Would you spend upwards of $3,000,000 (yes, that’s 3 million dollars) to run one 30 second TV advertisement?
Believe it or not, that’s just what a bunch of companies will pay to run a single 30 second promotion in the next NFL Super Bowl in February. And that doesn’t include the production costs!
The ads will be clever and funny (it’s just expected). The ad agencies will get awards. The CEO’s and boards of the advertising businesses will revel in the glory and feel really good.
But will it bring in any business? How much bang for your 3,000,000 bucks do you get?
If past history is anything to go by, not very much.
Here are some sobering facts.
The vast majority of viewers will laugh and enjoy the ad. They might remember the ad, but won’t remember what was actually being advertised, who the company was or even what the product did.
Bummer… All that money down the drain and not a new customer in sight.
So why do these companies go down this path? They fall for a lie.
Some of the greatest (and expensive) lies perpetuated in marketing circles are “you have to build your brand” and get “market awareness”. “You have to get your name out there.” “Brand building is what marketing is all about.” “Your brand is the most important asset you have”.
Which for most small to medium sized businesses is utter and complete rubbish perpetuated by the big end of town advertising companies! Companies which are in love with “creative advertising” and cringe when you ask them for direct results. i.e. Exactly how many clients am I getting per dollar spent?
So if you had $3,000,000 to spend, or $30,000 or even $3,000 what should you be doing instead? How could you generate a steady stream of new, good quality prospects? People who are likely to become good clients?
Instead of blanketing the masses with expensive one shot advertising, the secret is in really understanding your market and targeting only the people likely to be interested in what you offer. Your only goal is to get your message in front of the right prospects and have them raise their hands and express interest.
And once you have their details you can start an engagement process which moves them down the sales funnel at their own pace, allowing them to buy from you when they’re ready.
So how do you go about this?
There are two keys to success.
First of all, stop trying to be “clever” with your advertising. Slick ads, full of double meanings may well be entertaining. And while people remember the ad, they often don’t remember the product you’re flogging.
Create ads which directly speak to your prospects on two fronts. Their pain and frustration and what they want instead. (See my article here on this topic)
Your ads need to arouse your prospects’ curiosity so they contact you for more information.
Offer to give away lots of good quality information in return for their contact details. People want to get a sense of who you are and what you could do for them. Giving away good quality information in the form of white papers, free reports, checklists, calculators etc., builds trust.
And if you’re thinking, “I can’t give all my stuff away”, yes you can. Most people think, “Gee, if they’re giving this away, what else have they got that would help me” and tend to trust you and want to work with you even more.
Remember, not everyone will want to pick up the phone and call you. Many will not want to be “sold to” and feel calling is too premature a step. They want to get a better sense of who you are and what you can do for them from a distance.
For these people it’s vital you drip feed them with ongoing information and automated follow ups which keep you at top of mind so they’ll call you when ready to take the next step.
Second, be consistent. Don’t throw all your advertising dollars away on a one shot promotion. Spread them out over time so you’re consistently in front of your target audience.
Take our own example.
This newsletter is responsible for the vast majority of our business.
Prospects get on our list through a variety of means and get a sense of who we are, what we stand for and how we can help. We give away tons of information and good ideas. We’ve had people tell us they discuss certain articles EVERY sales meeting. Others use our free info as the basis for staff training and business building. And some of them become good quality, long term clients.
It’s a marathon, not a sprint. You need to be advertising for the long haul.
Finally, if you’d like help getting more good quality business, talk to us about how we can structure an effective advertising campaign for you.
We take an end to end approach from defining your market, writing the ads, creating the free reports and white papers and follow up material. We can also put the technology that runs the whole system together as well as train your sales teams so you get the most bang for your buck.
Call us now on (02) 9499-7958 to get the ball rolling.
Rashid.
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