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Mistake #3: Your ad budget gets blown in a one-shot marketing gamble. This is one of
most common and often heart-breaking problems. A new store will spend everything they have on one radio remote, full page newspaper ad, or direct mailer. If
first try doesn't work (and it often doesn't), there is no money left for a second or third try.
Which leads us to
next mistake.
Mistake #4: Marketing isn't consistent. The old saying among veteran marketers is
first ad never works. You get consistent, long-term results by continuing your ad over weeks and months.
It may be true that familiarity breeds contempt, but not in marketing. Familiarity develops awareness and confidence in prospects so they buy.
There are endless examples of a small inexpensive ad that appeared in
local Sunday paper every issue for years. Sales started slowly, then built to a constant roar.
I'll never forget
owners of an auto parts supplier who strongly believed if
ad didn't pull astounding results
first time, there was no use in continuing. They bounced from ads in one publication to ads in another with little to show for their effort.
Mistake #5: Marketing fails to tie different media together. Too many times
direct mail campaign a company does has little to do with
magazine ads they are running. Instead, make your ads in different media all relate to each other.
Take
audio from your TV commercial and adapt it for a radio spot. Use a still from
TV commercial in your magazine and newspaper ads. Take
still photo and some of
verbiage from your spot and use it in a direct mail campaign.
The continuity will increase your chances of breaking through
marketing clutter to really reach prospects.
Keep in mind different media work in different ways, accomplishing some things better than others. Television SHOWS how your product or service works. Radio helps people know
FEELING of using your product. Newspapers and magazines are good at EXPLAINING how things work. Direct mail utilizes
power of
letter to talk to your prospects in a very personal one-on- one way.
Mistake #6: Finally, don't belive
hype that
Internet is somehow dead or dying. USA Today recently reported
number of people using
Web has doubled since
Internet Boom in 1998.
Huge numbers of consumers and businesses worldwide now understand
Web is a wonderful place to find a large variety, get things done fast, and uncover a lower price.
Use your web site to give visitors all
information they need to understand and buy your product or service. Have your TV spots, radio commercials, print ads, and sales letters all send people to your web site where they can spend as much time as they need perusing your in-depth material.
Marketing is one of those aspects of life where
tried-and- true often works best. Use these proven solutions to common marketing mistakes to insure your advertising and promotion efforts bring
results you expect.
