"Advertising doesn't work." I hear it from my clients all the time. One
client was about to file for bankruptcy because she wasn't getting a good
response to her radio ads, and the cost was killing her. But she knew her
target market was listening; she knew she needed to get her name out there
to generate more business. What should she do?
(article continued below ...)
Owners of small businesses and professionals like yourself realize that
to take your business to the next level, you need to get your products and
services in front of a larger audience. You want to generate more leads, get
more prospects to contact you and buy from you. Advertising is essential but
how do you get more out of your advertising dollars?
Have you been disappointed by your advertising campaigns?
I felt the same way about my family's VCR. I paid good money for it
(though probably not nearly as much as most people pay for advertising) and
as far as I was concerned I could never get it to work the way I wanted it
to. I spent way too much time fiddling with it and I still couldn't get it
to record a TV show or a movie reliably when I was away. After a while I
stopped trying to use its record function.
Sound familiar?
Compared to programming a VCR, creating a successful advertising campaign
is simple. Note the operative word here is "successful". It's easy to put
together an advertising campaign, but creating one that helps you make more
than you spend should be the objective. The following seven elements are
what separate a successful advertising campaign from one that just costs you
money.
1. Choose the media that will reach your target market. It sounds
obvious, but make sure your target audience will see and/or hear your ad.
Select a publication or radio or cable station that your target audience
reads or tunes to. If you're advertising on the web, your keyword selection
is critical here.
2. Write ad copy that your prospects will want to read. Your
prospects' primary interest is in what your product or service will do for
them, not what it actually is. Which would you be more likely to read, a
headline that reads, "Accounting Services" or one that reads, "How to Avoid
Overpaying Your Taxes"?
3. Have others establish your credibility. If space allows,
include testimonials in your ad verifying the outstanding results your
products and services generate.
4. Motivate prospects to contact you. Include a limited-time offer
or something for free — a report, appraisal or bonus product — to prompt
your prospects to take action.
5. Tell prospects what you want them to do and how to do it. This
is your "call to action". Tell them to call you, visit your web site, send
you an email, fill in the reply card, etc.
6. Follow up your offer with the information prospects need to make a
purchase. Too many people make the mistake at this point in the sales
process of launching into a sales pitch. Whether your prospect is on the
phone with you or is visiting your web site, help them clarify the problem
or concern they have and detail the solution you provide. Then remind them
what action you want them to take.
7. Continue to educate your prospects and clients. Stay in touch
with likely prospects by contacting them at least every month. Get the
conversation going by discussing a common problem. Give your prospects a
quick tip they can use and, of course, mention the solutions you provide.
A successful advertising campaign will include all seven of the above
elements, not just one or two. When you put all these elements in place,
your advertising will generate more leads and sales and you’ll see a good
return on your advertising dollars.
By the way, the client who came to me on the verge of bankruptcy is now
back on solid financial ground. Once she understood how to write her
advertising copy and manage her advertising campaigns, her radio advertising
started to bring in a steady stream of new business.
