Did You Know? Marketing

T

Tim Smith

Member
The typical contractor spending for Yellow Pages should be 30 to 35% of their total marketing budget.

The Majority of Successful businesses with gross of $100,000.00 or more have marketing plans, budgets, and goals set 12 months ahead of time.

A telephone call-behind campaign following direct mail-out, typically results in a 280% boost in response rate.

The worst day according to statistics to advertise in the newspaper is Sunday.

A markenting budget representing approx. 5 - 8% of your sales volume is generally sufficient for growth.

The primary goal in having a web site should be to obtain contact information.

Effective advertising is not based on how much you spend, but how you spend it. A poor ad on the front page of USA Today is still a poor ad.
 
An online brochure is also true, but your goal as the owner of that web site should be to obtain contact information. The purpose of obtaining contact information from a viewer (potential customer) is to create a mailing list or send requested information.

Don't just use your web site as a single tool (brochure) - use it to gather important data - basically you can create a target customer mailing list.

Get the viewer to call you - have on your websit a contact number for more information, etc.
 
Advertising on Sunday - The Sunday paper is cluttered with all kinds of advertisements - People in general are lazy readers, they are not going to search through all the advertisements.

Readers typically go right to certain sections: Sports, Real Estate, Comics, Front Page, & Coupons.

How many times have you bought a Sunday paper and automatically throw-out all the added stuff?
 
dankes

If you get a second - read my post on "Email Advertising" in the marketing section. See what you think - I'm interested in your opinion.
 
Without sounding argumentative, you have to be careful on how you interpret the study/statistic and statement - "The worst day according to statistics to advertise in the newspaper is Sunday." and apply it in context. This was a statistic for non-targeted ads, NOT necessarily for targeted ads.

If you think about it, the 2 statements below point out that TARGETED advertising can be and is successful in Sunday papers:
- "Advertising on Sunday - The Sunday paper is cluttered with all kinds of advertisements - People in general are lazy readers, they are not going to search through all the advertisements."

- "Readers typically go right to certain sections: Sports, Real Estate, Comics, Front Page, & Coupons."
The statement (just above) says it all ...target your market and know where to place your ads to be effective.
Couponing is very successful in Sunday papers - they are normally bunched in 1 or 2 coupon magazines "for the lazy reader" - so they know exactly where to go without looking thru the entire paper.
Real Estate advertising is most successful in Sunday papers.
Same is true for "Job/Employment Opportunity" advertising, Car advertising, along with Home & Business services.

Remember that "targeted marketing/advertising" works many times better than general placed ads.

Think about this: Would you see as much advertising by successful businesses, if Sunday was the worst day?
 
Another problem with "statistics" (as I learned in economics 101) is who are the stats from, how many people where polled, what area, what sex, what race, religion, and the list can go on. In some cases statistics mean nothing, but in others they mean everything. I am just saying statistics can be very tricky. I think the best way to figure your best marketing strategy is trial and error.
 
Thanks for the comments. You guys make some good points. Who advertises without trying to target their market?
Lots of business advertise on Sundays because of the huge circulation - which is smart in one sense, but your ad has less of chance of being seen. Statistics can be misleading. 2 + 2 does not always equal 4. But statistics can be a very powerful tool.

One thing that I totally disagree with is the comment: I think the best way to figure your marketing strategy is trial and error.

How much doe the error cost you?
How do you know what is working and what is not?
Do you feel that pressure washing methods (Operations Side) should be based on strictly trial and error? Or should you use this board as a tool to improve your pressure washing methods and the way you do business, so that you save money and time - or should you base your washing methods on your trial and error? If not, why should your marketing/advertising (Business Side) not be treated the same? Thats why we are all on this board - to eliminate trial and error and learn from others mistakes or successes.

just a thought.
 
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Tim Smith said:
Thats why we are all on this board - to eliminate trial and error and learn from others mistakes or successes.
Click to expand...

True, but what works well for you might fail miserably for me.........and vice versa. You are always going to have some trial and error. My point is, you can reduce it, but probably never eliminate it.
 
I agree 100% - use the wrong wording.
 
Tim,

You asked: "Who advertises without trying to target their market?"

It would be nice to say that not one business advertises without trying to target their market. However, the reality is that 2/3rds of small businesses do not understand true targeted marketing/advertising.

I'll try to give a couple of specific examples of true targeted advertising vs. general advertising.

General Advertising:
- Deck Care advertising on a billboard along a highway.
Targeted Advertising:
- Mailing deck care flyers/advertisement to list of homeowners who had decks built within the past 2 years.

General Advertising:
- Advertising Concrete Sealing thru "ValPack" distribution.
Targeted Advertising:
- Distributing door hangers in newly built subdivision of homes with concrete driveways and walkways.

There are many more methods of Targeted marketing such as demographics (age, gender, home values, incomes, etc.), repeat customers, potential referrals, etc., etc.
 
Paul

Explain the difference in a targeted ad and a non-targeted ad?
How do you (Pressure Washing) target a market by the use of a newspaper ad?
Why is Sunday not the worse day to advertise?
What are the advantages of advertising in Sunday's paper vs any other?
How do you get the reader to see and read your ad?


Thanks
 
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Tim,

I believe I provided a couple examples of a TARGETED vs. a non-targeted ad in my previous post. I can provide more if you like but let me address some of your other questions. You questions can generate enough material for at least one book on marketing/advertising. As you know marketing/advertising can be fairly complex, so we'll hit only a few highlights here.

"How do you get the reader to see and read your ad?"
Here are some basics (there are many books on this subject alone):
- One shot ads hardly ever work.
- Run ad(s) for longer periods of time (run it over & over again).
Here is a statistic for you: An average person in this country sees more than 30,000 ads per year. Only 1 out of 9 GOOD ads are seen by the TARGETED customer. An ad must be seen at least 3 times before it spurs action. Therefore, an ad needs to be in front of you TARGET 27 times before it makes a difference.
- Run your ad in the right publication for your product/service.
- Need to have an intriguing, strong, personal, immediate headline.
- Headline should outline the benefit(s) of your service/product. (In otherwords, your headline is your attention grabber.)
- Should have border around the ad to make it stand out & look larger than it is.
- Photo of your service/product in action draws better than one without.
- Ads with more copy draw better (there are many great books out there on writing copy or copywriting - if you prefer).
- Emphasise FREE offer (FREE estimate, FREE car wash with your house wash, etc.)
- Offer your phone number
- Call for action or create a sense of urgency
- Color, even a single color (other than black, gray or white) may increase your draw.
- Size does make a difference (however, it may not be proportionate & size without content will bring no added benefits) and consistancy or REPETITION is more important than size.

Indeed, you may have several ad designs and should test your ads to see which one works better and where it works better.

Here is an example of placing a general ad in a newspaper to increase your odds of being spotted:
Have ad placed on a right hand page above the crease in the paper. The closer it is to the front page, the better. (This advantage does not apply to magazines unless the ad is placed on the front or rear cover.)

A 2 or 3 line classified ad in the Services section of the local paper can generate good responses if the ad is well written (such as outlining a benefit and guarantee). Again, repetition is a KEY!

Here are some sources for reading:
- How to Make Your Advertising Make Money (by John Caples)
- Do It Yourself Advertising (by Fred E. Hahn)
- Guerrilla Marketing Handbook (by Jay Levinson & Seth Godin)


"Why is Sunday not the worse day to advertise?
What are the advantages of advertising in Sunday's paper vs. any other?" These two questions are somewhat similar so I'll try to combine some answers - (my opinions and of course all else being equal).

- Sunday readership is normally the highest of any day (exceptions are national or local impact events such as: 9/11; your city won the World Series/Super Bowl/Stanley Cup; Michael Jackson was arrested in your city; etc.; etc..)
As readership is the highest on Sunday, it most likely is more expensive, and your business should test to see if the extra cost actually translates into more sales.
- There are people that read ONLY the Sunday paper (nix Mon-Sat.)
- There are more sections in the paper to choose from as to which will hit your TARGET better (since not everyone reads every section of the paper).
- People normally have more time to read the paper on Sundays.


"How do you (Pressure Washing) target a market by the use of a newspaper ad?"
Here are 3 examples:
- You target men by placing your ad in the sports section.
- You target women by placing ad in the coupon or food sections.
- You target service seekers by placing classified ad in the Service section of the paper.
 
Paul

Great information. I can tell that you have read a lot of books on marketing and advertising.

So in the Sunday paper - Who do you target: Men, Women, or Service Seekers. Do you place an ad in each section.

I agree with the higher circulation - more readers on Sunday. My question is how do you target your customer in the Sunday paper - You answer that. I agree with your answers and there are many others.

A couple more questions please:

You mention using a border, photo, color, larger size and placement. How much extra does it cost to place an ad that stands out?

You mention that an ad needs to run/be seen 27 times. So therefore an ad should be ran in the Sunday paper on a consistant basis. Whats the cost to run an ad in the Sunday paper for-lets say 30 wks in a row?

Take that total - in my area its approx. $2,100.00 ($70 ad for 30 wks).

I can run a ad in the Mon, Tue, Wed, Thur, Fri, & Sat newspaper for that same amount. My ad is ran 180 times vs 30 times.

Or with that same amount, I could do a targeted mail-out to home owners (home value of $100,000 or greater) with vinyl siding, asphalt roofs, and a deck - now thats target marketing.


Paul, I don't disputes your facts nor do I totally disagree with you - I just have a different theory. Those books that you mention are great books - just remember that those books are not always design for a specific industry - cookie cutter.


Thanks for all the replies. I really enjoy have discussions on marketing and advertising.
 
Tim,

In response to some of your questions:
“You mention using a border, photo, color, larger size and placement. How much extra does it cost to place an ad that stands out?”

These items present no additional cost but will make your ad a much stronger draw:
- Need to have an intriguing, strong, personal, immediate headline.
- Should have border around the ad to make it stand out & look larger than it is.
- Photo of your service/product in action draws better than one without.
- Have ad placed on a right hand page above the crease in the paper. The closer it is to the front page, the better.

“You mention that an ad needs to run/be seen 27 times. So therefore an ad should be ran in the Sunday paper on a consistant basis. Whats the cost to run an ad in the Sunday paper for-lets say 30 wks in a row?
Take that total - in my area its approx. $2,100.00 ($70 ad for 30 wks). I can run a ad in the Mon, Tue, Wed, Thur, Fri, & Sat newspaper for that same amount. My ad is ran 180 times vs 30 times.”

Remember I said that:
- As readership is the highest on Sunday, it most likely is more expensive, and your business should test to see if the extra cost actually translates into more sales.
- One shot ads hardly ever work.
- Run ad(s) for longer periods of time (run it over & over again).

The point is not necessarily to run the ad 27 times in the Sunday paper, but to run it consistently for a long period of time. You could run a mix of Sunday and weekday ads. Chances are that certain weekdays are better for your ad than others. You could only find this info by testing.

Now I can’t tell what will work better for you or for anyone else as there is no such a thing as a sure system that will work for everyone and there are too many variables out there. It falls into the same category as: “I can’t tell you how much to charge for the service you perform.” You have to experiment with your advertising and overall marketing scheme. However, if you follow some of the basic guidelines we talked about, you will have a better chance of gaining success.

Here is an example of a success story in advertising:
Several years back an electrician ran a small, inexpensive ad in the classified section of the newspaper. It read:

“Fast, efficient electrical work. Certified electricians with references. FREE estimates. Call 123-4567. All work fully guaranteed.”

After it ran 6 times, he had to pull the ad because he couldn’t handle all the business it generated.

If only we could all expect those kinds of results!
 
Let me give another example of a great "TARGETED Marketing Technique".

In the early seventies (can you remember that far back) there was a band called "The Greatful Dead". (You've heard of them - Jerry Garcia, Bob Wier...) Anyway, in the early 70's they already had a decent following. On one of their album releases, they put a note to their fans. "Dead fans where are you? Send us your name and address!"

Talk about FREE advertising! (This was before the days of the INTERNET.) The album was already going to be released, so the added text cost nothing extra. They solicited a customer "Mailing List" with names and addresses. They received a huge list of names and addresses of customers who already purchased one of their products. Then they published a newsletter and packaged it with: where they will be appearing, what albums where being released, other products that could be purchased such as T-shirts, posters, etc., etc.

As you can see, the collective results of a genious "TARGETED Marketing Strategy" netted millions.

The crux of the biscuit or the moral of the story, if you prefer, is to work outside the box and think of different ways to draw new and repeat customers.
 
Paul

No need in beating a dead horse. Although I disagree with you-You make some good points. I wish others would jump in with their experiences. Thanks for all the discussion.

See you in the Sunday Paper - haha
 
I didn't think we were beating a dead horse, I thought it was more of a 2 sided discussion. However, I will post no more on this subject and leave the forum open to you and others.

Thanks for the opportunity!
 
Paul

Please post more. I was hoping others would join the conversation. I can tell from reading your responses, that you have read marketing/advertising books as well as motivational books.

Thinking outside the box - Is very important - I try to always think outside the box.

The number 1 key to success is having a good self esteem. A positive self image is crucial. An individuals brain is worth more than any equipment that you can buy. We only use approx. 3% of our brain. An indivdual's brain can store more memory than the largest computer data base known to mankind. Yet, it is not utilized to its full capacity. A prepared mind is so important to obtain success.

The single most important ingredient in having a successful business is you. No matter how much equipment, employees, etc that you have - it all comes back to you.

Let me ask you this:

Would you sell one of your arms for a million dollars?
Would you sell your legs for 5 million dollars?
How about your brain - would you sell it for 10 million dollars?

If you answer NO to all the questions - Your already worth 16 million and we havn't even discussed your heart, lungs, kidney, etc.

Sorry - got carried away there.

Paul, if you get time - read my post on "Having a Prepared Mind" & give me your opinion.
 
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