Advertising – Text
Check unknown vocabulary before you read the text:
regardless – not thinking or caring about costs, problems, dangers etc
to reap – get as a return, recompense, or result
entrepreneur – a person who starts or organizes a business company, especially one involving risk
gross – without deductions; total, as the amount of sales, salary, profit, etc., before taking deductions for expenses, taxes, or the like
to convey – communicate or make known
to distrust – have no trust in
to claim – say that something is a fact
to perceive – recognize, discern, envision, or understand
tailored – made to specific requirements or measurements
curiosity – desire to learn or know about anything/everything
exposure – public appearance, esp. on the mass media.
impact – a strong effect or impression
Advertising Success
Small business advertising is a science and an art. Companies often miss the fundamentals of advertising. Regardless of the size of your business, an understanding of the laws of advertising can reap huge rewards.
According to Small Business Administration, 5% of an entrepreneur's gross sales should be budgeted for advertising. A 5% small business advertising budget can only help if you understand the laws of advertising.
6 Laws of Small Business Advertising Success
1. Use One Message: A high response rate ad usually conveys a single message.
2. Add Credibility: It has become human nature to distrust advertising. Claims need to be real and credible. Roy H. Williams, best-selling author of the "Wizard of Ads" says, "Any claim made in your advertising which your customer does not perceive as the truth is a horrible waste of ad dollars."
3. Test Everything: Large businesses have a greater margin to waste capital and resources without testing advertising. Small businesses do not have the luxury. Use coupons, codes, and specials to measure the headline, timing, and placement of your ad. Test only one item at a time and one medium. Testing can be as simple as asking every customer for several weeks how they heard of your business.
4. Be Easy to Contact: Every single brochure, box, email and all company literature should have full contact information including: website and email address, phone and fax numbers, and company address. It seems simple but is forgotten by most companies. Be everywhere.
5. Match Ads to Target: Successful business advertising speaks to one target market only. Your ads should be tailored to each market. Focus the message to the target group.
6. Create Curiosity: Successful business advertising does not sell a product or service. You can sell a free video. Once a potential customer has watched the video, they will contact your company for more information. The end result, millions of dollars of sales. Create ads that generate interest and make the customer want more information.
Having a poor response is not the medium's fault. Often the problem is the message. Small business advertising is not a quick fix solution to marketing your company. It takes planning, testing, and constant exposure to have an impact on your small business. Done correctly, small business advertising can be a winning strategy.