There
are many different advertising mediums.
Some offer a low cost per exposure, but have a lot of wasted exposure. Some target the market or specific potential
customer wanted, but will have a higher cost per exposure. Let’s take a look at a few.
· Television: A 30 second Super Bowl ad costs $5
million. Great exposure for a national
product, but not practical for most companies.
Cable networks and local stations might be a better fit.
· Radio: More local stations,
but more competition for listeners. At
least the listener doesn’t record the program and skip over the commercials.
· Newspaper: Low cost per image, but high waste
exposure. I was taught 3 ads to be seen
once, 6 ads to be read once, and 9 ads to be remembered.
· Magazines: Waste coverage if magazine does not target
your customer. The geographic market
covered might be larger than the market your serve. Magazine ads can be reprinted as handouts.
· Yellow pages: This market is changing due to smart phones
and the internet. Some franchises used
to coordinate openings with yellow page printings. This has changed.
· Outdoor
advertising: Road signs can be very
effective for some businesses.
Burma-Shave and others had some phenomenal success stories.
· Direct mail: This can be a great way to offer discounts
and coupons. It is also easy to track
results.
· The internet now
offers opportunities to advertise and pay on a per-click or per-sale basis. This can be very cost effective and easy to
track results.
· A website can be great,
but totally worthless if no one visits the site. Something must drive people to the site.
I
have only touched on a few advertising options.
There is no magic solution, just as there is no perfect business for
everyone.
Tracking
results is important for future ad campaigns.
In one industry, I told my salespeople to ask customers what prompted
them to call. They seldom asked because
they were more interested in what the customer wanted to buy.
When
the salespeople did ask, some customers mentioned a specific magazine we had
not advertised in for years. They
remembered us from that magazine, but did not remember the specific ad that
prompted them to call.
Advertising
is only one small part of any marketing plan.
Some very successful marketing plans might not include any
advertising.
An
advertising campaign might be so successful that it will guarantee a business
fails. I give examples of this in my
book Business Fits.
For
a better understanding of how advertising fits in a total marketing plan, read Business
Fits. It is available on Amazon as
an eBook or a paperback.
God bless President Trump and guide him
to make America
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