Advertising: When is a good deal not a good deal?

In an effort to stimulate slow winter business, Judy (not real name) decided to do a Saturday radio remote location blitz. It bombed, fell flat, just didn't work. She explained to me that it was a considerably amount of money for a small business and while she thought "any advertising is good" this just wasn't the best "bang for the buck".

It's a Saturday, May 07, I'm driving to our summer place for the traditional Newfoundland fishing weekend and I hear a live remote radio commercial from......, you guessed it, the same client.

Mid week following I couldn't resist dropping by and asking them, "how did the remote go". " Terrible" they said, "just didn't work for us". So I had to ask: " if it didn't work this past winter, it didn't seem to be a fit for your busines, the cost was high for you, why did you do it again?"

She replied: " There was a promotion, they threw in a couple of mid week time spots" and she added the killer line: " it was 30% less than their regular price and WE COULDN'T RESIST, IT WAS SUCH A GREAT DEAL"

In my experience advertising is a great deal - when it works. There is a common misconception that advertising doesn't have to be measurable and any advertising is "getting your name out there" or it's "top of the mind". If you are one of the giants, Coke, IBM etc. not a bad strategy. But if you are a small business yes, you have to brand, and yes, you have to be visable, but your main purpose for advertising should be to create new customers, re-contact existing clients and, yes create revenue

Our advice, ask questions. Ask, "Who has advertised with you in our industry?" Then contact them and ask how their results were. Ask, " Do you have a program to test market our product?" Good advertising firms know that if they "place themselves in their clients shoes" and offer the right advice to the client, then they will have a customer for life and good repeat business. That is what you do in your business, so expect the same from your advertising firm.

It's YOUR MONEY, think smart. Advertising today, in general, cost more and the results are less than years ago. Markets are fragmented. We are exposed to 1000's of advertisements a day. You "have" to find an advertising niche today and find what works for your firm. Test, test, test. There are basically three factors that influnce an advertisement's effectiveness. They are, the medium, the message and the timing. Test all three.

So when is advertising a good deal? When it works for you and it increases your business.... bottom line.