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We are preparing for a well-earned (well, we think so!) break on the Isle of Wight as I write this. I guess the same thing is on the minds of most of our readers, given that we are coming into Summer in the Northern Hemisphere. My commiserations to our Antipodean readers, but in six months’ time when we’re shivering you’ll have your revenge! (Not to mention that you had a clean sweep of the rugby this weekend – only the Scots redeemed a little Northern pride in Argentina!)
Something else that seems to be on the minds of our readers is the gloomy economic outlook. Oil is how much a barrel?! Utilities are going up by how much?! I’m old enough to have lived through a couple of recessions and if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that the basic principles of good business don’t change. If anything the demand for competent, value-for-money services increases, because resources need more than ever to be well-spent. The onus is on us as entrepreneurs, then, to ensure that we clearly communicate the value of our services to prospects to make their buying decision that much easier.
So dust off that Verbal Signature™, strap on your running shoes and prepare to run the Marketing Relay with real purpose. Good hunting!
PS: Please feel free to forward this newsletter to your friends and colleagues but first please erase the Unsubscribe link at the bottom of the page. This will protect you from being inadvertently unsubscribed from The Marketing Edge by one of your recipients!
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Don’t Place Another Ad
Before You Read This!
These days there seems to be a bewildering profusion of magazines, newspapers, blogs, networking sites, television stations and the like all of whom want us to pay handsomely to advertise our services via their medium. Plainly we can’t do so on all of them – our advertising budgets restrict us to only a very few. So how do we get the most out of our advertising budget?
Let’s look at four areas we must give careful attention to before we sign on the dotted line or hand over the cheque. Making sure that we get these four components in place will have a massive positive impact on the return we get from our advertising budget!
Are You Talking to the Right Audience?
It may be hard to believe, but time and again I see this basic mistake being repeated. The question is simple: If you run an advertisement through this medium, what is the likelihood that a large number of the kind of people you want to do business with will see it? Don’t take this for granted, nor should you believe everything the salesperson tells you! I’m not suggesting that they are (all) dishonest, but do remember that they want your money – and they don’t guarantee results!
So how might you determine the answer to this question? Realise that every advertising medium has an editorial focus, and it uses this focus to attract readers/viewers. Broadly speaking, you need to understand the editorial focus of your chosen medium on three dimensions: geography, demography, and interest. Sometimes it’s obvious: A monthly magazine called Scottish Field & Stream, for instance, is likely to count lots of relatively well-heeled (so probably older), outdoor-focused male residents of that area north of Hadrian’s Wall among it’s readership. It’s not always that clear, though; so take your time and ask specific questions.
Is Your Message Clear and Attention-Getting?
If I had sixpence for every time I’ve seen an advertisement and wondered what it was trying to say … well, you know! There seems to be a school of thought that your ads don’t actually have to say anything, they can just make the audience feel something.
Understand this: you and I do not have the budget to do that, so we cannot afford to waste our money on ads without a message! How would you feel if you went to a fancy restaurant, ordered a fillet steak, and got a plate full of parsley? Would you go back – or even pay the bill that night? Similarly, your target audience needs something to sink their teeth into or your ad will not move them to take the next step.
One final thought on key messages: Your audience is far more likely to pay attention if you engage them with something of interest to them than if you bore them with lots of information about your business. (If you are a subscriber to The Marketing Edge and have not yet downloaded and worked through our free Verbal Signature™ workshop, I cannot urge you strongly enough to do so now! It will really help you to develop key messages that catch the attention of your ideal clients.)
Is There a Clear, Appropriate Call-to-Action?
How would you feel if your favourite sporting hero did all of the hard work to completely dominate their opponent and then - just as they were about to finish things - they went and sat down on the sidelines leaving the opponent to come back and win the game? Pretty stupid, huh? So why run an ad that catches the attention of your desired prospect, then not tell them what to do next?
‘Oh,’ I hear you say, ‘they can see our telephone number – they’ll call if they want to.’ Why should they? What reason have you given them to do so? A piece of ancient wisdom tells us: ‘If the trumpet sounds an indistinct call, who will get ready for battle?’ Similarly, without a clear powerful call-to-action your ad is useless.
So should you ask the prospect to call you for a quote? Offer money off if they place an order? Really, your prospect (assuming that the ad is the first they’ve seen of your organisation) doesn’t know or trust you enough to do business yet, and will probably not respond to such a call. Rather focus on getting them to ‘learn more ...’ perhaps by giving away some free information.
Are You Ready to Measure the Advertisement’s Effectiveness?
Once you’ve placed the ad the hard work is done, right? Er, no. Marketing is not a precise science at the best of times, so the hard work is actually in figuring out what worked and what didn’t. Yes, we might as well acknowledge right now that not all ads will pay for themselves. If we know which ones didn't, we can be sure not to place them again. You might think that’s simple logic, but I know of many organisations that renew ads month after month, year after year without any idea whether they are working!
How could you measure the effectiveness of an ad? First, you need to know exactly what the cost of the ad was (including graphic design/copywriting costs etc), then you need to find out how much signed new business it generated. That means you have to find out which ad brought you each new lead your business gets. To do so, you might offer a slightly different free gift in each ad – then when the prospect calls to collect you’ll know which ad they are responding to. Or you might try something a little sly, like saying ‘Ask for Jim’ when there is no Jim! Prospects who call asking for Jim must be responding to that ad. (Make sure everyone who answers the phone is ‘in’ on this one, please!)
Follow the four guidelines above whenever you place an advertisement for your business and you can be sure that you are getting maximum bang for your advertising buck.
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©David Deakin and Zee2A Limited 2008. Would you like to reprint this article? You may do so as long as you include the copyright notice and the following paragraph: David Deakin, CEO of Zee2A, is a marketing mentor who works with Professional services Executives yearning to take their business to the next level. Through one-on-one and group mentoring programmes he helps them to create sustainable marketing strategies that attract more clients at profitable rates. To learn more, sign up for his e-zine, or make an enquiry please visit www.zee2a.com.
Are you a Professional Services Executive struggling to understand the return your advertising budget is bringing to the business? Do you tire of paying marketing agencies to run campaigns whose success you can’t measure? There is a better way to ensure that your budgets create measurable returns! David mentors Professionals just like you in proven marketing strategies that create real returns for your business. Call him now to arrange a complimentary telephone consultation.
(If you're unfamiliar with the concept behind Front2Back 2Front please go here to read the explanation in our launch issue.)
In response to The Marketing Edge issue dated 21st May we received the following comment from one of our subscribers:
‘In regards to your newsletter, tell your dad that his advice is no way outdated. Us 'young folk' aren't so young anymore and appreciate reminders and guidance from those who have walked the path before us. My own father's experience and advice continues to be very appreciated and sought out often by me. Any sound guidance is invaluable and I am certain your father has much, much more to share.’ – Ronda Grinde
So Vanessa posed the following question on LinkedIn and Ecademy:
Does wisdom have a "best before" date?
As professionals and successful business people, how much advice and guidance do we seek out (or even appreciate) from older generations?
Sure, trends change; thinking and 'accepted wisdom' is frequently challenged or updated; but does *all* advice ever become outdated? What kind of resources can our parents - even grandparents, if they are still around - be?
Do you ever seek the opinion or input from your parents in business matters? Or do you think their wisdom is beyond it's 'best before' date? I would love to get your thoughts.
Please read a selection of the replies here and we would appreciate your input too!
Would you like to share your story or experience with fellow Marketing Edge Readers? Please submit them HERE. (We reserve the right to publish or to refuse publication of any content provided.)
We are delighted to announce that we are making our mentoring programmes more accessible! Our 2009 Mastermind Programme (a ‘virtual’ group facilitated by telephone conference call) is now taking applicants who would like to share costs with a group of peers. A minimum of eight and a maximum of twelve participants will be selected to join.
Please read all about the new programme here.
Even if you are still undecided, if you are seriously considering joining the group and would like a ‘taster’ then please register for our FREE Orientation Tele-class taking place on Thursday 21st of August.
RESERVE A SPOT ON THE CALL NOW!
Where: Skype or your telephone
When: Thursday 21st August 2008
Time: 3pm UK /4pm South Africa /9am Central
Duration of call: 90 minutes.
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