HOW TO GET THE MOST FROM YOUR ADVERTISING DOLLAR
Advertising is a function of marketing, and before you can effectively maximize your advertising, you MUST have a marketing plan.
Where are we?
Where do we want to go?
How are we going to get there?
When will we arrive?
How much will it cost?
Before you can reach your destination, you must know where you are going.
Planning is paramount. Once you have determined your marketing plan, now you can begin to formulate your advertising strategy to reach your goals.
Remember, demand for your product is always preceded by:
Awareness: Does the customer know your business exists?
Acceptance: Does the customer know what you provide?
Preference: Will the customer choose your company/product when his need is present?
To obtain these desired objectives, you must develop an advertising budget, divide your total budget into individual tasks (campaigns, sales, promotions), determine the optimal media mix, develop each advertising message to fit the media, and always quantify your results in writing.
When you plan a campaign, remember that the message is far more important than the medium. More emphasis should be put on developing effective messages than in spreading an ineffective message across all the media money can buy.
If you run an ad, and nobody reads it, hears it, or sees it - Did you advertise?
The best ads are those which create a dialogue, not a monologue, with the customer. Therefore every ad should solicit a response; asking for an order. The consumer does not read, watch, or listen to campaigns, they respond to one ad at a time. Thus, each ad, in each media, should complement and follow the same theme.
Advertising is an alternative investment of defined resources allocated for the purpose of making a profit.
Maximize the effectiveness of your advertising and get the most from your advertising dollar.