All successful companies advertise. In today´s global marketplace, businesses cannot prosper without doing so. Very few entrepreneurs manage to find products and services for which the demand is high and there is no competition. Even if they did, if potential customers are not aware of what is on offer no sales can be made. So, effective marketing genuinely is essential.
The problem is that it is expensive. For example, according to AdAge, in the USA, a 30-second commercial network TV ad that is shown nationally costs around $100,000. Much more for those who want ads during popular TV show ad breaks. Even radio ads can be expensive, costing up to $5000 per week. Online and email marketing costs can be low, but not if you have to employ someone to run your campaigns. Or are involved in a sector where the cost of Google ads is high. For example, business services where the cost per click is now around $58.
No business owner can afford to spend that much on a form of advertising that does not convert. They need to select the best types of marketing and advertising methods. Ones that provide the highest return on investment. This article explains how to do that. As well as highlight several underutilized forms of advertising that most businesses could greatly benefit from adopting.
Table of Contents
Be clear about what you want to achieve
With advertising, it is important to be laser-focused. To understand what the primary aim of each campaign and advert is. Some will be set up to sell more of a specific product or service. Whilst others will be mainly about building brand awareness and reputation.
Set up the testing and analytics before ordering the ad
Effective A/B testing is essential. Not using it is the quickest way for a business to burn money.
A/B testing does two things. It enables you to learn more about your customers and the marketplace. To see what catches the attention of potential buyers, what they like, and what puts them off. This valuable knowledge can enable you to spot trends earlier than your competitors. Enabling you to adapt your product or service to better meet the expectations of your customer.
Importantly, A/B testing also enables you to measure how effective each advert is. To make sure what you are paying for converts into leads and sales.
This short article explains how to set up A/B testing for physical and online ads. Once you have read it you will be equipped to go online and look for in-depth tutorials for each of the mediums you are planning to use.
Use a combination of marketing mediums
Most businesses will need to use a range of marketing methods to ensure that they reach all the types of customers they want to serve. For example, a combination of TV, radio, poster, and social media advertising.
Invest in professional content
In most cases, hiring a professional to set up and run these different campaigns makes sense. Very few business owners have the necessary skill set to create content and deploy it in the right way. In most cases, trying to do it all yourself turns out to be a false economy.
Use marketing methods that help to get you closer to your customer
But it is important not to forget to use face-to-face, in-house methods too. For example, food tasting sessions. Customers love the chance to try something new and the feedback you get from them about what they like is invaluable. It is information that can be used to hone what you sell and your price points.
Creating and running your own advertising campaigns in-store
Generally speaking, the more tailored the advertising is to the values, needs, and expectations of their customers, the more effective it is. Nobody knows their customers better than the business owners and their staff. So, good-quality, highly targeted advertising that is created, deployed, and tweaked by them is bound to provide a good ROI.
Something that is now easily within reach of most businesses through the use of digital display screens. Mandoe Media’s digital signs offer store, gym, restaurant, clinic, salon, and café owners the chance to use their software to create their own adverts. There is also access to thousands of stock images and videos. With this kind of setup, a business owner can create and deploy an advert in under half an hour.
Continue tweaking
It is also essential that companies continue to evolve the way they market. New ways of advertising continue to emerge and ones that stopped being effective can become so in the future. For example, direct mail marketing is once again effective. You can find out why that is and how to tap into this old-school form of marketing by clicking here.
