How can a small business owner get better results with their marketing and advertising dollars? The first step in maximizing the effect of your marketing ads is to understand that marketing is an equation.
Unfortunately, most small business advertising falls into Menu-Board style advertising. This type of ad is similar to a restaurant menu that basically states “here is our name, here is a list of stuff we have for sale and come buy from us for no justifiable, rational reason besides we have it”. Now, that’s not to say because the ads are done wrong and violate the Marketing Equation doesn’t mean they won’t work. As the saying goes, “Even a dead fish can float down stream”. But to really maximize your advertising dollars and get more people raising their hands that want to know more about what you have to offer you need to follow some basic principles of marketing.
So, what is your marketing supposed to do? All your marketing ads should do the following three things:
-
Capture the attention of your target market
-
Facilitate the prospect’s information gathering and decision-making processes
-
Lower the risk of taking the next step in the sales cycle
And, how to we accomplish what marketing is supposed to do . . . with the Marketing Equation.
Interrupt + Engage + Educate + Offer = RESULTS!
In my next post, I will get into the specifics of the Marketing Equation.
