Thankfully there are a number of techniques which can help and a process to go through when deciding.
First of all, identify the purpose of the advertising, e.g. whether it's for general awareness or to create leads. The reason will narrow the choice down and also start to formulate some ideas on what the advertising might look like.
Next, identify the budget. A few hundred dollars obviously limits the choice as television or large-scale press advertising is clearly not possible. However, it’s very easy to waste a substantial advertising budget by spending on inappropriate media.
Once a business has an idea of its reasons for advertising and a broad indication of the budget, it can start to make some decisions. There is a concept in marketing called the Communications Mix. Williams & Curtis (2007) outlined the following broad tools;
- Advertising
- Sales promotion
- Public Relations (PR)
- Direct marketing (DM)
- Personal Selling
- Sponsorship
- Exhibitions
- Packaging
- POS and Merchandising
- Word-of-mouth
- e-Marketing
- Corporate Identity
- Networking Meetings
If a business did not feel that brand building were important, it would focus more on advertising and direct marketing rather than corporate identity, public relations or sponsorship. On the other hand, a business built on personal relationships would want to attend exhibitions and networking meetings as well as focusing on personal selling.
Encouraging the Sale
Some of these tools are more beneficial than others in generating immediate sales. Sales promotions such as; ‘this month only – 25% off’, or ‘buy one, get one free’, are great for encouraging prospective purchasers to buy now rather than later. Similarly, advertising can be useful for promoting an offer, as can sending out a direct mailing.
Evaluating the Choice
Time will obviously be spent considering the options before deciding which is the most appropriate. However, there is no substitute for actually trying it and seeing which works most effectively. This means that a business shouldn’t put all its marketing budget into just one media. Try small scale activities first to see which work most effectively. The most successful can then be expanded and used more often.
Measuring the Results
The final stage in the process is to measure the results of the activities. In order to do this effectively, you need to have established the purpose of the advertising. If it’s to generate immediate sales then the task is relatively easy.
However, that’s not all you’ll need to measure. There might be lots of enquiries which don’t convert to sales, for example, but is this the fault of the advertising? The advertising might be doing a superb job of getting people to your store or website but something else stops them making the purchase. So make sure you measure the right things.
This also highlights the importance of making sure you identify the purpose of the advertising. Is it really to generate sales, or is it actually enquiries?
For more on the subject of measurement, read Measuring Advertising Results. Alternatively, if direct marketing suits you better, read Generate More Business by Testing.
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