Small Town Advertising: How to Learn from The Mistakes of Your Competitors
Failure is their option — not yours
Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
When it comes to competition, one of the principles I teach is not to obsess about them but be aware of what they are doing or NOT doing.
When was the last time you looked at the advertising messages of your competitors? I mean, really, looked?
Not just at what they have on sale, but what is the real message of their ads?
Chances are there isn't one.
The reason there isn't one is that the ad was created or generated by a media person who didn't know what the vision and direction of the company might be.
Most ads simply report information (primarily sales) without grabbing the customer's attention or interest.
Advertising has two and only two functions.
One, to inform the consumer, and/or two, to make a call to action.
What do you see when you look at your competitors' ads?
Is there anything to inspire the customer to act? Is there a real call to action?
In most cases, you will probably go right past their ad without a second thought.
Did you ever notice how many tire ads are in the paper when you need tires?
You hardly notice them when you don't.
Shouldn't the ad make you get up, go out to the garage, and look at your tires?
Shouldn't the ad make you think about the product or service before the fact?
Here are some common mistakes your competitors are probably making.
Learn from them.
How Much Advertising and How Often
Business owners often tell me they can't wait for the day they don't have to advertise so much.
Let me tell you, that day will never come. Don't try to do too much with too little.
You can't be all things to all people, so don't advertise everywhere.
Focus your efforts on your target market and ignore the rest.
Advertising is based only on cost.
Where is the lowest price place for me to advertise?
Advertising reps will tell you "Cost per Thousand" is the most crucial consideration.
It's not "cost per thousand"; it's "cost per customer" that you should consider.
If your advertising is working, the cost is free. Advertising must always be an investment. It can never be an expense.
The increase in customer traffic and sales will more than offset the cost of advertising. (See: 25 Low-Cost Ad Tips)
Advertising Infrequently
New businesses often run one or two ads and declare, "Advertising just doesn't work for us; we've tried it."
Research says customers need to see an ad at least nine times for the company to be creditable in the customer's eyes.
The problem is we usually miss every third ad.
To reach the average person nine times, we must run the ad a minimum of 27 times for it to be seen at least nine times.
Size doesn't always count.
In print, the larger the ad, the more it pulls in other types of advertising; that isn't always the case.
Consistent messages in size and content usually improve revenue over time than a few larger ads.
Do you want your ad to sell a product or win awards?
Naturally, you want the best possible ad you can afford. But don't let the messenger overpower the message.
The message is the reason for the ad. See: "Inside Great Ads - for what makes a good ad."
Don't imitate your competitor.
Don't be a "me too" business to your customer. Your job is to set yourself apart from the competition, not imitate them.
Use positioning to separate yourself from your competitors. See "Positioning" and "How To Make Your Business Unique."
Failing to capitalize on the strengths of the business.
You should know the demographics of your target market. What product strengths can you match to them?
Use your strong points to overcome competitive disadvantages.
No advertising measurement.
How effective is your advertising? How do you measure what your ads produce? You must develop procedures to measure if the ad is doing the job.
One way is to "key" your ads. You need some signal that will alert you to where the customer came from.
For example: If the customer call and asks for their free copy of "10 Things You Should Know Before You Buy Tires," you would know that it's from your newspaper ad.
Your Radio Ad Tells The Customer to "Ask for Joe."On TV, it's "Ask for Steve." In magazines, it's "Ask for Pete."
Put codes on all coupon ads to tell you which papers the ads were placed in.
A code such as (BC210/23) might mean the Bozeman Chronicle (BC) the second week (2) of October 2023 (10/23). The number of coupons you redeem will tell you how effective the ad is. You can't evaluate the coupon unless you know which media it came from.
Advertising is not a cure-all.
If you have a lousy business, poor customer service, or bad products, all the great ads in the world won't help you. Advertising can't overcome business weaknesses.
Fix the business before you waste your advertising dollars putting out the wrong message to the right people.
I'm sure I don't have to tell you that advertising is expensive enough when it works and even worse when it doesn't.
If you use these tips, you can save yourself some valuable ad dollars and improve your advertising efforts.
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