Advertising - the basics
The Basics of Advertising
Met with a client yesterday and walked away amazed.
First, the client has been in business for 10 years.
Second, they advertise the same way, month after month, year after year.
Third, they are a franchise, so their corp. headquarters provides them with all the ads, pre-made.
Fourth, they never thought of taking the ads that were provided to the next level.
Fifth, they were in the rut of "we have always done it that way".
So, in this short meeting, here is what we discovered.
1) That the yellow pages, even though mandated by corporate, doesn't mean that you have to take a 1/4 page ad (and yellow pages are still very very expensive).
2) That the two newspapers that she advertised in may or may not be the best means on her ROI. She has never measured their success rate through ad counters or promotions (like "bring this ad in and receive 10% off). She has always done it this way and "knows" that it is successful because she has clients who say "I saw you guys in The New York Times" (but, even when she was telling me this, she didn't know if it was true or not - since they run their ad every week in it - so they could have seen it three years previously).
3) That she could add copy to her existing corporate advertisements to "hone in" on the clients that she wants.
4) That she was more concerned with the other franchises in the area and what they may think then in making more money for herself (she wasn't that confident in her successful business).
5) That the other franchises could also be friends for her - that they could all get together and "pool" their moneys and buy bigger and better advertising (like TV).
So, we scheduled another meeting to discuss the above and many more facets of pulling in the right ROI. That an outside perspective is good for the business. That paying a few hundred dollers could bring in a few thousand dollars (you have to invest money to make money).
Think things through. Are you currently doing things the same because it is "easy"? Because you have always "done it that way"? Because you don't have time to try something else? That maybe, putting in that extra two hours will save you 10 hours in the long run?
Look at what is in front of you - just because a local radio hits your target audience, does it bring in the clients? Should you change to something else? Direct mail? Newspaper? Internet?
Figure out your ROI on your current advertising - Run some promotions of "bring in this ad and get 10% off" in one newspaper and another promotion, in another newspaper, offering 20% off. See who brings in what?
If you do just these items, you may be surprised about how you are spending you money unwisely and that there may be better ways to use it.