Advertising – is it for me?
The main reason, in fact the only reason, businesses advertise is to let people know what they’re doing. Makes sense really, after all if you want people to know what you’re up to – whether it’s to remind people you’re still there, let them know of a special offer/event/sale/product etc, and it can be a pretty effective way of doing so. That said and with your marketing budget in mind, it makes sense to only advertise in a media that your clients or customers will see/hear/read. Which is why, unless I’m fully managing their advertising campaign myself, I always give my clients the following advice.
When a deal seems too good to be true – it usually is. That’s not always the case of course, sometimes, only sometimes, a newspaper or other media will have a target to hit and will be chasing round for the last few hundred pounds so they can achieve their bonus therefore selling the space at vastly reduced rates. Although they usually will contact their regular clients first – you may get lucky.
The deals I mean is when a magazine, publication or online equivalent that you’ve never seen or heard of phones you up and offer a seemingly fantastic deal. Before you make any decision ask them the following questions.
What is the print run or readership figures – note readership figures are generally 2.5 x the print run for newspapers and up to 7x the print run for magazines. When you’ve got this figure divide the amount you are paying by the readership/print run. It will give you the cost per POTENTIAL customer. Then compare it against the cost of an email or leaflet campaign, taking into account you have more control over where you target them.
Where it’s distributed – as in the geographical area. Is this an area you have potential or existing customers?
How it’s distributed. If they self distribute ask them which outlets they give it to. Sometimes the only people who’ll get the magazine are the people that have advertised in it, which is not great to say the least. However, if the magazine is available where your target market is likely to be, that’s fair enough.
What are the demographics of their readers. i.e. age range, disposable income and make sure they meet with your own target market. Check out www.businessballs.com/demographicsclassifications.htm to get a list of UK demographics.
This list of questions is by no means exhaustive and there will be other factors you will need to take into account depending on your specific business.
However, as a general rule of them if the answers to those questions are all favourable – and most importantly they have the data and information to back it up with, as well as a return on investment being achievable should you consider placing an advert.
If however, you’re met with a resounding silence – don’t bother wasting your time or money.
Teresa
If you found this helpful I’d love to hear from you – I’d also love to hear from you if you thought it unhelpful too! email me at viewpoint@tbcmarketing.co.uk
The advice offered in this blog is meant as general comments only.