I’m a relatively new advertiser, and most people are telling me to avoid making the “typical new advertiser” mistakes. It’s hard to avoid making them if I don’t know what they are!
Whoever told you to avoid making those mistakes should have told you what those newbie mistakes are. Since they didn’t, let’s enlighten you!
The first mistake to consider (and this isn’t just for new advertisers!) is to not have a clear long-term strategy in place. That’s almost a guarantee of failure down the road – and here’s why: a customer won’t react the first time they hear your message. They’ll react somewhere down the road. So if you don’t have a strategy in place to keep the advertising going, you’re going to be out of luck.
The second BIG mistake people make is to advertise only when they need business. Your advertising must be ongoing – again, because people will take time to take action. If you’re out of sight, you’re going to be out of mind. Which translates to being out of business.
Here’s another one – copying what the competition is doing. Don’t be a follower – do your own thing. How do you even know that what the competition is doing is working – or that it’s the right approach to take? You don’t.
Another mistake: not tracking your results. Track every single sale – where is it coming from? Was it radio? Newspaper? If you know the answers, you’ll know where to put your money. Try using different phone numbers on different media – so you will know where your sales are coming from.
Another mistake new advertisers make is to skimp on paying for the things that customers see. Don’t. Don’t have a “skimpy” website. It says, “new company with no money.” Same with printed materials – don’t do black and white, when color only costs a bit more. When people will end up seeing something, spend some money on it!
Don’t buy media based on price! Buy media based on how it will target your customer. You might find a cheaper publication, but it may not reach one single targeted prospect.
Don’t ever run an ad once! That is just throwing money away. Most times, you’ll need to run an ad 3 to 7 times in order for it to have an effect.
Finally, make sure you market to your existing customers. Repeat business often accounts for 80% of your sales! Avoid these mistakes and you’ll be around long enough to learn about other mistakes you’ll need to avoid!
Whoever told you to avoid making those mistakes should have told you what those newbie mistakes are. Since they didn’t, let’s enlighten you!
The first mistake to consider (and this isn’t just for new advertisers!) is to not have a clear long-term strategy in place. That’s almost a guarantee of failure down the road – and here’s why: a customer won’t react the first time they hear your message. They’ll react somewhere down the road. So if you don’t have a strategy in place to keep the advertising going, you’re going to be out of luck.
The second BIG mistake people make is to advertise only when they need business. Your advertising must be ongoing – again, because people will take time to take action. If you’re out of sight, you’re going to be out of mind. Which translates to being out of business.
Here’s another one – copying what the competition is doing. Don’t be a follower – do your own thing. How do you even know that what the competition is doing is working – or that it’s the right approach to take? You don’t.
Another mistake: not tracking your results. Track every single sale – where is it coming from? Was it radio? Newspaper? If you know the answers, you’ll know where to put your money. Try using different phone numbers on different media – so you will know where your sales are coming from.
Another mistake new advertisers make is to skimp on paying for the things that customers see. Don’t. Don’t have a “skimpy” website. It says, “new company with no money.” Same with printed materials – don’t do black and white, when color only costs a bit more. When people will end up seeing something, spend some money on it!
Don’t buy media based on price! Buy media based on how it will target your customer. You might find a cheaper publication, but it may not reach one single targeted prospect.
Don’t ever run an ad once! That is just throwing money away. Most times, you’ll need to run an ad 3 to 7 times in order for it to have an effect.
Finally, make sure you market to your existing customers. Repeat business often accounts for 80% of your sales! Avoid these mistakes and you’ll be around long enough to learn about other mistakes you’ll need to avoid!
