Lately, I have been reading and hearing a lot of comments about how advertising, particularly print advertising, doesn’t work for small businesses. Since advertising is often equated with marketing in small business, I also hear "marketing doesn’t work for my company". I believe advertising can be effective for small business owners; here are some tips for improving the effectiveness of your ads.
The first and most important step you must complete before beginning an advertising campaign (or any other marketing campaign) is to define your ideal customer as specifically as possible. All of your other decisions will hinge upon knowing exactly who it is you are trying to reach and what specific problem you will solve for them.
In my opinion, one of the biggest reasons small business owners find advertising non-effective and expensive is that the typical ad is too generic and is sent to as wide of an audience as possible with the hope that the stars will align and the right person will see your ad at the moment they are ready to buy. Most small businesses just don’t have the budget it takes to make this shotgun approach work.
Once you have done your homework of defining exactly what your ideal customer looks like, find out how they get their information. You want to run your ads where they will be seen by your ideal prospects. Placing your ad in a magazine with millions of subscribers is not of much use if your ideal prospects don’t read that magazine. Get in the habit of asking your customers what they really read (not just subscribe to).
Use a direct response approach in your ads. A direct response ad typically directs the reader to call or visit you website to obtain a free report, sample, or other item of value. This approach allows prospects to "self-identify" themselves as someone interested in the services that you provide. You will see much greater results when you focus your marketing efforts on this group of interested individuals.
The ad should sell your free offer, not your services. The more complex and\or expensive your products and services, the less likely someone is going to make a purchase from you based on an advertisement. You need to help them come to Know, Like, and Trust you. Once they have taken the first step, continue to guide and educate them along the path to becoming a customer, a referral source, and a champion.
