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your potential customers know that? Paul Clapham explains how to make advertising work for you.
• GO TO THE BANK, TAKE out half your money, go into the street and give it to passing strangers. Then, next month, do it again. This is effectively how a lot of small businesses spend their money on advertising and marketing. They waste it and they don't know why.
So how do you evaluate your options, how do you get best value for the money you spend, where do you go for advice and and information?
Let's look at the main advertising and marketing routes.
Press advertising
• If you're selling to busi nesses in a defined geographical area, the local newspapers look like the natural, efficient way to find them. Beware. Do those local businessmen read the local press? More importantly, do they buy for their businesses from it? In a lot of cases, the answer is 'No'.
The regional morning papers can be a better deal, because they are more business-orientated.
However, they are few and far between—The Yorkshire Post, Western Daily Press, Western Morning News, The Birmingham Post, Eastern Dai4/ Press, Liverpool Daily Post and Glasgow's The Herald for instance.
Don't ignore classified linage ads. They're cheap and everyone working their way through them is definitely a buyer, not just a browser.
Local directories
• Firstly, take advertising space. Your competitors will and your single-line entry will get lost. Secondly, be aware that when people use directories like Yellow Pages they want someone local. Using a book that covers Several towns means you should make your town big and bold. In a single city book, make the telephone number larger. A memorable number can beat real value if you regard directories as an
important business source. Your ad should tell them what you do and why they should buy from you. Offer special deals, quote your lowest price, get the word "free" in the ad.
Don't fall into the trap of putting too much in. You want them to call so you can explain the details.
Don't necessarily limit yourself to one book. Although being a local supplier is important, remember that you may be next to an area that's ill-provided with your product or service.
A point which relates to all directories is that you are at the mercy of the alphabet. If a directory supplies a lot of your business, you might consider an additional trading name to take you towards the top of the list.
Direct mail
• Direct mail is the most cost-effective way to reach local businessmen across a broad spread of businesses, but doing it properly requires some hard graft.
Firstly, you need to get a list of the right companies. This can come from your own sources, trade directories and local or regional business directories, You can also buy lists from direct marketing specialists, list brokers and publishers.
If you've built your own company fist you'll need to find out contact names. A letter or leaflet which isn't addressed to a named individual in an organisation is destined for the bin. Next you follow up the mailshot. Without a follow-up, you can expect maybe 1% response; with it, you can look at 10%. When you follow up, you need a hook to hang the conversation on, so some sort of introductory offer is indicated—maybe offer a discount on backloads. This also makes it easier to do the follow up. Do it within three days.
Realistically, you can't expect more than 1-2% to be interested at the point when you mail them. This is where a database becomes vital. It enables you to note when the customer is likely to buy from you. Make sure that your database software has the facility for you to put in a recall date and then pump out a list of date-prompted names each day or week.
Promotions
• People like promotions—they feel that they are getting something for nothing and that makes them feel clever. The key virtue of promotions is to give the prospective customer a simple, solid reason to buy from you and buy now; perhaps for instance a time-limited special offer on backloads.
Conversion
• Failure to convert enquiries into sales is a classic error, which even the biggest and most successful businesses make. The best advertising campaign in the world will fail if you don't squeeze every enquiry dry.
If enquiries come by phone, do you ask where they got your name? Every time? What about your staff? If you don't enforce this discipline, you'll never be able to make a proper judgement of advertising effectiveness. You must ask this question, and you must insist that your staff do, too.
Quantifying the source of enquiries is only the start. Aim to have a standard reaction. For example: a quote on the phone confirmed by fax within an hour. Aim to send out a brochure/sample the same day.
Follow it up with a courtesy call the next day. You should aim to make a sales visit inside a week. Have such action plans written down.
Help
• You can listen to the sales teams at your relevant magazines and newspapers. Obviously they're selling to you.
They also know all the ins and outs of their particular publications and the comparative information that applies to their competition.
It goes without saying that you tend to get their spin on the facts. But you are left tojudge their worth.
If you just want spin-free information you can go to a commercial library. Better still is the information section at your local Training and Enterprise Council.
It's up-to-date and complete and they can offer you expertise, although that tends to demand a level of input which you may not be looking for, not to mention an extended timescale.
— Paul Clapham is an advertising and marketing consultant.
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