I am often amazed when I meet a small business owner who has a good client base and they feel they don’t need to advertise much, if at all. I reason against the logic of “I get my business through ‘word of mouth’” with one word: Wal-Mart.
Where would this giant retailer be if Sam Walton had decided decades ago to only rely on “word of mouth” advertising? I can assure you that I wouldn't be referencing the company in this blog. I receive Wal-Mart print ads on a regular basis. Whether I need to buy anything at the time, or not, I look through the ad and begin to wonder if I need some new clothes, an mp3 player, or that case of Pepsi that is on sale. I hang on to the ad until it expires, just in case I change my mind.
The lesson for all of us in business: no matter how loyal our customer base is, we HAVE TO keep advertising OFFLINE!
Are you ready to do a little offline advertising? Before you design your next marketing campaign consider the following:
- Clearly identify your market – are you a B2B, or B2C based company?
- What income level does your product or service cater to?
- What will reel them in – What promotion or product will you feature in your ad?
- Colors – Research colors, yes, I said it. Did you know that yellow encourages people to spend money? Orange is used to draw attention.
- Mailing Trends – If planning a direct mail campaign, learn what days the most ads are mailed out and avoid those days. Why spend all the time, money, and research on a great advertising campaign to only have it lost in the pile of glossy mailers.
How do you advertise offline? What works for you? Share here.
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