survive the long run
without some form of consistent advertising. As a result, most business
owners will eventually consider using advertising to promote their
business.
The toughest part of the advertising
equation is in determining where and how to spend your advertising
dollars. If you do it wrong, you could plunk down your entire
advertising budget and receive absolutely no return on your investment.
But, if you do it right, your advertising could continue to bring a
nice return for years to come.
HOW DO I MAKE THE RIGHT ADVERTISING
DECISIONS
In order to make good decisions
concerning how to spend your advertising budget, you must first have a
good understanding of the different types of advertising and promotion
available and what can be expected to be achieved by each.
· You must understand which markets the
different media`s can reach. · You must understand the
demographics of the media`s consumers.
· You must understand the buying habits of the consumers reached
through the media.
WHAT OFFLINE ADVERTISING &
PROMOTION MEDIA`S SHOULD BE CONSIDERED
The media`s that people think of most
often are television, radio, newspaper and magazine advertising. Of
course, these are the big boys that big businesses use regularly.
Other methods of promotion include
trade shows, press releases, direct sales, telemarketing, word of
mouth, branding and billboard advertising.
CONSIDERING THE BIG MEDIA OUTLETS
The big boys of advertising media`s
generally cost big bucks. Given certain circumstances, the big media`s
can be bought for very little money.
Take for example, television, radio and
newspapers cost big bucks during their prime times, but can be bought
for pennies on the dollar during non-primetime hours.
Television primetime is between 7pm and
10pm. Radio primetime is between 7am and 6pm. With newspapers, the
primetime is Wednesdays and Sundays.
If you intend to hit a media during
prime time, get ready to drop some bucks. Primetime means that you will
be able to hit more consumers during these times. So, in most cases, a
primetime buy will enable you to reach more people with your
advertising.
Non-primetime hours can still deliver a
lot of eyes and ears to your message, and sometimes, these off-hours
can be bought for a bargain basement price.
GETTING MILEAGE FROM EVENTS
Trade shows and press releases are more
event-driven. The trade show is the event, while the press release
generally exploits an event.
Trade shows are an exceptional tool
when you deal directly with potential sellers of your products or
services. Other shows are directed at the consumer, and those can be
very valuable avenues for sales as well.
The press release is aimed towards
gaining attention for a business by distributing newsworthy information
about the business.
Sometimes the appearance of a business
at a trade show or other show can provide the necessary angle for a
press release. But most often, a successful press release will actually
require more noteworthy information than the appearance of a business
at a show.
Yet, even the most mundane of
information could be spiced up to give the real air of importance
necessary to get your press release read and printed.
The great thing about a press release
is that might permit you to get relatively inexpensive promotion on
television, radio, newspapers and magazines; for far less than what it
would cost you to buy advertising in those same outlets.
UTILIZING A SALES TEAM
Depending on what type of business you
run and the consumers you are trying to reach, you might find direct
sales and telemarketing to be very lucrative ways to drive sales to
your business.
Both are very similar in nature. Direct
sales can be very expensive, as it requires a great investment of time
to accomodate. Telemarketing seeks to minimize the time expenditure,
but it often leads to a smaller degree of respect and attention.
Depending on your product or service
--- and always depending upon the people you employ to the task ---
each method will be more suited to each business on an individual
basis.
BRANDING YOUR BUSINESS
I grouped branding and billboard
advertising together in my original list for a reason. I did this
because billboard advertising serves most businesses best by helping to
support the process of branding.
Branding is the process of establishing
your business as the supplier of a certain product or service, or in
emphasizing a certain USP (Unique Selling Proposition) as it pertains
to your business.
If branding and USP seems to be a
confusing concept, think about Wal-Mart and their tag line: "Always Low
Prices, Always."
Think about Ford Motors, "Quality is
Job One."
Think about the Visa Card, "It`s
Everywhere You Want To Be."
You see, these top corporations have
managed to make their USP part of their branding.
Even if you are only competing in a
local marketplace, your USP can and should fit snugly into your
branding strategy.
NO MATTER THE MEDIA OR METHOD
Whichever method or media you should
choose to employ in your advertising and promotion, you should become
knowledgable about your market, and the consumers reached by each
media. It is important to understand which consumers can be reached by
a certain media, and in what quantities.
However you choose to spend your
advertising dollars, you should always track the results of your
promotional efforts. Failing to track successes and failures will
ultimately lead to the failure of a business.
When you know whom you are trying to
reach and how you think you might be able to reach them, you will begin
to learn how to use advertising and promotion to make your business
successful. That is a good thing --- after all, that is why you got
into the business in the first place, isn`t it?
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