to the definitive guide to effective, local advertising for the local business.
This blog will give you an absolute edge over your competitors if you act on its advice. Whether you are a budding entrepreneur, owner of a small business, or marketing director of a nationwide company, if your doors are open, you should be advertising. As the local business owner or marketing director, you must know how to use different types of advertising to increase inbound prospects for your company.
Many business owners do not realize the purpose of advertising. As an Out Of Home advertising consultant in the San Antonio market, I have interacted with all types of media buyers, business owners, vendors, and media types. I am offering my experience here, free of charge so that you can lay a strong foundation before you begin to advertise. Once you are advertising, building a unique perception of your business is what defines you in your local market. This is achieved by a couple main points:
- Emphasis on the quantitative approach to advertising.
Learning how to set a sales objective, calculate your close ratio, research your industry norms, and find the true value of a customer will set you on the path towards excellent advertising. Learn what make effective copy and when to expect results. Demand absolute accountability from your ad campaign.
- The realization that perception is critical
Before you start any type of advertising campaign you need to determine what kind of image you want to project. Your copy, brochures, literature, and telephone greeting must all work together to help your business emphasize its competitive advantage (whether it truly exists or not - remember, we are focusing on perception)
- How different media must work together
Your yellow page ads might seem to be bringing prospects to your doors, but what motivated that prospect to look to the yellow pages in the first place? If your advertising is doing its job, your company’s name was already at the front of your prospect’s mind before he or she even opened up the yellow book.
- The importance of local competitors and industry norms
It is folly to believe that local business is able to advertise in the same manner as national companies. I have dealt with both types of advertising and have learned that the local business must know how their foot traffic compares to their competitors, and what their industry norms are as it relates to the advertising budget.
As this blog develops, I will update this list as necessary. Welcome to Local Perception, subscribe to our feed, send us email, and check back often!