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AtricleZine - Marketing Tips For Small Business - Advertising That Works, Part I
Machine quilting is becoming more and more popular by the day. Long gone are the days when you would sit down with a quilting frame and manually hand sew it until you are satisfied that it is well designed and will stand the test of time. If you still do use that method then you should really try machine quilting for size. If you do not like it then it is your choice, but you owe it to yourself to try out the technology that may just save you a lot of time and make it more enjoyable as a pastime. Some quilters love machine quilting, especially those that are new to the hobby, but some prefer
Contains 3 times the usual vitamin D and calcium
Extra potassium
Uses only rolled oats
(That all sounds very healthy, but I don’t know how eating more of those things will do me any good. Besides, I like my usual brand of wheat bread. I pass by your delicious, nutritious wheat bread and buy the same supermarket bread I’ve eaten since I was a kid.)
Now let’s state those feature
Making the most of your media efforts is important to every organization. Even more important is maximizing your profit potential when advertising through radio, television, and other methods of exposure.The two most common forms of advertising consist of radio and television. First off, let's talk about how radio spots can be an effective form of advertising.Radio has many distinct advantages that a media buyer should take into consideration. Radio spots can be had on both local and national levels. This allows targeted marketing efforts to be coordinated. In other words,
If a corporation puts out a bad advertisement, the marketing department will have the resources and budget to make a mid-course correction (sometimes). Often the thousands of dollars a small business puts into an advertising promotion are the bulk of the marketing budget for the entire year (usually). There’s no money, time or resources for a do-over if the ad doesn’t bring in customers. Small business people simply can’t afford to spend money on expensive ads that don’t work.
Preparing an effective ad is harder than it looks, but even the smallest business can produce an ad that works if some simple rules are followed. Following are four tips you can use to create a great ad for your business, regardless of your budget, marketing experience, or the media used:
1. State the Product or Service Clearly
Make it absolutely clear what product or service you are selling. Keep it simple and honest. Instead of advertising “meticulously crafted, threaded fastening accessories” just say, “best steel wing nuts.” Don’t make it hard for the customer to pinpoint what you’re selling and don’t overdo the flowery descriptions.
2. Use a Call-For-Action Phrase
Forgetting the call-for-action is the biggest mistake I see in small business advertising. A call-for-action is a short sentence telling the customer how to get the product or service, such as “call us for a free sample,” “order online at www.mywebsite.com,” “get Product X at these fine retailers.” The call-for-action is important because it reinforces the customer’s decision to buy and gives specific instructions. Without a call-for-action, a certain number of customers will change their minds almost instantly, as their attention is drawn elsewhere. Others will ignore the ad unless you make it clear you want their business by telling them exactly how to spend their money.
3. Check for Correct, Complete Contact Information
You must include a phone number, address, and/or website (preferably all three). Triple check to make sure the information is correct. This sounds obvious but consider this real-life case: A plumbing company in my hometown advertised 24-hour service but only put the number of the main office in their telephone directory ad. The office was only open 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. That was little use to someone with a leaking hot water heater at 2:00 a.m. The plumbing company also had a website where, with some digging, a desperate homeowner could ferret out the 24-hour service number…but what customer is going to spend time hunting the number down when he’s up to his ankles in standing water?
4. Sell the Benefits
I often see ads that try to sell the customer on the features of a product or service rather than the benefits to the customer. What’s the difference? Features describe the product or service; benefits tell the customer how those features will help him or her. Let’s take a common product like bread. Say you’re selling a special kind of nutrition-packed wheat bread (it was granny’s secret recipe). You could list some of the features of this wonderful bread in your ads:
Contains 3 times the usual vitamin D and calcium
Extra potassium
Uses only rolled oats
(That all sounds very healthy, but I don’t know how eating more of those things will do me any good. Besides, I like my usual brand of wheat bread. I pass by your delicious, nutritious wheat bread and buy the same supermarket bread I’ve eaten since I was a kid.)
Now let’s state those features
Every successful individual accomplishes his goals with the support and guidance of his coach or mentor. The coaches’ ability to motivate, communicate and establish a relationship with the students is a remarkable trait that brings out the individuals’ core values. Business coaching is a new phenomenon that has developed into a movement in the corporate world, which facilitates behavioral and psychological changes in the executives to better their managerial styles. The basic aim of business coaching is to make corporate personnel aware of their impact on others, learn how to motivate subord
Preparing an effective ad is harder than it looks, but even the smallest business can produce an ad that works if some simple rules are followed. Following are four tips you can use to create a great ad for your business, regardless of your budget, marketing experience, or the media used:
1. State the Product or Service Clearly
Make it absolutely clear what product or service you are selling. Keep it simple and honest. Instead of advertising “meticulously crafted, threaded fastening accessories” just say, “best steel wing nuts.” Don’t make it hard for the customer to pinpoint what you’re selling and don’t overdo the flowery descriptions.
2. Use a Call-For-Action Phrase
Forgetting the call-for-action is the biggest mistake I see in small business advertising. A call-for-action is a short sentence telling the customer how to get the product or service, such as “call us for a free sample,” “order online at www.mywebsite.com,” “get Product X at these fine retailers.” The call-for-action is important because it reinforces the customer’s decision to buy and gives specific instructions. Without a call-for-action, a certain number of customers will change their minds almost instantly, as their attention is drawn elsewhere. Others will ignore the ad unless you make it clear you want their business by telling them exactly how to spend their money.
3. Check for Correct, Complete Contact Information
You must include a phone number, address, and/or website (preferably all three). Triple check to make sure the information is correct. This sounds obvious but consider this real-life case: A plumbing company in my hometown advertised 24-hour service but only put the number of the main office in their telephone directory ad. The office was only open 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. That was little use to someone with a leaking hot water heater at 2:00 a.m. The plumbing company also had a website where, with some digging, a desperate homeowner could ferret out the 24-hour service number…but what customer is going to spend time hunting the number down when he’s up to his ankles in standing water?
4. Sell the Benefits
I often see ads that try to sell the customer on the features of a product or service rather than the benefits to the customer. What’s the difference? Features describe the product or service; benefits tell the customer how those features will help him or her. Let’s take a common product like bread. Say you’re selling a special kind of nutrition-packed wheat bread (it was granny’s secret recipe). You could list some of the features of this wonderful bread in your ads:
Contains 3 times the usual vitamin D and calcium
Extra potassium
Uses only rolled oats
(That all sounds very healthy, but I don’t know how eating more of those things will do me any good. Besides, I like my usual brand of wheat bread. I pass by your delicious, nutritious wheat bread and buy the same supermarket bread I’ve eaten since I was a kid.)
Now let’s state those feature
Barcodes for inventory purposes are used to identify and list inventories in businesses dealing with a large number of goods. Barcodes are efficient tools for maintaining large inventory records; they save time and manpower because the procedure is systemized and standardized. Above all, barcodes are very specific to the product.The information encoded in barcodes cannot be read using human eyes, and making the copies of them requires specialized pieces of equipment, which are costly. Therefore, barcodes are free from duplications.Barcodes for inventory are made up of paper, v
Forgetting the call-for-action is the biggest mistake I see in small business advertising. A call-for-action is a short sentence telling the customer how to get the product or service, such as “call us for a free sample,” “order online at www.mywebsite.com,” “get Product X at these fine retailers.” The call-for-action is important because it reinforces the customer’s decision to buy and gives specific instructions. Without a call-for-action, a certain number of customers will change their minds almost instantly, as their attention is drawn elsewhere. Others will ignore the ad unless you make it clear you want their business by telling them exactly how to spend their money.
3. Check for Correct, Complete Contact Information
You must include a phone number, address, and/or website (preferably all three). Triple check to make sure the information is correct. This sounds obvious but consider this real-life case: A plumbing company in my hometown advertised 24-hour service but only put the number of the main office in their telephone directory ad. The office was only open 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. That was little use to someone with a leaking hot water heater at 2:00 a.m. The plumbing company also had a website where, with some digging, a desperate homeowner could ferret out the 24-hour service number…but what customer is going to spend time hunting the number down when he’s up to his ankles in standing water?
4. Sell the Benefits
I often see ads that try to sell the customer on the features of a product or service rather than the benefits to the customer. What’s the difference? Features describe the product or service; benefits tell the customer how those features will help him or her. Let’s take a common product like bread. Say you’re selling a special kind of nutrition-packed wheat bread (it was granny’s secret recipe). You could list some of the features of this wonderful bread in your ads:
Contains 3 times the usual vitamin D and calcium
Extra potassium
Uses only rolled oats
(That all sounds very healthy, but I don’t know how eating more of those things will do me any good. Besides, I like my usual brand of wheat bread. I pass by your delicious, nutritious wheat bread and buy the same supermarket bread I’ve eaten since I was a kid.)
Now let’s state those feature
Leading vs ManagingWhether you are the owner of your own business, the chief executive of a corporation, or a manager rising through the ranks, it is critical to develop your leadership skills. Great leadership brings great results. A great manager can get great results but the results reflect on a project or goal, not on the long term process of leading people. A manager can bring a project in on time or perhaps under budget, but a leader gets great results working with people, building relationships, and empowering all members which motivates even better results in the future.
4. Sell the Benefits
I often see ads that try to sell the customer on the features of a product or service rather than the benefits to the customer. What’s the difference? Features describe the product or service; benefits tell the customer how those features will help him or her. Let’s take a common product like bread. Say you’re selling a special kind of nutrition-packed wheat bread (it was granny’s secret recipe). You could list some of the features of this wonderful bread in your ads:
Contains 3 times the usual vitamin D and calcium
Extra potassium
Uses only rolled oats
(That all sounds very healthy, but I don’t know how eating more of those things will do me any good. Besides, I like my usual brand of wheat bread. I pass by your delicious, nutritious wheat bread and buy the same supermarket bread I’ve eaten since I was a kid.)
Now let’s state those feature
You don’t have to be a genius to recognize that a lot of money is tied up in MRO inventory ….especially if your business requires the use of capital-intensive equipment. Literally millions of dollars are tied up in spare parts for day-to-day Maintenance, Repair and Operations (MRO).Historically, no one ever really ‘owned’ inventory, so stocking another item “just in case” had very few, if any repercussions. Inventory was often seen as a necessary evil of doing business. The term Inventory Management was almost an oxymoron. There were few procedures for setting up an item, no standar
Contains 3 times the usual vitamin D and calcium
Extra potassium
Uses only rolled oats
(That all sounds very healthy, but I don’t know how eating more of those things will do me any good. Besides, I like my usual brand of wheat bread. I pass by your delicious, nutritious wheat bread and buy the same supermarket bread I’ve eaten since I was a kid.)
Now let’s state those features as customer benefits:
Builds strong bones and teeth
Helps control high blood pressure
Lowers cholesterol
(I didn’t know I could lower my blood pressure by eating a different brand of bread. That’s sure sounds easier and tastier than taking supplements. I pick up a loaf, and some of your whole-grain dinner rolls, too.)
Translating the features of wheat bread into benefits isn’t that difficult. What if you have a very complicated product or service? Drilling down to the benefits can still be done quite easily. When I get stuck writing up a benefits sheet, I filter everything through this phrase: “What’s in it for me?”
These four marketing tips are a great place to start when preparing your advertisement. See Marketing Tips For Small Business – Advertising That Works, Part II, for more tips and insider tricks.
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