| |
| |
|
Advertising Information |
|
|
|
If You're Tired Of Adverts That Don't Work And Letters That Don't Sell, Then You Must Read This
Over the 32 years I've been involved in sales, marketing and management, I've discovered that there are two fatal marketing mistakes made by business owners. They are? · Lack of focus · Lack of implementation There's certainly no shortage of ideas and information - the world is full of it - but what are you doing with it all? Let's do a quick reality check here and now: · How frequently do you get in touch with your customers? · How far up your hierarchy of buyers do you go? · What actions are you taking to make next week, next month or next year better? Pick one thing you've always meant to do and do it tomorrow to start marketing your business more effectively. It may be to focus on a market sector, write an article to gain you more exposure as an authority in your industry or it may be to write a better Yellow pages advert. The more you do now, the more you will have to do down the road. There are all kinds of lame excuses and I've heard most of them. Excuses like "I don't have time" or "Maybe when I'm less busy" Here's a blinding flash of the obvious - the best time to market yourself IS when you're busy. Why? Because one day you won't be? You see, how you get less busy is by NOT marketing yourself. To make sure you have a constantly increasing flow of customers, develop and implement marketing processes that you can put on autopilot. They run whether you're busy or not. Of all of the things you've read or heard that you could or should do, how many have you actually done? You know what it's like - you go to a seminar or read a book and say, "I should do that" but you never do. Successful strategies are based on solutions and information. Your customers don't really care about you or your company - what they care about is what you can do for them. Yet sadly, far too few companies bother to tell their prospects what they can actually do for them. No, they're far too busy "getting the name out there" or "promoting our logo" If this is a little too close for comfort, consider this provocative statement: "If you're advertising for any other reason than to generate leads or sales, you're wasting your money" Run this checklist over your Yellow Pages advert and see how well it rates. Score 1 point for each Yes. Those points may save your ad from oblivion? 1. It looks like an article instead of an ad 2. It has a strong, benefit-rich headline 3. It includes a personal photo 4. It promotes benefits NOT facts 5. It uses testimonial(s) 6. It states your performance guarantee 7. It contains an irresistible offer 8. It has a strong call to action 9. The phone number is clearly displayed 10. The Company name and logo play a very small part How many did you score? Six or more? Good, your advert might work for you. Less than four? Good luck? © James Yuille, Brisbane, Australia, 2004. About the author: James Yuille is a sales and marketing consultant and trainer with over 32 years experience. He is based in Brisbane, Australia. His free weekly sales and marketing newsletter provides topical information for business owners and salespeople. Find out more at http://www.jamesyuille.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Advertising - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Imprinted Promotional Items - Their Many Marketing Applications There are many uses for promotional items. This means that they are just not used as freebies for a grand opening special. What are Text Adverts? Not everyone is aware of what are text adverts? Text Adverts are a form of low cost advertising used by website owners to promote their website and services to a quality targeted audience.Online advertising offers an outstanding opportunity to efficiently and effectively target your desired audience. 9 Tips for Better Billboards It is a given that billboard advertising "outdoor" is not a "quick fix". If sales are down, you can't quickly put up a few boards to boost the numbers. Can I Write and Print My Own Business Brochures and Business Cards? If you have a computer and a printer, preferably one that can print in color, then you can make your own brochures and business cards that are very professional-looking! Be sure to use good quality paper (that is available at any office supplies store like Office Depot or Staples) for anything that you are going to hand out or send to potential customers and clients.Writing Text for Your Brochure and Business CardThe very best thing to do is to get a few examples of business brochures and business cards, preferably from the same type of business as the business you are starting. When Advertising Wears Out One of the challenges facing marketers is determining the most effective level of advertising exposure for a brand, while maintaining a given budget. Conceptually, the media planner could choose continuous advertising (even exposures spread over a period of time) or follow a strategy of pulsing ("on" for some months and "off" for others). What Happened? Troubleshooting Poor Response from Ad Campaigns Too many small business owners today run ad campaigns that get little to no results, and they have no idea why. When you have the knowledge to troubleshoot the poor responses, you also have the knowledge to make the needed changes so that - next time - your sales improve! Let's take a look at the breakdown of an ad campaign, and how to determine what went wrong. Advertising In The Local Press There are three main reasons why I would hesitate when deciding to advertise in the local press:? Everyone else is doing it? Nobody buys a paper for the adverts? The odds are it won't workJust because everyone else is doing it, doesn't mean it's a good thing, or more importantly - that it actually works! However it seems the natural thing to do - you need to raise your profile, make the local community aware of your company, so you why not advertise in the local paper? Well, because?Nobody buys a paper for the adverts. In fact, do most people buy a local paper these days? As many local papers are free, their only income is through selling advertising space. Advertising Inserts One of the best and easiest ways to advertise without having to worry about shelf life of those who would most likely use your services or buy the products from your small business is to use inserts in your local newspaper. A marketing piece might also be to insert our flyers in the daily newspaper. Localized Advertising - Door-to-Door Ad Distribution on the Fly! Have you ever had to distribute door-hanger advertisements for your business? Have you ever employed door-to-door sales techniques to increase your brand awareness? Have you ever had to walk mile-after-mile repeating the sales pitch, over and over? Have you ever had to stand outside of an arena event and pass out flyers to exiting patrons? If you stop to think of the cold calling technique of door-to door advertising, you would discover how sometimes humiliating it is to have a disinterested and irritated individual slam the door in your face, yell insulting things toward you, or be escorted off of their property. To combat this instantaneous humiliation, the idea of door-hanging advertisements gives the sales person a means of getting the word out to more people faster than before but more importantly, it saves the person the anguish of the advertised becoming irate over the interruption. How Well Do Postcards Work? The humble little postcard has been getting a lot of attention in the marketing world. Along with this heightened interest comes some very good questions, such as. Magnetic Business Cards: Make Your Marketing Message Stick What is it about magnets that draw people to leave them on fridges and file cabinets for years at a time?Many people like to have the contact information handy for common service providers without flipping through a bulky phone book. Magnets are the perfect solution for being seen in this situation. What Does Your Business Card Say? Business cards are the most underutilized and misunderstood marketing tool in business. Many people spend the bucks for cards and don't make an effort to get them into the hands of those who can hire them or buy from them. Customer-Involving Signage and Selling Here's some easy ways to create signage that will attract, not annoy customers (and local government agencies that regulate signage):1. Since movement always attracts attention, any banner, sign set of a pole that might move with the wind or electrically-turned sign will stand out from the static messages around it. Ten Ways To Sell Advertising Space Fast 1. Give your customers a discount when they spend over a certain dollar amount for ad space. Persistant Advertising Will Do No Harm! From my experience, I've been on many discussion groups and have spoken to many other like minded people. The one topic that always seems to arise is how to get massive sales right away. Indoor LED Displays To promote the audience, staff, customers and other people the Indoor LED displays are most widely used. By incorporating the latest technology Indoor LED displays provide exceptional service for a great value. Double the Effectiveness of Your Company Brochure Let's face it - most brochures go straight into the bin. But if you know the big mistake to avoid, as well as the secret to make people keep your brochure - and read it, over and over again - you're laughing. Using The Popularity of Celebrities and Currrent Events to Promote Your Business In this article, we want to explore the idea of using the popularity of celebrities and current event (news) topics to help market any internet business.The IdeaCelebrities and news events are not only popular topics, they are also popular "keywords" in the major search engines. How Much Money Do I Need to Spend on Advertising? Q: I've never really done much advertising for my business; I've always relied on networking and word-of-mouth. Now I'd like to launch a small campaign, but I'm frightened it will cost a lot of money. Never Be Caught Cardless Again: Five Tips to Help You Remember Business Cards Sorry, I Don't Seem to Have a Business Card With Me..
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
