Radio Advertising Facts

Category: The Facts

How to Avoid The Five Biggest Radio Advertising Mistakes

Have you ever said the following: “I tried radio but it didn’t work”? Many business owners have that complaint. The fact is radio is just as effective (if not more effective) as any other advertising medium. The reason a spot (commercial) fails is more often due to one or more of these five mistakes given below.

Mistake One: Phone Numbers.
Especially if more than one are given. Now I understand that if your phone number is the ONLY WAY a customer can possibly do business with you then you must have a phone number in your commercial. But for everyone else – phone numbers are a waste of time, which is something you can’t afford to do with just 30 or 60 seconds of commercial time.

Why? Because most people are listening to their radio in their cars or at work. In both cases trying to remember or even write down a phone number is expecting way too much from the listener. And if, as some advertisers do, you have more than one phone number the listener just isn’t going to bother at all.

The best solution is to not give out your phone number at all, but instead offer a very compelling reason why people should seek your business. They’ll find it if they’re interested. Remember there are many ways to find a business’ phone number… phone books, the internet, even calling the radio station (many stations keep lists of current advertisers handy with contact info).

Mistake Two: Price points.
If you think it’s hard for a radio listener to remember a phone number just try adding a bunch of other numbers. I’ve heard many business owners tell me, “Well so what if they don’t remember the prices? This way they’ll know we have a lot of items on sale!”

The problem here is you are again assuming that the listener cares enough to not totally tune out all those price points. That’s a very dangerous assumption. Do you ever hear the radio personalities reciting lots of numbers or price points when they’re talking (outside of reading commercials)? No. Why? Because they know that the typical radio listener expects to hear clear and concise information. Not a lot of numbers that don’t relate to anything.

You’re better off keeping price points in your print advertising where people can take the time to look over all the information. For radio spend your time giving people compelling reasons to do business with you instead of sale prices.

Mistake Three: Confusing locators (the way you describe where your business is located).
“We’re located just a half mile off Interstate 512 in the Gas-Lamp Strip Mall, 2899 West 333rd Street, with convenient free parking four days a week.”

Again, you’re expecting a lot from your listener.

Don’t do lengthy directions. State your location as simply as possible:
“Downtown at the corner of State and Lake.”
“Just off I-512 at the Big Town Exit”

What about street address numbers?

Unless your address can be seen perfectly from at least a half a block away, don’t use it. Most businesses don’t have street numbers on their doors anyhow or if they do it’s so small you can’t read it until you’re right in front of it.

The best solution for a locator? Direct people to your website. You can insert a Google Map or Yahoo Map locator that can give anyone precise details on how to get from where they are to where you are.

Mistake Four: Too many advertising cliches = Major turnoff.
“Friendly Professional Staff”
“Storewide Savings”
“Number One In Customer Service”
“Dependable and Trustworthy”
“The Best Prices”
“We Will Not Be Undersold”

There are dozens more of these tired cliches. Why are they tired? Because you can hear them in radio commercials right now, and if you were to get in a time machine and go back 50, 60, 70 years you’d hear them in commercials from then. They’re worn out because everyone uses them and to most consumers they’re pretty much meaningless.

If everyone is using them then what makes them special? Nothing. If every business is using them then what sets you apart and helps a listener remember who you are? Nothing.

The old adage from Lenny Bruce says it best: “If you have to tell them you’re hip, you’re not.” That holds true for all of those advertising cliches. There is a basic expectation of service from all businesses that includes most of those above cliches. You can’t be in business without meeting those basics, and everyone knows it.

So why waste your advertising time with it?

Instead give people meaningful (personal) compelling reasons to do business with you. And by personal I mean your customer. What are your best customer’s personal reasons for doing business with you? Find that out and talk about that in your commercials. You’ll be amazed at the difference in response.

Mistake Five: Not being convenient.
I don’t mean in terms of hours or location, though those are definitely factors. But more important, does your radio commercial (or any of your advertising) make it hard for people to get what they want?

“Mention this ad for a free can of cheese whiz”.
“Bring in the coupon from last Sunday’s newspaper”.
“The first 12 people to call in the next five minutes get a five percent discount”.

Making people do extra work to get something is only worthwhile if the payoff is incredible (i.e. “The first caller right now gets one million dollars!”). Very few customers will actually care enough to jump through hoops to get a five percent discount or even a 15 percent discount. But more importantly you’re telling the vast majority of potential customers that they have to do something extra besides just showing up at your store. And most people don’t want that extra hassle. What you should be doing is rewarding them equally for showing up. Remember, your customer is doing you a favor by showing up – not the other way around.

Just offer great values and great service to everyone all the time. Also remember, value doesn’t mean low prices. It means CONVENIENCE. All your customers really care about is how fast you can give them what they want and how nice you are about it. As pointed out in Mistake Four – let your best customers tell your story. Nothing compels people to act more than hearing why other people prefer your business over everyone else.

Article courtesy of John Pellegrini.

November 11, 2016
How Advertising Works

The successful Philadelphia retailer John Wannamaker once said, “I know that half of my advertising is wasted. I just don’t know which half.”

That feeling of uncertainty about advertising plagues many business people. They know they should advertise, but they don’t really understand the process … so most of them simply end up doing, as one local businessman said recently, “what my father did.”

Regardless of what medium or media you choose – they all have their strengths and weaknesses – there are certain principles that always apply.

Effectiveness is a Combination of Reach and Frequency
“Reach” can be defined as the number of people who hear or see your message over time. “Frequency” is how many times the average person hears or sees your message. Your advertising needs to reach as many people as possible, as often as possible.

Those million-dollar ads you see on the Super Bowl have great reach but lousy frequency. An ad run on the front page of every edition of the Left-Handed Accountants’ Daily (if there were such a thing) would have lousy reach but good frequency.

Research shows that your prospect has to hear or see your message more than three times before they’ll act on it. So you need to make sure that the advertising medium you select has a wide enough audience for your needs, but more importantly, is designed and priced for frequency.

Keep Your Message Simple and Consistent
Many people don’t realize that if they run two or more ads in their schedule, they are reducing their effective frequency. So the best plan, for maximum results, is to run one and only one ad at a time. If you absolutely need to run different copy, have your advertising consultant construct a “shell” that remains the same, with the different copy inserted into that shell. That way the first thing your listener hears or your reader sees is that consistent impression, even though the middle or your ad may vary.

If you are running in more than one medium, you’ll get the maximum impact if your message is the same in all media. You should coordinate the efforts of all your media representatives to make sure that your message is consistent everywhere.

Concentrate Your Advertising
A common advertising mistake is to do too little in too many media. It is better to dominate one medium than to water down results by spreading out your ads.

On the other hand, a “media mix” is a powerful way to get your message to as many people as possible. There is research that shows how you can reduce your investment in one medium without significantly affecting effectiveness – which frees up budget that can be used in another medium. (Our radio marketing consultants have the details on this.)

Test Your Advertising
Most of the time you don’t just throw money down a hole and expect it to work for you … and you shouldn’t do that with advertising, either! Advertising should be an investment, not an expense.

If a friend of yours told you about an investment that produced a guaranteed 50% return – and you could verify it absolutely – you’d scramble to find as much money as you could to put into it. Similarly, if you are getting measurable results from your advertising program and you know how and why, you’ll advertise more!

Smart business people test their ads, their schedules, and their media – but not all at the same time! You need to test only one variable at a time.

How do you test? Well, you don’t test a medium by asking customers to “Mention you heard about it from …” People don’t do that! The best way to test is to run one ad, one schedule, one medium at a time – and see what happens to your traffic and your cash register. (Be sure you understand how much time you need to give the medium and the schedule to work; your advertising representative can help you with this.)

Keep Testing
Once you’ve found the ideal medium or media for your business, understand that things can change over time. Here are some reasons to reopen the issue:

The competitive situation among media has changed (more media competitors, new opportunities, different rates, etc.).
Your “share of voice” on your medium or media has changed (your competitors are advertising more, so your message is cutting through less).

You have saturated the prospects of a given medium (declining traffic is one indicator of this)

Keep Advertising!
There’s an old saying: “A funny thing happens when you don’t advertise – nothing.” If you want your business to grow, you have to get your name and your products or services in front of your customers and prospects – and keep them there.

Even if you just want your business to stay where it is, you need to advertise – because it’s a proven fact that you will lose up to 25% of your customers each year to relocation, competitors or death.

A Brief Commercial
As we’ve said elsewhere, our Radio stations and website are not in the business of “selling ads.” We sincerely want to help you achieve the greatest possible success, and advertising is an important part of that success. We want to work with you in a marketing partnership to suggest proven, creative ways to achieve greater success through advertising. If we mutually determine that we can help you, nobody will work harder to earn and keep your business – and we’ll even suggest complementary media when appropriate.

But if our exploration shows that one or more of our stations are not right for you at this time, we’ll suggest media that are more on target. We’d rather part friends than rope you into something that doesn’t work!

November 11, 2016
Frequency Equals Success

In 1885, researcher Thomas Ebbinghaus did a study on people’s ability to retain information. He called the results the “Curve of Forgetfulness.”

Ebbinghaus found that a person forgets 75% of what he or she has learned in the previous week. After three weeks, he/she forgets 90%. After four weeks, he/she forgets 95%.

The Ebbinghaus study is an illustration of retentiveness; the brain retains information it considers important to the individual and “forgets” information not deemed relevant.

In terms of advertising, it is crucial for the advertiser to make the message important enough for the individual to want to retain it and act on it.

—The Arbitron Company, Beyond The Ratings

November 11, 2016
For All Your Stupid Cliché Needs

cli·ché (klēˈSHā)
noun
A phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought.

In the world of bad advertising clichés, none are cliché-ier than “For All Your (blank) Needs.”

By Ryan Patrick, www.timemilesandco.com

Just listen to commercial radio for one hour. Read a newspaper from front to back. Watch local TV commercials during the 6 o’clock news. I can almost guarantee you will hear/read/see the phrase “For All Your (blank) Needs” at least once. Maybe more.

“Wait. If that phrase is so bad, why do so many companies use it?”

a) It’s safe

b) It’s easy to use

c) The ad writer had nothing else to say.

Nothing particularly special about your lumberyard? No problem! Just use, “For all your homebuilding needs!”

Can’t compete with the price or selection of the other pet store? Easy fix: “For all your pet supply needs!”

My favorite was a radio commercial for a diner in Kentucky that advertised “for all your breakfast needs.”

“Yes, I want you to smother my pancakes with beluga caviar and truffles. What do you mean you can’t do it? That’s my breakfast need!”

Each of us has different needs.

Mine are different from yours.

Yours are different from his.

His are different from hers.

There will ALWAYS be needs that you simply cannot meet.

“For All Your (blank) Needs” is an empty promise. It doesn’t convey the unique essence of your business. It won’t convince consumers to buy from you.

Congratulations. You have a marketing slogan that says nothing.

Is that what your business “needs”?

(Used by permission, www.timmilesandco.com)

Here are some examples of how not to do it:

“Pick O’Reilly Auto Parts for all your car care needs.” – Sponsorship credit on CBS Radio Network. Some ad agency was probably paid thousands of dollars to come up with such drivel.

“For All Your Needs”, no matter what they are.

“We Cover Your Roofing Needs”

Two great clichés on one – “”One stop shop” and “for all your allergen information needs:

Butcher needs anyone?

“For all your garage door needs”

Electronic needs?

My broadcast needs?

Somewhere in South Dakota
“For all your concrete needs”
Credit: Dean Sorenson

“Remolding needs.” I suppose that’s like remodeling, but with fewer letters.

At least they spelled “remodel” correctly.

“Septic needs” anyone?

The gift that keeps on giving.

“For all your Chick-fil-A” needs.

If you have a streaming need, they have a solution. “Solution(s) is another over-used ad word.

Have any “Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam and Route 66 tour needs?”

“Ambitions?”

“
Where do we begin? “For all you pumps, hoses, fittings, vales and tank trailer needs”, plus “Your source for all your tanker needs.” Additionaly, a good proof-reader could have caught all the typos – “all you” instead of “all your”, “trade in’s” should not be possessive, and “stanless steel” should be “stainless steel.” Sigh!

Does anybody really have any toilet bowl needs?

Can I renew my subscription to Hustler? If not, you can’t handle all my subscription needs.

Don’t we all have RF connector and RF cable assembly needs?

Not just some of your real estate needs… all of them!

Dude!

In Pollock, LA. Does Walmart know about this?

Whether you are an inpatient or an outpatient, they have all your needs!

Staffing needs anyone?

Trees have needs too!

I need to fly to Kathmandu. “Sorry sir, we don’t fly there.” But you said “all my travel needs.”

They have a tool for that!

How many clichés can we put in one ad?

Me: Can you replace the window in my car?
Them: Sorry sir, we don’t do car windows.
Me: But you said “ALL my window needs.”

Me: I need you to fix the AC in my car.
Them: Sorry sir, we don’t work on automobiles.
Me: But you said “ALL my cooling needs.”

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I don’t even know what a monetization need is.

If you’re going to spend money on a full color, full page magazine ad, shouldn’t you have a more compelling headline than “For all your motorhome needs?”

You have no idea what my outdoor needs are, but they don’t involve boats.

Drone needs anyone?

OK, I’ll admit it. I don’t even know what a charcuterie is, so how could I possibly need one?

This is a small boutique grocery store. Although they have great stuff, their limited selection certainly won’t satisfy all my grocery needs.

My daily needs of WHAT?

Sign on a bus in Danville, Illinois – “For ALL your banking needs.”

Two clichés in one headline! And bonus clichés in the copy.

Why go anywhere else?

Sign at Walgreens on Las Vegas Blvd.

Facebook ad for Lamp Post Liquor in Ponca City, Oklahoma

Real Estate needs anyone?

I guess it depends on what you are shopping for.

I was just telling my wife, “I wish somebody could help with my trolling motor needs.”

“We’re here for all your mask needs!”

These folks can handle “all your home needs”, and they can repair your pluming.
That’s like plumbing, but without the B.

At least they spelling “Plumbing” correctly.

She can handle all your publicity needs. As long as your publicity needs don’t
involve anything more than overused clichés.

Travel health needs?

Boning knife? The jokes just write themselves.

These folks have the cure for all your water needs.

Great t-shirt – “For all your home improvement needs.” (Photo credit: Cameron Ford)

Let’s put “for all of your residential painting needs” on the back of our truck.
And use a font that’s difficult to read.

Liquor? I hardly know her.

Got any waveguide needs?

What?

More auto repair needs.

“All your RV needs.”

They left out the word “needs”, but the real cliché is “for all your…”

Billboard in Cleveland, MS.

Heating and Cooling Needs anyone?

I don’t know who these people are, but they have “all your business reopening needs.”

I don’t even know what an arboreal need is!

From Australia. “For all your lolly needs.”

“My dog needs a hernia operation.” “Sorry sir, we don’t do surgery on animals.” “But, you said ALL my surgical needs.”

Stucco needs anyone?

We have 40 years experience, but we don’t how how to write a good ad.

Need a pillow?

Need to make someone sleep with the fishes? This place has all your concrete needs.

All your shipping needs! But what if I needed to ship an elephant to Nebraska?

Do you ever know what a Nautel is?

Boating needs anyone?

“For all your bulk grain, feed & fertilizer transportation needs.”
Geez, what a mouthful. T-Shirt for Flenker Brothers in Princetown, Iowa.

“For all your advertising needs.”
As long as your advertising needs don’t include anything other than a Filipino newspaper.

From the website of a radio group in Oklahoma.
“For all your Radio & TV needs.”

40 years of bad marketing!

“All your restoration needs.”
As long as your needs only include vehicles.

Unless you need creativity. In which case, these folks can’t help you.

Connector needs anyone?

Can I get this notarized?

Do you have any Chevrolet needs? Me neither. This is an ad on a grocery cart in Las Vegas.
Grocery cart ads are a true waste of money.

Really? I mean, really?

Even in Australia…

Seen at the Westgate Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

Seen at a trade show in Minnesota.

That’s an awful lot of needs.

Do the gun control people know about this?

King of Variety, a store in New Zealand.

Riveredge Kennel in Owego, New York. “For all your pet grooming and boarding needs.”
Plus, “Family owned and operated for more than 20 years.”

Got any mortgage needs?

Ready to move? These folks can handle all your moving needs.

Sign at a HyVee store in Iowa.

Seen on the highway in Jackson, MS. I never realized I had so many catering needs.

Sign posted at the checkouts at Walmart in Cleveland, MS. Not only did he manage to say “shopping needs” 3 times, he also butchered the English Language (“whenever your shopping needs is not met.”)

“Backyard Needs” Anyone? If you have any, this place is the “one stop shop.”

Ad on Facebook… “for all your shooting sports and concealed carry needs.”

Home Depot Sign – “For all your installation needs.”

Insurance sign in Mississippi.

Seen on a truck in suburban St. Louis

“For all your dirt, gravel, rock, track hoe, dozier and hauling needs.”
And, they have the “same personelle.”

Sign at the pool shop at Treasure Island Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas

Ad for Weaver Appliance in Ohio. “For all your appliance needs.” Plus, they’re “Family owned & operated since 1989.” I guess that makes them better.

And then there’s this… “For all your urgent appliance care needs.”

These folks will gladly service ALL your needs. They have no idea what I really need!

Ad for OptimDental in Springfield, IL. “For all your family’s dental needs.”

Just last week, I was asking my neighbor “who can I call for all my farm needs?” And what the hell is “poroceesing?”

Everyone needs pumpkins and gourds for their fall decorating needs, right?

“For all your advertising needs.”
OK, but what if your “advertising needs” include Radio, TV, or billboards. Can she handle that too?

Finally… an ad agency that can handle “ALL your website, internet, and social media needs.”
Just don’t count on anything original.

Have any irrigation needs? Don’t we all? If so, this is the place to call…

The UPS Store managed a double header of useless cliches… “one stop shop” and “for all your shipping, postal and business needs.”

Insurance companies are some of the worst offenders.

Sign at Delta Eye Care – Indianola, MS

This Realtor in Florida can handle “all your real estate needs.” And she offers “Professional service with a personal touch.” Isn’t that what one would expect from a real estate agent?

If Lois can’t handle all you real estate needs, perhaps these folks can.

Hallelujah! My spraying needs have been met.
Ad for Roundup.

“Save on all your cooling and heating needs.”
Ad for One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating in Las Vegas

“All your digital multimedia needs in one solution.”
A great example of gobbledygook copywriting.

IHOP has all your To-Go needs. It even says so on their receipt.
But what if I need steak & lobster to go?

“Supplying all your entertainment needs.”
And his URL is dead!

Adamson Construction & Remodeling
For all you roofing including metal roofs, remodeling, decks, carports, new construction, windows, doors, and siding needs, give Adamson Construction & Remodeling a call!
From Facebook. Written by somebody who doesn’t understand punctuation, grammar, or good marketing.

“Your one stop shop for all your automotive needs.“
Two great clichés in one – On the San Francisco 49ers radio network for speedyauto.com

“For all your criminal needs.”
Radio commercial for a lawyer in Montgomery, Alabama

“We have the commercial trucks for all your truck needs”
TV Ad for truck dealer in San Antonio, Texas

“For all you car care needs.”
National radio ad for O’Reilly Auto Parts

“For all your screen printing and t-shirt needs.”
Ad on the University of Southern Mississippi Football Network

“For all your practice management needs.”
Huh?
Radio ad for Lexicon Services

“For all your concrete and asphalt needs.”
TV Ad on a Denver TV station

“Walgreens is the place for all your diabetes needs.”
Radio ad on KMXB-FM Las Vegas

“Your one stop shop for the brands that you demand.”
National radio ad for Quick Fix Auto Parts. Wake me when this commercial is over.

“For all your breeding needs.”
Radio ad for a bull sale, as heard in Nebraska. Ummm.. OK.

“For all your payroll processing needs.”
Ad on the Mile Gallagher Radio Show, Salem Radio Network

“For all your Kubota tractor sales and service needs.”
Ad on KHQ-TV in Spokane during the Olympics

“For all your birth control needs.”
A radio ad for Women’s Health Associates of Southern Nevada, as heard on KSNE-FM in Las Vegas.

“For all your tent, tailgating and other rental needs.”
Radio ad for Taylor Rental in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

“For all your lawn watering needs.”
Radio commercial heard in Oklahoma.

“For all your air conditioning needs.”
An AC contractor in the Midwest. When asked “can you fix the AC on my car?” he said “no, we don’t work on cars.” But you said “all my air conditioning needs.”

“For all your sewer and drain cleaning needs.”
Somewhere in Illinois

“Schedule an appointment with GI Associates for all your gastrointestinal needs.”
Print ad for GI Associates & Endoscopy Center – Jackson, MS

“For all your tobacco needs.”
Sign on tobacco shop at Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas

“For your banking needs.”
Radio ad for Bancorp South in Mississippi

“For all your asphalt needs.”
Sign for M&K Asphalt Sealing in Kentucky

“For all of your commercial kitchen needs.”
Radio ad in Las Vegas. (How many of us have commercial kitchen needs?)

“Your one stop stop for your printing and marketing needs.”
National radio ad for Staples. Obviously written by an ad agency that doesn’t know how to write compelling copy. (“One stop shop” is also meaningless drivel).

“For all your scrap metal recycling needs.”
TV commercial for Longhorn Recycling – San Antonio, TX

“We can handle all your appliance needs.”
Radio ad for appliance store in Greenville, MS

“For all your storage needs.”
Radio ad for a storage facility in Las Vegas

“The UPS store has all your moving needs.”
Radio ad for UPS Store in Las Vegas.

“Visit DukeMedicine.org to learn how Duke Medicine can meet all of your healthcare needs.”
Letter to patient from Duke Medical Center

“Call Allied Heating & Air for all your HVAC needs.”
Radio ad in Denver

If you run across any others, feel free to send them to us at info@radioadvertisingfacts.com.

Improvised and sung from the heart, this video will change how you see the world and how it sees you. (Courtesy www.risingabovethenoise.com). Click to view.

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November 11, 2016
Reasons NOT to Advertise

There are plenty of reasons to not advertise. Here are some of our “favorite” excuses for not engaging in an effective, consistent marketing campaign. If you’ve ever found yourself using any of these excuses to avoid promoting your business, you’re missing out on the opportunity for increased traffic, increased sales and increased profits.

Everybody knows me. I don’t need to advertise.
Really? There are new people moving to town every week, plus plenty of visitors. Just because you’ve been on the same corner since 1972 is meaningless to newcomers. A successful business reaches out to new customers on an ongoing basis. Without new customers, even long-established businesses eventually die.

I don’t advertise. Word-of-mouth is all I need.
Word-of-mouth is one of the most ineffective forms of advertising there is. First of all, you can’t control it. You don’t know what’s being said and to whom. Plus, word-of-mouth is usually negative. People who have an acceptable business transaction with you likely tell few, if any, other people. Those who have a bad experience tell everyone they know. Relying solely on word-of-mouth is a serious marketing mistake!

Business is great. I don’t need to advertise.
That’s great, for now. But why wait until things slow down to seek out new customers. Effective advertising keeps potential new customers “in the pipeline.”

Business is too slow. I can’t afford to advertise.
And business will stay slow if you don’t. Advertising is nothing more than inviting people to do business with you. If things are slow, you need to be inviting more people to your store.

I tried Radio before and it didn’t work.
If your offer was weak, chances are your results were too. People respond to the need, not the ad. Or perhaps you advertised on a station that didn’t reach your target demographic or you didn’t have enough frequency to be effective. Radio works!

I don’t listen to your station.
But many of your customers and potential customers do. Advertising is like going fishing – do you bait your hook with what you like, or with what the fish like?

I don’t do Radio advertising.
It’s foolish to overlook an entire medium because of some silly preconceived notion. Radio works! And with the right offer and enough frequency, Radio can produce results unmatchedby any other media. If you exclude Radio from your marketing plans, you’re missing out.

Nobody ever tells me they hear my Radio ads.
Because people respond to the need, not the ad. If they need a new refrigerator and they hear an ad for an appliance store, they respond by checking out your refrigerator selection. They DON’T come in and say “hey, I heard your ad for refrigerators.”

Your rates are too high.
Radio stations charge different rates, based on many factors. But a 30-second ad on Station A is not equivalent to a 30-second Station B. You can buy a $1 hamburger at Burger King or an $8.00 hamburger at an expensive restaurant. Both hamburgers, but there is a difference.

I have to talk it over with my wife/partner/CPA/psychic/grandmother.
Every day you’re not advertising is a missed opportunity for more business. While you procrastinate, your competitors are going after your customers.

I don’t have any competition.
Wrong! No matter what you’re selling, you’re competing with every cash register in town, plus online competitors and competitors in nearby towns. Effective advertising motivates customers to come to your store.

November 11, 2016
12 Causes of Advertising Failure

1) The desire for instant gratification. The ad which creates sufficient urgency to cause people to respond immediately is also the ad most likely to be forgotten immediately following the “expiration” of the offer. Such ads are of little use in establishing an identity for the advertiser in the mind of the consumer.

2) Attempting to reach more people than the budget will allow. For a “media mix” to be effective, each element in the mix must have sufficient repetition to establish “retention” in the mind of the prospect. Too often, however, the result of a media mix is too much reach, not enough frequency. Will you reach 100% of the people and convince them 10% of the way? Or will you reach 10% of the people and convince them 100% of the way? The cost is the same.

3) Assuming the business owner knows best. The business owner is uniquely unqualified to see his company or his product objectively. He is on the inside, looking out, trying to describe himself to a person on the outside looking in. It’s hard to read the label when you’re inside the bottle. Too much product knowledge causes the business owner to answer questions that no one is asking. This makes for extremely ineffective advertising.

4) Unsubstantiated claims such as, “Highest quality at the lowest price. Advertisers will often have what the customer wants, but fail to offer any evidence. A cliché is nothing less than as unsubstantiated claim to the public is tired of hearing. You must prove what you say in every ad. The prospect will not make a new decision about your product until you have given him new information and a new perspective. Do your ads supply new information? Do they provide a new perspective? If not, prepare to be disappointed with the results.

5) Improper use of passive media. Non-intrusive media, such as newspaper and yellow pages, require the use of a reticular activator (such as a photo or illustration) because passive media tends to reach only those buyers who are actively in the market for the product. Passive media is very poor at reaching prospects prior to their need, which means it is extremely difficult for passive media to create a predisposition toward your company. With patience, the consistent use of intrusive media (such as radio and television) will win the heart of the customer before he is in the market for the product.

6)  Creating ads instead of campaigns. It is foolish to believe a single ad can ever tell the entire story. The most effective, persuasive and memorable ads are those most like a rhinoceros. They will each make a single point very powerfully. An advertiser with seventeen different things to say should commit to a campaign of at least seventeen different ads, with each ad being given sufficient repetition to accomplish retention in the mind of the prospect.

7) Obedience to unwritten rules.   For some insane reason, advertisers want their ads to look and sound like ads. Why is this?

8) Late week schedules. Advertisers justify their unreasonable focus on Thursday and Friday advertising with the statement, “We need to reach the customer just before he goes shopping.” Why do these advertisers choose to compete for the prospect’s attention each Thursday and Friday when they can have a nice, quiet chat all alone with the prospect each Sunday, Monday and Tuesday?

9) Overconfidence in qualitative targeting. The importance of qualitative data has been grossly overestimated by many advertisers and media professionals. In reality, Saying The Wrong Thing has killed far more ad campaigns than Reaching The Wrong People. It is amazing how many people become “the right people,” when you are saying the right thing.

10) Event driven marketing. A special event should be judged only by its ability to help you more clearly define your market position and substantiate your claims. If one percent of the people who hear your ad for a special event actually choose to come, you will be in desperate need of a traffic cop and a bus to shuttle people from remote parking lots. Yet your real investment will be in the 99% who did not come to the event! What did your ad say to them?

11) Great production without great copy.  Too many ads today are creative without being persuasive.  “Slick, clever, funny, creative, and different”, are poor substitutes for, “informative, believable, memorable and persuasive.”

12) Confusing “response” with “results.”   The goal of advertising is to create a clear awareness of your company and its Unique Selling Proposition.   Unfortunately, most advertisers evaluate their ads by the comments they hear from the people around them. The slickest, clearest, funniest, most creative and most different ads are the ones most likely to generate these comments. See the problem? When we confuse “response” with “results” we create “attention getting ads” which say absolutely nothing.

Article Compliments of Roy H. Williams Marketing in Austin, Texas.

November 11, 2016
10 Good Reasons to Advertise on Radio

If you’re going to advertise (and you should), it makes sense to spend your advertising money where you get the most results… Radio!

Here are ten reasons why radio is your best choice (courtesy of the Radio Advertising Bureau).

1) Radio sells with immediacy.

Research proves that radio regularly reaches consumers within two hours of their largest purchase of the day.Can there be a better time to reach customers than on their car radio while they are driving to do today’s shopping?

2) Radio sells everywhere.

Radio is the only true mobile medium. In the car, at work, and at play, radio is there…the companion and the advertising force your customers take with them wherever they go.

3) Radio sells with intimacy.

In your personal life, when you have something very important to communicate to someone, which would you prefer – to show them a picture, to write to them, or to talk with the intimacy and emotion of the human voice?Radio sells with intimacy.

4) Radio stars in the theater of the mind.

Want a 100-piece symphony orchestra in your ad, an elephant, a chorus, a laughing child, a love song?With word pictures and emotion-evoking sounds, radio’s theatre of the mind stimulates the most emotion-filled pictures the mind can comprehend.

5) Radio escapes advertising’s clutter.

Today’s newspapers average 2/3 ad copy to 1/3 editorial copy. TV spends about 1/3 of its time on advertising. Today’s radio, at about 10 minutes of advertising per hour, devotes less than 1/5 of its time to ads.Radio is the uncluttered medium.

6) Radio is the cost effective medium.

Newspaper rates are up (even though circulation is down). TV ad rates are up (even though viewership is down).Radio advertising costs grew less than any other major form of advertising.

7) Reach is nice, but frequency sells.

Newspaper and TV are reach media – they reach varying numbers of people. Psychologists tell us that consumers need to be exposed to an advertising message at least three times before it begins to penetrate. Most local businesses cannot afford the necessary three-times-plus frequency that effective advertising demands – except on radio. Radio is the reach and frequency medium you can afford.

8) Radio’s targeted advertising sells.

Radio’s variety of formats allows you to pinpoint your advertising on the station or stations that best match your customer’s interests. You cannot pinpoint advertising in the broad-reach, scattershot newspaper and TV media forms. Radio’s unique targeting ability saves you money.

9) You’re always on the front page with radio.

With radio advertising you are front and center in the listener’s attention span when your ad is on the air. You’re never buried on page 42 and you’re never surrounded by your competitor’s ads. With radio, you are always on the front page.

10) Radio is an active medium in an active society.

Passive forms of advertising simply list merchandise or tell you where a product is available. Radio is an active medium capable of stirring emotion, creating demand, and selling your product or service. Today’s hotly competitive marketplace demands an active medium. That’s radio!

November 11, 2016
10 Reasons to Advertise

Why Should You Advertise? Here are 10 Good Reasons…

My store has been here forever… Everybody knows about us… We’re doing just fine without advertising… I have such a great location, I don’t need to advertise… Don’t kid yourself. It’s virtually impossible to build a successful businesses without advertising. There are many good reasons to advertise, including attracting new customers, increasing sales and business growth. Below we present 10 of the best (courtesy of the Radio Advertising Bureau).

1) You must advertise to reach new customers.

The market changes constantly. New families moving into the area mean new potential customers for you, or for your competition. Customer’s income levels are constantly changing, which means changes in lifestyles, needs and buying habits.

2) You must advertise continuously.

Shoppers don’t have the same store loyalty they once had. Automobiles give shoppers mobility and freedom. The National Retail Merchants Association says “mobility and non-loyalty are rampant. Stores must promote to get former customers to return and to attract new ones.”

3) You must advertise to influence shoppers throughout the buying cycle.

People often go from store to store comparing prices, quality and service. Advertising must reach them consistently through the entire decision-making process. For example, the average new car purchase is a 13-week cycle. Your name must be fresh in their ears and minds when they ultimately decide to buy.

4) You must advertise because it pays off over a long period.

Your advertising today is selling customers whose buying decision may be weeks away. Advertising gives you a long-term advantage over competitors who cut back or cancel advertising. A 5-year study of more than 3,000 companies found that advertisers who maintained or expanded advertising over the five years saw their sales increase an average of 100%.

5) You must advertise to generate more store traffic.

Continuous store traffic is the first step toward sales increases and expanding your base of shoppers. For every 100 items shoppers plan to buy, they make at least 30 unanticipated “in-store” purchases.

6) You must advertise to make more sales.

Advertising works! Businesses that succeed are almost always strong, steady advertisers. Look around – you’ll find the most aggressive and consistent advertisers are almost always the most successful.

7) You must advertise because there is always business to generate.

As long as you’re open for business, you’re got overhead to meet and new people to reach. Advertising will generate customers now, and in the future. Your doors are open. Even the slowest days produce some sales.

8) You must advertise to keep a healthy positive image.

In today’s competitive marketplace, rumors and bad news travel fast. Advertising corrects misleading gossip and punctures “overstated” bad news. Advertising that is vigorous and positive can bring shoppers into your store regardless of the economy.

9) You must advertise to maintain store morale.

When advertising and promotion budgets are suddenly cut or cancelled, salespeople may become alarmed or demoralized. Positive advertising boots morale. It gives your staff strong, positive, motivational support.

10) You must advertise because your competition is advertising.

There are only so many consumers in the market ready to buy at one time. You must advertise to keep your share of customers or you will lose them to the more aggressive competitors.

November 11, 2016
7 Retail Marketing Mistakes

Are You Making These 7 Retail Marketing Mistakes?

As an independent retail store owner you have to wear LOTS of hats – including Chief Marketing Officer. Check to see if you might be making one of these common Retail Marketing Mistakes…

#1. Your Marketing is “All About Me”

If had to pick the most common (and most deadly) retail marketing mistake, this would be it. Everyone thinks that their products, their services, their promotions, and their store are far more fascinating than they really are. It’s only natural. To you, the most important thing in the world is – you!

I hate to be the one to break it to you, but your customers don’t really care that much about you, or your store, or your products. Like you, what they care most about is themselves.

The trick for you as a retail marketer is to stop thinking about what you offer and start focusing on what your customer wants. It’s the only way to build the kind of customer relationships that engender real trust, strong loyalty, and repeat business.

If most of your outbound communication (emails, facebook posts, postcards, newspaper ads, etc.) is about your products, your services, your promotions, or your store and not about what’s interesting, helpful, useful, beneficial, or entertaining for your customer, then you are making this marketing mistake.

#2. You Don’t Track Your Results

If you don’t track the results of your marketing efforts it’s impossible to tell if they are successful, or to what degree they are successful .

Of course, tracking your results takes forethought and planning. (See Retail Marketing Mistake #7!)

You have to be very clear about what your primary goals are for each of your marketing efforts – generate sales? attract new customers? re-activate inactive customers? build relationships? What you hope to achieve affects the way you track your results and how you judge your success.

Some marketing results are easy to track, some are a bit more complicated, but it’s always worth it. With marketing (as with almost every area of business), if you can measure it, you can manage it.

#3. You’re a “One and Done” Marketer

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a great conversation with a retailer who’s super excited to share a major marketing success and when I ask them, “So, when is the next one scheduled for?” they look at my like I have three heads.

Most of them honestly hadn’t considered repeating their successful event!

Or here’s what used to happen to me when I owned the Mackinaw Kite Co… We’d forget from year to year, month to month what we’d done and what worked. I’d find myself scratching my chin and saying, “Yeah, now I remember that thing we did last year. That was really great. Huh, wonder why we didn’t do that again this year?”

One and done doesn’t cut it. You spend too much time and effort getting your marketing right to only do something one time. If it is successful keep on doing it again, and again, and again.

#4. You’re Unhappy If It’s Not a “Home Run”

Hey, who doesn’t like to hit a home run?! It’s fun. The problem is that if you expect all your marketing efforts to be a home run, you’re bound to be disappointed – and you might stop swinging the bat.

Most of your marketing efforts will be “singles.” Not every email will get an 80% open rate. Not every in-store event will create a stampede of customers. Not every non-profit organization will be a top partner.

Celebrate your singles!

It’s the accumulation of lots of singles that will, in the end, cause you to win the game. Any good sports fan will tell you it’s not the team with the most home runs that gets to the World Series.

Just keep hitting lots of singles and I guarantee you’ll end up with a lot more “jingle” at the end of the year.

#5. You Don’t Adapt Good Ideas

There is no shortage of good – even great – ideas for attracting new customers, driving traffic, creating loyalty, increasing sales. But you may suffer from a lack of marketing imagination.

If you see an idea that’s working for your colleagues in another industry, imagine all the possible ways you could adapt it for your business.

And don’t just watch other retailers. Watch your local realtors, chiropractors, builders, manufacturers, car dealers, dentists, or anyone else you can lay your eyes on. You may find some marketing gold if you can adapt ideas from other kinds of businesses. How do you think banks, restaurants, and liquor stores all ended up with drive-thru windows?

While you’re at it, don’t forget to adapt your OWN good ideas!

If the ’12 Days of Christmas’ promotion worked for you, adapt and do a Spring Fling Deal of the Day during the week of spring break. Who said the concept had to be used only at Christmas? Who said it had to be 12 days long? Fashion week, Mother’s Day, graduation, Father’s Day, Back-to-School… what works for you?

Adapt!

After nearly every speech I give to a mixed industry group someone comes up to me and says, “I really loved your ideas for the pet store, but do you have any ideas for my bike shop?” Those store owners are making this retail marketing mistake and they are doomed if they can’t adapt.

#6. You Don’t Pay Close Attention to the Details

The nitty-gritty. The down-and-dirty. It’s the execution of the details that will often make or break your marketing efforts.

Paying attention to the details is certainly what will take your retail marketing to the next level and is where you’ll really maximize your efforts.

Here’s a perfect example. My friend, Paul, just sent out his second email newsletter. It had a great subject line, really compelling content, and a strong call to action asking readers to pass it along to their friends. I thought my brother would find it interesting so I forwarded it, and that’s when I noticed…

There was no place in the email where my brother could click to subscribe to the newsletter. AND Paul’s website address wasn’t hyperlinked in the email. Readers would have to copy/paste or manually type the web address into their browser bar to visit his site and sign up.

So while Paul’s email accomplished the goal of strengthening existing relationship by delivering good content, he really missed a golden opportunity to build his list by not paying close attention to the details.

#7. Your Marketing is Scattershot, Not Strategic

You know who you are… you do a little bit of this, a little bit of that, and a little bit of the the other. You try marketing tactic after tactic in hopes that some of your stuff will work.

Your marketing efforts spring from a need for cash, rather than from a thoughtful, well-designed strategic plan.

The good news here is if you try enough stuff, some of it will work. And if you repeat the stuff that works (see Retail Marketing Mistake #3), you’ll start to get some traction. Activity and effort is way better than doing nothing.

But strategic activity and effort is lots, lots better.

When your marketing is based on a strategic plan, all of your tactics work together to enhance each other and achieve your overall goals. Each effort builds upon the other and the sum becomes greater than the parts.

And the cool thing is, strategic activity is not only more effective, it’s easier. Better, easier – who doesn’t love that?!

So, how’d you do?

Are you making any of these Retail Marketing Mistakes? If you are, don’t get down on yourself. Almost everyone makes these mistakes from time to time. The question is…

What are you going to do about it?

(From Bob Negen’s blog at www.whizbangtraining.com. Used with permission).

November 11, 2016