Your advertising media are the communication vehicles you
use to convey your marketing messages. That's why, in
addition to selecting ones that reach your targeted
audience, you'll want to make sure they provide you with
the best possible results for the least amount of time and
money.
In this article, I'll go over the most commonly used direct
response advertising vehicles/types for small to
medium-sized businesses, such as:
• Newspaper
• Direct Mail
• Magazine and Classified Ads
• TV and Radio
• Internet Ads
• Outdoor Media - Billboards, Transit Signs
• Press Releases and PR
• Yellow Pages
and more…
Obviously, the trick is to match your message to your
market using a suitable vehicle. For instance, it makes no
sense to advertise your retirement community using a
fast-paced, loud, radio spot on a hip-hop station… no
matter what the salesperson says! So before you buy, make
sure you've correctly identified your target prospects;
created messages that motivate them and selected the
appropriate advertising.
Here are some general tips for choosing your advertising
medium.
1. Unless your target audience is broad, it's best to
choose 2-3 primary advertising vehicles… ones that you can
afford to dominate. Never, ever rely solely on one form of
communicating with the public - this is simply too risky.
Rather, choose media that complement each other and ensure
that your prospects hear about you in multiple forms.
2. Choose methods according to cost, targeting and
response… Any campaign can be broken down into costs per
thousand, and if you're using direct response advertising
(which you should) benchmark your success using costs per
sale. Your expenses include cost of design (also known as
creative), production (producing or printing your ad), and
placement (radio, advertisement, list purchase and postage).
As a general rule, the more targeted the medium, the higher
the cost. In return, however, you should expect a higher
response rate, so the cost per response can be lower than
cheaper methods.
Choose advertising and publicity methods that are suitable
for your target audience. Companies that sell advertising
can provide you with a lot of helpful information about
their audience. Also, it's a good idea to look at other
types of businesses that continually use various media.
Then make sure they're targeting the same audience as you.
Bottom line: avoid guesswork, by testing before committing
to major purchases.
3. Make sure you know your total marketing budget less
what's already spent or "promised". This assumes that
you've already developed this and that it's based on:
• Industry norms
• Needed profit margins
• Available cash
• Opportunity costs
• Company's risk tolerance
• Average Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) - the value of a
customer over their time with business with a company.
Simply put:
CLV = Revenues Received - Cost to Get and Keep
4. Find out what your competitors are spending on media in
the same markets. For example, if you decide to run a radio
ad in the Chicago market twice a day, on two stations for
two weeks and a competitor is running a similar ad in the
same market but running it 15 times a day, on 15 stations
for 15 weeks you'd be foolish to waste your money by trying
to compete… no one is going to notice your spot. This is
another reason it's so important to use reputable
advertising agency to buy this type of advertising (goes
for TV as well).
5. Even though your budget will significantly dictate your
medium selection, you must also be aware and sensitive to
your own sales cycles. For instance, if you're the owner
of an air-conditioning equipment company you understand
that consumers don't purchase a unit every year.
Therefore, your communication has to be consistent and
ongoing so you're "top of mind" when they're ready to buy.
Also, you should develop another communication,
particularly in the heat of summer, for folks who have a
"burning" (no pun intended) desire to buy now.
Moreover, if you're a jeweler you may want to beef up on
your advertising right before Mother's Day, Christmas and
Valentine's Day and do little, or nothing, in August.
6. Track and measure your results… Advertising is an
intricate science. Therefore, the best way to be sure that
something is, or is not, working is to measure it using
predetermined indicators. Gauge the effectiveness of your
advertising from the beginning by keeping detailed records
on what you did; when; to whom; for how much; and what
happened.
Admittedly, the results of certain advertising are
difficult to gauge. However, if you don't measure and
record your results you may be wasting money and missing
the opportunity to make your decisions much easier the next
time around. Key indicators to be assessed are cost per
thousand, cost per response and percentage response.
Remember also that advertising forms a part of your
business plan which is aimed at being profitable. If your
advertising does not produce an incremental gross profit
(more than costs directly associated with the medium) you
need to know why.
7. Understand and adhere to laws… Before choosing your
advertising methods, make sure that you are aware of all
local, county, state, and federal laws about data
protection, consumer rights, customer privacy and opt-out
regulations. This is especially important if you are
involved in maintaining and using mailing lists (e-mail and
otherwise), personal customer data, telemarketing, direct
mail, fax-marketing and e-mailing.
Hope these tips will serve you well. Happy Marketing!
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Ms. Scarborough is the co-author of two books, ("The
Procrastinator's Guide to Marketing" and "Mastering Online
Marketing"), former mktg. executive, award-winner speaker,
and certified Guerrilla Marketing coach. She holds a BA in
English from the Univ. of MD and a MS in marketing from
Johns Hopkins University. Log onto her website:
http://www.StrategicMarketingAdvisors.comfor free articles,
templates, tips, tools and more.