Mid-Missouri Marketing Resource Blog

Originally published 9-28-2015. Updated 9-11-2020

Let’s see if this story sounds familiar… a local business owner spent months researching her marketing options. She knew she wanted to be on a few radio stations. Her competitors were on TV, so she was interested in options on a local channel, and of course she knew she needed to be online, though she wasn't sure exactly where or how. Her employees insisted she should put a coupon in direct mail, and a close friend swore she'd regret it if she didn’t do billboards.

Originally published 9-22-2015. Updated 8-14-2020

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: advertising is an investment, not an expense. In the first of our 12-part series on causes of advertising failure, we’ll delve into the marketers desire for instant gratification, and why it’s an unfortunate approach when it comes to your business.

We get it, advertising, especially as a small business can be a pill. You don’t have a large budget, and chances are you don’t have the time to really sit down, study your books and create a solid budget. We understand. Yet, regardless of these roadblocks, the bottom line is, that if you want your business to succeed, you’ll must allocate dollars to advertising. Viewing your advertising as a long-term investment will make an important difference in your advertising efforts. Advertising is not about instant gratification. If all you can see is the money, you’ll discover quickly that the amount you make probably isn’t worth the amount you’ve spent. However, if you can look past the advertising bill, to the much bigger picture: building the long-term future of your brand, as well as the short-term gain of sales, you’ll realize that advertising is worth every dime and minute spent.

One of the most powerful marketing tools for a business is when a business owner becomes the voice of his or her company.  Think Dave from Wendy’s; when he started starring in their ads in the 80s, sales skyrocketed.  Dave seemed natural, unaffected, likeable and sincere.  He invoked trust.  On a subconscious level, viewers must have felt like, if Dave is such a good guy, eating at Wendy’s must be the right thing to do! 

This is especially true for local business.  There’s something reassuring to listeners about a local business owner who comes across as a good person, who is fully involved with the business and has a vision for how to improve his or her customer’s lives. 

Many local businesses do take advantage of this opportunity, but not all businesses do so as successfully as they could – and most often this is because they aren’t naturals at voicing their own ads. 

This is not their fault, of course.  Public speaking in all its forms is like dancing or playing a musical instrument; it comes more easily to some than to others.  But, just like dancing or playing a musical instrument, it does come with a set of ‘good form’ tips that can at least help nudge one in the right direction.  The rest is practice!

Advertising is a key part of business, but unless your messages are effective, you’re spinning your wheels. For an ad campaign to truly connect with your customers, you must create messages that are both memorable and powerful. You must also clearly communicate how you help make the consumer’s life better.

To better illustrate our point, here are three of the most powerful, effective advertising campaigns ever created:

Influencer marketing has become an increasingly important part of online marketing and engaging with users. With social media rapidly becoming a prominent part of daily life, as nearly 80 percent of American adults now have at least one account, influencers have a growing amount of power over the buying habits of consumers and the reputation of businesses. Almost 40 percent of people on Twitter report that tweets from influencers on the platform have resulted in them making a purchase.

Influencer marketing has close ties with two other popular forms of marketing that you may be familiar with: social media marketing and content marketing. Here is what you need to know about social influencers and the power of influencer marketing.

So you want to run a radio ad. Wonderful! Which station do you choose? When do you want your ad to air? Do you choose the station YOU like, or is there a better plan of attack. How do you get started and what is it important for you to know? Here is information on both the art and science behind radio advertising. Information that will help you make smart decisions when buying it for your business.

As a business owner, you cannot avoid, or ignore, branding. Branding is just as important, if not more important, than most of the day-to-day aspects of your business. In fact, branding encompasses everything your business is and how customers think about you and what you can provide them.

History has a great way of teaching us lessons. During tough economic times, it might seem logical to make cuts to your advertising budget, but in reality, that’s not a sound idea, as it actually hurts your business. By staying the course, you keep your brand and business in the forefront of your customer’s mind. An effective advertising strategy should actually help you increase sales.

Did you know it costs five times more to recruit a new customer than it does to keep an existing one? That’s right, and what’s more, it can cost as much as 30 times as much, depending on the industry! However, many companies simply fail to quantify the impact of customer retention. They do not focus enough on current customers or consider how to retain them. Instead, they focus their marketing efforts on garnering new customers, much like a toddler who tosses an old beloved toy aside in preference to a shiny new toy. To place customer retention in the place of prominence it deserves, answer the following questions:

1. How can I re-sell to the customer?
2. Is there an opportunity to cross sell?
3. Are there additional products or services to up-sell?

Keep in mind, all the new customers you can hope to obtain are not worth as much as the customers you already have.

“Call 1-800 steemer… Stanley Steemer gets carpet cleaner!”

“Give me a break, give me a break, break me off a piece of that... Kitkat bar!”

“Like a good neighbor… State Farm is there!” 

(We are willing to bet you just sang those catchy jingles while reading them…)

Some may say that nothing can drive an advertising message like a catchy jingle. We like to think of jingles as an important part of your “audio signature.” Whether your listeners love it or hate it, a good jingle will relate your brand name with a concept, idea, or promotion. While many people believe that jingles are outdated, we disagree. In fact, one recent study found that 89 percent of participants believed jingles to be an effective method of advertising.

So, does your business need a jingle? Here are three reasons why your answer should be yes: