ADVERTISING-

        Word of mouth is the cheapest form of advertising. By giving a good service people will tell others.

                When a business is building it pays to advertise. When business is bad you’ve got to advertise.

        Target your messages to specific groups of clients and potential clients.

        You waste time and money if you use inappropriate advertising.

        Try to measure returns on your advertising to see which ones give the greatest return for the money spent

A Handful of Tips to improve your advertising

*Who do you plan to target?

        The more specific you can be the more effective you will be and the less it will cost.

* Research your  customers

        Find out their habits. Where do they get their information from?

        How literate are they? Can you use internet-based advertising?

         What languages do they speak?

        Do they watch television?

        What radio stations do they listen to? What do they read and how well do they read?

* To Survey

        Employ people who can relate to your target groups and speak the same type of language.

        The best research is often carried out by someone similar in age and experience to the target group.  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.

* Plan your campaign

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

        What is the size of your advertising budget?

        Can you get free publicity with press releases or news stories?

        Can you support good causes or sporting events to get publicity?

        Can you employ high-profile people to front up to your messages?

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

* Analyse the returns from your marketing

        Blind scattered marketing is wasteful, ineffective, and costly. Wasting money on postal drops for example is a waste of time and money.

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

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

-Geoffrey Moss (mossassociates.co.nz)

“The best and cheapest advertising is to give your clients a quality service.”

Source: “Secrets for New Managers”. A collection of guidelines and helpful advice, First published by  Moss Associates Ltd, New Zealand, and Cengage Learning, Asia. Also available as an e-book from Amazon.com and VitalSource.

          Most of the articles were first published in the Singapore Institute of Management magazine, “Today’s Manager”. For permission to reprint, I am grateful.