The Advertising or Direct Marketing Dilemma

Paul Harvey Marketing Coach

I have been out and about in July and have not caught up with posts, been having lot of great ideas just not getting them on the page.   

I had another conversation about advertising last week; it is tough, as I do not want to see, the regional newspapers disappear. However, a business cannot place ads just to keep the papers running.    

For most businesses where I start working, advertising is the bread and butter of their marketing programme. I find myself in very deep water when I suggested that advertising is a waste of resource and it takes some convincing to let it go, however there is that old saying  

“I know the 50% of my ads are wasted I just cannot tell which 50%.”

As the average business does  do not measure its effectiveness, advertising can be a waste of money if not targeted, and in many markets findings a suitable publication or paper is a challenge. 

When selecting a target publication it is important to consider the size and demographic of the circulation.  How well do they fit in with the profile of your average customer and will that customers be reading. Some of the segments get so small that getting the target to read it is just luck.

Another aspect that is often missing in adverts is an offer, more than that; it needs to be a compelling offer.  ”James Mackenzie Painter” will not do it unless he is already famous. Think headline and lead with it.

Much of the advertising that I see in papers is flag waving and that is a slow burn process. It does not work unless you have deep pockets and can run the advert over time.

The question that really needs to be answered with promotional activity is. Does the advert get a response and does the response lead to an order. What is the return on the Investment (ROI)

We all have to advertise or the customers will think we have gone under however; some form of direct advertising is far more effective.

Lets compare the two channels.

 Advertising                                                  Direct Marketing

Broad Target                                                                 Defined target

Public offer                                                                   Private offer

Difficult to measure                                                      Accurate measurement possible

Tied to publication dates                                              Can be repeated any time

Limited relationship                                                      Builds relationship

Advertising has it place for an event or service with a broad appeal, but I would always push to find some means to approach your customers or prospect directly.  Social Media, Blogging, Email or Direct Mail. 

Hope you get to enjoy some sun this summer

All the best

Paul Harvey

PS Wordpress had a bit of a turn and put all sorts of space and rubbish in this post I had delet it and start again