Understanding
the Different Methods of Offline Promotion
Copyright © Stone
Evans, The Home Biz Guy
http://www.pluginprofitsite.com/main-2508
No business can
survive the long run without some form of consistent advertising. As a
result, most business owners will eventually consider using advertising
to promote their business.
The toughest part of
the advertising equation is in determining where and how to spend your
advertising dollars. If you do it wrong, you could plunk down your
entire advertising budget and receive absolutely no return on your
investment. But, if you do it right, your advertising could continue to
bring a nice return for years to come.
HOW DO I MAKE THE RIGHT ADVERTISING DECISIONS
In order to make
good decisions concerning how to spend your advertising budget, you
must first have a good understanding of the different types of
advertising and promotion available and what can be expected to be
achieved by each.
· You must
understand which markets the different media's can reach.
· You must understand the demographics of the media's consumers.
· You must understand the buying habits of the consumers reached
through the media.
WHAT OFFLINE ADVERTISING & PROMOTION MEDIA'S
SHOULD BE CONSIDERED
The media's that
people think of most often are television, radio, newspaper and
magazine advertising. Of course, these are the big boys that big
businesses use regularly.
Other methods of
promotion include trade shows, press releases, direct sales,
telemarketing, word of mouth, branding and billboard advertising.
CONSIDERING THE BIG MEDIA OUTLETS
The big boys of
advertising media's generally cost big bucks. Given certain
circumstances, the big media's can be bought for very little money.
Take for example,
television, radio and newspapers cost big bucks during their prime
times, but can be bought for pennies on the dollar during non-primetime
hours.
Television primetime
is between 7pm and 10pm. Radio primetime is between 7am and 6pm. With
newspapers, the primetime is Wednesdays and Sundays.
If you intend to hit
a media during prime time, get ready to drop some bucks. Primetime
means that you will be able to hit more consumers during these times.
So, in most cases, a primetime buy will enable you to reach more people
with your advertising.
Non-primetime hours
can still deliver a lot of eyes and ears to your message, and
sometimes, these off-hours can be bought for a bargain basement price.
GETTING MILEAGE FROM EVENTS
Trade shows and
press releases are more event-driven. The trade show is the event,
while the press release generally exploits an event.
Trade shows are an
exceptional tool when you deal directly with potential sellers of your
products or services. Other shows are directed at the consumer, and
those can be very valuable avenues for sales as well.
The press release is
aimed towards gaining attention for a business by distributing
newsworthy information about the business.
Sometimes the
appearance of a business at a trade show or other show can provide the
necessary angle for a press release. But most often, a successful press
release will actually require more noteworthy information than the
appearance of a business at a show.
Yet, even the most
mundane of information could be spiced up to give the real air of
importance necessary to get your press release read and printed.
The great thing
about a press release is that might permit you to get relatively
inexpensive promotion on television, radio, newspapers and magazines;
for far less than what it would cost you to buy advertising in those
same outlets.
UTILIZING A SALES TEAM
Depending on what
type of business you run and the consumers you are trying to reach, you
might find direct sales and telemarketing to be very lucrative ways to
drive sales to your business.
Both are very
similar in nature. Direct sales can be very expensive, as it requires a
great investment of time to accomodate. Telemarketing seeks to minimize
the time expenditure, but it often leads to a smaller degree of respect
and attention.
Depending on your
product or service --- and always depending upon the people you employ
to the task --- each method will be more suited to each business on an
individual basis.
BRANDING YOUR BUSINESS
I grouped branding
and billboard advertising together in my original list for a reason. I
did this because billboard advertising serves most businesses best by
helping to support the process of branding.
Branding is the
process of establishing your business as the supplier of a certain
product or service, or in emphasizing a certain USP (Unique Selling
Proposition) as it pertains to your business.
If branding and USP
seems to be a confusing concept, think about Wal-Mart and their tag
line: "Always Low Prices, Always."
Think about Ford
Motors, "Quality is Job One."
Think about the Visa
Card, "It's Everywhere You Want To Be."
You see, these top
corporations have managed to make their USP part of their branding.
Even if you are only
competing in a local marketplace, your USP can and should fit snugly
into your branding strategy.
NO MATTER THE MEDIA OR METHOD
Whichever method or
media you should choose to employ in your advertising and promotion,
you should become knowledgable about your market, and the consumers
reached by each media. It is important to understand which consumers
can be reached by a certain media, and in what quantities.
However you choose
to spend your advertising dollars, you should always track the results
of your promotional efforts. Failing to track successes and failures
will ultimately lead to the failure of a business.
When you know whom
you are trying to reach and how you think you might be able to reach
them, you will begin to learn how to use advertising and promotion to
make your business successful. That is a good thing --- after all, that
is why you got into the business in the first place, isn't it?
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