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Advertising

Advertising Plans – You’d Better Make It A Good One

Which advertising plan is best: $2,000 in direct postcards reaching roughly 3,500 people, or $2,000 in a newspaper ad reaching 750,000 readers?

The answer is a simple one: It depends entirely on what you say in your ad. If your impact quotient is high enough, your best bet will be the newspaper. If the direct postcards are delivered precisely to “the perfect target” (which is not very likely), then the direct-mail route is preferable.

My guess is that neither the direct postcards nor the newspaper will work for you. My advice is that you keep your $2,000 in your pocket until you come up with an actual plan. These are the hard questions you need to answer:

  1. What do you have to say that matters to your customer? I’m your prospective customer. I know you want my business, but why should I care? What’s in it for me? Most ads are written under the assumption that the reader, listener or viewer has a basic level of interest and is paying close attention to the ad. But customers tend to ignore all ads that do not speak directly to them.
  2. Can you say it persuasively? Most ads are ineffective because the writer was trying to say too much, include too much and be too much. Fearful of leaving someone out, these writers write vague, all-encompassing ads that speak specifically to no one. “We Fix Cars” is a terrible headline for an ad.
  3. Are you speaking to a felt need? Let’s say the “We Fix Cars” auto mechanic has a great deal of affection for older BMW 2002s. He knows that 2002 owners love their cars like few drivers on the road and that the only weakness of the 2002 is its evil Solex carburetor. Every 2002 owner knows this, too.
  4. How long is your time horizon? Some ads build traffic, some build relationships and others build your reputation. If you don’t have the financial resources to launch a true branding campaign focused on building relationships and reputation among potential customers, you’re going to have to settle for traffic-building ads until you can afford to begin developing your brand. To what degree do you have financial staying power?
  5. What is the urgency of your message? If you need an ad to produce immediate results, your offer must have a time limit. This technique will simultaneously work for and against you. On one hand, customers tend to delay what can be delayed, so limited-time offers generate traffic more quickly since the threat of “losing the opportunity” is real.
  6. What is the impact quotient of your ad? How good your ad must be depends on the quality of your competitors’ ads. A .22-caliber pistol is a weapon against an opponent with a peashooter. But aim that pathetic pistol at an opponent holding a machine gun, and you can kiss your silly butt goodbye. How powerful is the message of the opposition? If your competitor carries a machine gun, don’t go where he goes. In other words, don’t use the media he uses.
  7. How long is the purchase cycle? How long it will take your advertising to pay off is tied to the purchase cycle of your product. Ads for restaurants work more quickly than ads for sewing machines, because a larger percentage of people are looking for a good meal today than are looking for a machine that will let them make their own clothes.

Not hiring a professional ad writer is often far more expensive than hiring one. If you’d like to read more about this stuff, most libraries and bookstores are full of books on advertising.

Winning Advertising Methods

All types of advertising will work if they’re used properly — not just “tried.” The fact that the various forms of media utilize each other illustrates that no one kind of advertising is superior.

Radio stations promote themselves on television and bus cards, TV stations list their programs in the newspaper, and newspapers use outdoor billboards to increase circulation. You’ve probably also noticed the large number of ads by dot.com companies in these traditional forms of media.

If you’re going to use advertising correctly, you must meet these four requirements:

  1. Demographics. You must know what segments of the population comprise your customer base and be able to define them according to the standard age and gender groups used by the media to define their audiences.
    • Gender: Male, female or adults (includes a balance of male and female).
    • Age range: Depending on your business, you may choose more than one of these: 12-24, 18-34, 18-49, 25-54, or 50+

    Your customer base can shift with the opening and closing of other local businesses, universities, military bases, the influx or departure of university students, or just the natural aging of people in your community, and you need to keep track of these changes. This step is critical because it’s the basis of every advertising decision you make.

    If you’re not absolutely sure who your customers are, you can waste money advertising in the wrong places. Once you’ve identified your customers, you have to know where they hang out. Your reps can provide specific demographics regarding their audiences.

  2. Location. Use only radio stations, TV programs or publications that can deliver your message to the right demographic groups. Ask your media reps to define the primary audiences they reach, and spend money only with those that match the demographic groups you’ve identified as your customers. Never buy advertising according to your own personal taste or because you like a particular rep!
  3. Message. You have precious few seconds to tell your story, so squeeze the language. You wouldn’t say “Send assistance as soon as possible” when you could yell “Help!” You also need a hook–a reason for someone to come to your location instead of a competitor’s. Ask your media reps for copywriting help. Many stations and publications employ copywriters, but a creative media rep can do a great job. Your newspaper, magazine, and direct-mail reps will also be happy to lay out your entire ad.
  4. Frequency. Without enough frequency your customers won’t see or hear your message. Radio, television and print are three distinct critters and require detailed explanations regarding schedule placement. It’s better to place a substantial schedule on one station or in one publication than to spread a small budget out and not achieve effective frequency anywhere.

Whatever you decide to do, don’t just try advertising. Use it to get results.

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