A critical component of the marketing function is Advertising. Traditionally, we thought of advertising as billboards, print ads in newspapers and magazines and later television, radio and internet. Today, the sky is the limit in terms of what we traditionally call advertising.
Experience tells us that one or even sometimes two forms of advertising media in a company’s mix are often limiting the opportunities that could be realized through the investment. A rule of thumb we always consider is “people make decisions based on prior knowledge.” This holds true for advertising.
How does advertising influence purchases?
Advertising allows for a pre-determined positive image of a product or service in advance of the presentation of the offer. So, if one were to be made an offer of two competing purchase opportunities, generally speaking, there is not ample time to do the proper research to weigh the pros and cons of which is the better option and consider price difference. So, using the previous knowledge gained only through advertising and word-of-mouth, the purchaser will more likely disregard a price difference and make the decision based on prior influences.
Why do some companies not believe in advertising?
It is a business model decision. Some companies are strictly reliant on pricing and less on innovation, service and sometimes quality. The easy sell is price and there is little need or funds to promote the cheaper price. If the buyer is presented the opportunity with a significant price difference, a fair number of sales will be made on price alone. The game is whether or not the price can be reduced enough to generate a significant sales boost to earn a good profit. So, in short, not all marketers use advertising in their mix.
How do companies justify marketing expenditures?
Advertising should be a part of the cost of doing business. Today’s opportunities to introduce a product or service to the market at warp speed are incredible. What is a nothing of a product today can be introduced to the market, sold and delivered all within a day. The speed and profitability of what advertising can do today is remarkable. Those who build a new business today that build that business around the marketing opportunities that are now available can do very well faster than ever before. Yesterday’s television, radio, newspaper and direct mail are all now available overnight online. Fortunately, the media companies just mentioned also have an incredible following on social media and subscriptions as well as on demand programming. All of these present excellent opportunities to introduce your product or service to a hyper-focused audience quickly and with very little waste.
What are the best advertising vehicles today?
That depends on the product or service you wish to market. At Colloredo & Associates, our first and foremost goal is to help companies become more profitable. Sometimes, that means that advertising is just not needed. It is too costly to promote to get the return that positively influences marketing. Sometimes, it doesn’t matter how creative, how much you spend or where you advertise, it won’t generate a positive return on investment. And that’s a no-no. So, we look at the potential profit that could be realized by inviting more potential customers to purchase, we look at the cost for advertising in the short and long term and we map out a plan to reach those goals in a realistic manner. We have a deep tradition in all forms of media, such as, television, radio, newspaper, direct mail, billboards and more. More recently, we have used hyper-targeted approach to social media, influencers, in-store, direct marketing, and more forms to better focus the advertising dollar toward a positive ROI. In short, we like ALL advertising media, but we are very strategic in nature and less tactical in making our recommendations.
What is the first step toward building an advertising program?
Well, we always want people to contact Colloredo & Associates first! But, the internet is your library when it comes to starting your marketing program. Our strategic process includes a round table discovery session to learn all there is to know about the current state of your company and the sales opportunities that the market presents. Sometimes, the biggest hurdle to sales is something as simple as a string of bad reviews on Google. Everyone can perform this session on your own and write down all of the current communications your company currently uses to get the word out to potential customers. Analyze each one of them and determine if the message is on target or not. Then, look at your product or service pricing and compare to the costs to produce. Our goal is to simply determine which products or services that offer the best ROI potential and that can produce a profit that can warrant an advertising investment. Once you’ve determined that, then, we analyze the appropriate media to start educating the market and ask for the sale. A good marketing plan always includes a Situation Overview, SWOT Analysis, Profit Analysis, Objectives and Goals, Strategic Plan, Strategy for Measuring Success and Rationale. A strategic plan should always be done and followed for Fortune 500 corporations down to the individual sole proprietor.
Should I talk to a Media Representative About Advertising?
Information is always a good thing. We recommend you talk to as many people as you can and that includes media representatives, suppliers, competitors (if you can), friends in the business, anybody you can that can help you better understand your market and the opportunities that await through a strong marketing and advertising program. Most of all, call Colloredo & Associates!
