Let’s start with the simple stuff.If you are running advertising that is not working, please stop!
I know it sounds obvious, buthere’s what happens: People run advertising because they feel they ought to.They are not really sure it it’s working, but they hesitate to stop because itmay be one of their main forms of marketing.
There are two types of advertising– direct-response and brand advertising. Only use direct-response advertising!
Understanding the distinctionbetween the two will immediately save you a fortune. Brand advertising is usedby companies like Coca-Cola and large car manufacturers to build and increaseawareness of their brand. Unless you have huge amounts of money you are happyto lose, you should avoid brand advertising at all costs.
The only type of advertising youever want to consider is direct-response advertising. The only purpose of thiskind of advertising is to produce a clear response. The type of response shouldbe immediate, so the great thing about direct-response marketing is that youcan instantly tell if it is working.
One of the reasons that mostsmall-business advertising does not work is that it is, in many cases, a combinationof half-hearted direct-response and ineffective brand advertising.
It is absolutely essential thatyou test and measure all of your advertising. At the very least, you need toknow how many people responded, how many of them were converted to a sale andwhat that is worth to you. Then, when you compare that figure to the cost ofthe ad, you can immediately determine how profitable the ad is and if youshould stop running it.
So many businesses just allocate acertain amount of money to an advertising budget, spend the money every yearand have no idea whether the advertising is working or not. That is crazy! Ifyour advertising is working, roll it out on a larger scale. You should becapturing 100% to 300% return on your investment!
Remember AIDA (Attention,Interest, Desire, Action)! The first thing your ad needs to do is grab theconsumer’s Attention. Once you have attention, you need to create Interest inyour product or service. Also, there is a big difference between beinginterested in a product or service and Desiring it. You need to convert theconsumer’s interest into a strong desire for what you are offering. Lastly,even if someone wants what you are offering, it’s not enough until they takeAction. Tell people exactly what they need to do to follow through. And, makeit easy for them.
One of the principles that shoulddrive all of your marketing is communicating the benefits of your products andservices to consumers. Effective marketing needs to be constantly communicatedin a manner that expresses the benefits of what your company offers. Noconsumers will buy anything from you until they have explicitly understood howthey will benefit from what you have to offer.
– By Angie Nielsen, CEO, MailAmerica Inc.
