“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted;
the trouble is, I don’t know which half.”

John Wanamaker, father of modern advertising

If you struggle with the question of whether advertising really benefits your business, you’re not alone. It seems like a good idea, but it doesn’t make the phone ring or make product jump off the shelves for you the way it does for Coke, Rogers, Apple or Telus (and who among us doesn’t love those teeny monkeys?).

So why does it work for the big guys? Simple – it’s all about media weight. Blue chip companies have deep pockets and can afford to place ads literally “everywhere”. They also pursue a mass audience, and television, radio and billboards hit that target. But, if you’re the average business, you can’t afford to do that. You need results in the short term – you can’t wait for your message to sink in and you’re after a specific target audience.

Like a whole lot of other experienced, competent business people, you may tend to think of advertising and marketing as the same. There is a difference between the two, and knowing what each has to offer will help you achieve a much better return on investment:

• Building AwarenessAdvertising is actually a marketing tactic. It’s used to build brand awareness and recognition through media such as television, radio, movies, magazines, newspapers, the Internet and billboards. Advertising through these mass media can be very effective if your goal is to reach a wide consumer audience. For business-to-business marketing, a targeted approach typically delivers a far greater return on investment. So, you might choose to advertise in a trade magazine where you know that the audience is comprised solely of potential buyers for your product or service. Still, for the most part, your ad will build awareness and recognition. And, when someone suggests adding your business to a Request for Proposal distribution list, the approving manager can say “Sure – I’ve heard of them” instead of, “You want to send it to who?”
• Making the Phone RingMarketing is used to attract and retain customers and maximize their potential. There are two types of marketing; Strategic and Operational. Strategic Marketing is the overall strategy aimed at creating and building competitive advantage. Its focus is on issues such as positioning: will you be the best quality? The lowest price? The most innovative? Operational Marketing executes specific, planned tactics designed to attract and keep customers and to build sales volume within existing customer accounts. The Operational Marketing mix should include a wide variety of tactics such as direct mail, interactive e-marketing campaigns, tradeshows, newsletters, special events, e-publications, and, yes, in the right circumstances, advertising.

In short, advertising is just one of many marketing tactics. When developing your marketing plan, it’s important to include a variety of tactics designed to not only attract and retain customers but build brand awareness. Advertising definitely has a place, but to be effective it must be carefully incorporated as part of the overall marketing mix, not its foundation.

Make the most of your marketing opportunities – contact 5th Business and ask about our Smarter Marketing ® strategies.