The advertising strategies that not one UK agency in a hundred understand...
Business facts for effective advertising:
1) Effective advertising campaigns begin by demanding the reader's attention.
2) Your advertising has only got 5 seconds maximum to capture your prospect's interest.
3) Each advertisement must contain a compelling offer that's in the reader's interest, and a clear call to action.
Learn how your own advertising can be transformed. Simply send a sample of your advertising to info@common-sense-marketing.com (or submit your web site address in the form below) and one of Richard's team will respond by email within 24 hours, revealing advertising strategies and opportunities that you are (vey probably) missing.
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Forget everything you've ever been told about advertising and listen to some expert advice
Advertising is not about creating an image or awareness. It's about selling stuff. Brand awareness simply means I have heard of your product or service but it doesn't mean I trust you, or I'm going to buy from you.
Given that, it's a mystery why publications are full of what I call 'we are the greatest' ads. As uncomfortable as this may sound, nobody really cares about how great your company is. A prospective buyer - for the most part - only cares about how your products and services will make their life better.
Everyone else, including your prospects and clients, are also preoccupied with themselves. Frankly they don't care much about what you have, or what you do, or what you know. In fact, they're downright indifferent about you.
Now can you see why the majority of magazine, newspaper and trade press advertisements fail to have any impact on your prospects, and consequently any effect on your sales?
Do your ads answer the prospect's question "what's in it for me?" If so, you will - at the very least - have an opportunity to win their business. If not, they will already have turned the page.
How to recognise if your advertising is institutional...
Institutional advertising is advertising that doesn't directly ask for a specific response. It is characterised by ads that either have the company name or a glib play on words as the headline at the top of the ad. Very little copy appears on the page, only a list of products or services provided by the company. There is no incentive to call now, etc.
Advertising is the salesmanship of goods and services through media. However, institutional or image adverts don't directly try to educate prospects or sell products or make specific offers. What business can afford to pay a salesman who doesn't sell products or even ask for the order? These types of adverts only produce results for the media and the representatives who sell you space.
MARKETING COMMON-SENSE
You haven't got money to burn
- Creating awareness and building brand values can be done as a consequence of following a direct response strategy that generates sales.
- Direct response marketing works so brilliantly and so effortlessly because you are giving useful, valuable information and resources to your prospects.
- You spend virtually no time talking about what you do or what you know. (Remember, prospects don't care about this). Instead, learn about what they need and what problems they want solving.
- Instead of pushing people away, they will be attracted to you in droves because you have something they want - the promise of a solution that works.
- Give your prospect or customer enough of your full sales story in your advertising to compel him or her to take action and inquire about, or buy whatever it is you are selling.
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The key to profitable advertising for your company
Go grab a copy of your current advert. If you haven't got one at hand, don't worry; open up any magazine you happen to have on your desk.
Now, tell me what you see. Actually STOP RIGHT THERE, I already know what you're going to say. You're looking at an 'image and awareness' ad. What I mean is that it's got an inward focus that shouts about the company or product, and what it does (i.e. its features). As a result, it fails to describe the benefits or results the prospect will enjoy when they own your product or service.
Indeed, virtually 99% of advertisements I see are institutional, and are losing their owners thousands of pounds every day. They are simply a cost with no prospect of ever generating any form of return.
Business Owners, Marketing Directors and Managers will try to defend this type of advertising by saying "ah, but we are just trying to maintain awareness of our company in the marketplace, so when somebody is ready to buy they know about us". This is a hugely wasteful form of marketing.
Some of our clients:
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