The Best Handful of Tips 90 – Getting Your Message Across

What is the best way to get your message across? There is no best way. It will depend on who you are targeting and where they get their information from.

Try targeting your messages to specific groups of clients and  potential clients. You can waste a lot of time and money if you use inappropriate advertising. 

Five of the best tips when you are trying to get a message to people.

1. Define your target audience

The more specific you can be the more effective you will be.

2. Research your prospective customers

Once you know who they are you must find out their habits. Where do they get their information from? What are their wants and needs and desires.

How literate are they? What languages do they speak? Do they watch television? What radio stations do they listen to? What newspapers or magazines do they read and how well do they read them?

3. Select researchers with care 

Your best research is often carried out by someone similar in age and experience to the target group. Someone who understands and is excepted by the people being interviewed.  For example if you are marketing a product to the elderly, use well-trained retired people; if targeting farmers, use retired farmers, or farmers’ wives.

4. Plan your advertising campaign

When you have found out the needs, the wants and the habits of your target audience you will be in a good position to plan a campaign.

What is the size of your budget? You can get free publicity with a newsworthy press release or by sponsoring a local event?

What media do you plan to use? Will you be using  handouts, radio, TV, newspapers or internet messages? There are many other ways to consider when planning to get your messages heard or read.

5. Analyse the returns from your marketing investment

Blind scattered marketing is wasteful, ineffective and costly.

You must know how much money you spent, how much your income increased and how many new clients or customers were attracted by your advertising campaign.

If you have an excellent product or service you will need less advertising. Your customers and clients will do that for you by word of mouth.

            The best advertising is to look after your clients well.

-Geoffrey Moss

“If you give the best service and have the best products you won’t need much advertising.” 

Source: “Persuasive Ways” published by Moss Associates Ltd, New Zealand and in Chinese by Shanghai People’s Publishing House and as “Secrets of Persuasion” by Cengage Learning Asia. Also available as an e-book from Amazon.com.