These Ads Work Amazingly Well

Last week we discussed why sales should not handle billing. I also touched on an inexpensive method to eliminate typos in expensive handouts and advertisements. I'd like to discuss another area of marketing – advertising - and how you can get the greatest return on your investment.

Create your own “Golden Oldies”

When you watch TV, which commercials in particular do you rush to mute?  Not because they're offensive, but because you just don't want to suffer through watching them again?

Guess what?  That means they're working.  When you need that merchant's product in the future, you’ll remember 'em, won't you?

Many companies stopped airing commercials we enjoyed years ago that could still work today to pull in new customers.  Managers get tired of their own ads long before they lose their appeal for prospective customers.

How many "golden oldies" advertisements can you recall?  I remember a jewelry store radio spot years ago that ran so often every time I heard it I cringed.  I knew it so well I could hum the jingle.  I got so sick of it that whenever it played I desperately looked for another station to listen to.

Business owners and marketing managers become bored from their ads more quickly than their audience.  Often they’ll make the mistake to change them prematurely.  While an ad still pulls customers, allow yourself to get good and sick of it.  In most cases you'll get bored long before it stops being effective.

Large advertisers often switch media frequently so you may think that's the rule.   But a small business has different advertising needs than a giant. As a manager, I’d rather get sick of an ad that my customers adore than the other way around.  Don’t we still use clichés in conversations?

Don’t presume distribution = exposure = increased sales

These days too many managers advertise for the wrong reasons.  You run an ad to increase sales by urging your targeted audience to buy, not so your ad will go viral on YouTube.  It's fine if that happens, but keep in mind that your advertising is a means to greater profit, not an end in itself.  Creativity for creativity's sake is pointless unless you specifically sell that type of creativity.  Focus on the end – sales - not the means.

Change an advertisement only after it stops attracting more customers.  Most ad campaigns are costly and time-consuming.  Whenever you produce an ad - whether it be a homemade flyer or an elaborate commercial - use it until it's no longer effective.  Remember your goal: maximizing the return on your campaign and thereby increasing net profit.

Later this week I'll explain the four questions you must answer to begin targeting your market strategy to achieve the best returns.  And next week I'll discuss an easy way you can design your ad campaign that'll make a huge impact.  Until then,

profitable business All!