Why Your Ads Aren?t Working

The president of a manufacturing company recently asked me, "Why isn't my advertising working?" Have you ever been asked this question? Have you ever asked it yourself?

Like most marketing communications questions there are no simple answers. After all, communication is a high level activity. There are lots of variables involved.

If your ad results are disappointing, here are the key things to look at:

1) Message Is what your ad promises compelling? Is it meaningful to your audience? If you're not offering something prospective customers want, they won't respond. If you're not sure what prospects want, ASK!!

2) Audience Are you reaching the people who make the buying decision for your product or service? Many big ticket sales involve buying teams or multiple layers within an organization. Are you reaching everyone you need to?

3) Vehicles Are you in the best publications (or radio time slots, TV programs, whatever)to reach your audience with your message? Look at quantitative AND qualitative data to get a true evaluation of media and vehicles.

4) Frequency/repetition There are two cardinal rules of human communication: a) People will notice your ad only when they're interested, and b) People retain about 10% of the messages they're exposed to each day. So for a communication program to succeed, it must repeat, repeat, repeat. (Current estimates are that it can take 7-9 repetitions of a message for it to sink in.)

5) Attention Does your ad have stopping power? Will the intended audience take the time to look? This usually requires the synergy of an arresting visual and a powerful headline.

6) Objectives Are you asking advertising to do what it's good at? Generating inquiries and creating awareness are reasonable ad objectives. But don't expect advertising to SELL a product. Good ads set up opportunities to sell. Your sales channel will need to close the deal.

7) Measuring results Do you really know what your advertising is achieving? Are you collecting and reviewing results that relate to your objectives? For instance, if you expect your advertising program to generate inquiries, measurement that looks at inquiry quantity and quality should be built into your program.

Sound intimidating? Communication is important to any business but it's complicated. Fortunately there are experienced consultants and agencies who can help you.

©Copyright 2005 Clairvoyant Communications, Inc.

About the author

Claire Cunningham, president of Clairvoyant Communications, Inc., has 20+ years' experience developing and implementing successful marketing and communications programs. Sign up for Claire's monthly e-newsletter, Communiqué, at http://www.clairvoyantcommunications.com Claire can be reached at 763-479-3499 (claire@claircomm.com)

---

Advertising Costs Getting Too High?

Everyone knows that advertising is essential to growing a business.... Read More

Small Cards, Big Ideas: Alternative Uses for Business Cards

Aggressive business card marketing isn't about handing your business cards... Read More

Choosing a Print Mail Dealer

"Print & Mail is a type of service that... Read More

Magnetic Business Cards: Make Your Marketing Message Stick

What is it about magnets that draw people to leave... Read More

LED Score Boards

LED scoreboards can be utilized in most of the sporting... Read More

Reach vs. Frequency: Touch 100 Once or 25 Four Times?

Reach and frequency are terms generally used when planning advertising... Read More

Top Design and Marketing Tips from a Branding Expert

This month, we wanted to share some general tips relating... Read More

A $40 Million Dollar Little Known Referral Strategy

Would you like to know how a car wash chain... Read More

Design Your Own Newspaper Ads

Many people in business lay-out (design) their own ads. That... Read More

Create Your Dynamic Elevator Speech

So, what's an elevator speech, and how do you get... Read More

Advertising Inserts

One of the best and easiest ways to advertise without... Read More

Marketing Tips - Advertising

Typical methods of advertising-newspapers, radio and television are effective if... Read More

Adding Art to Business Spaces

Larger companies have learned that collecting art adds something special... Read More

Yellow Page Advertisers: Your Calls are Going to Decrease - Heres the Remedy

Response rates to Yellow Page advertising are decliningThere's no getting... Read More

Double Your Sales Potential With Double-sided Business Cards

Swapping business cards is one of the most basic and... Read More

Using The Popularity of Celebrities and Currrent Events to Promote Your Business

In this article, we want to explore the idea of... Read More

Direct Mail Catalogs & Brochures: Write Captions That Sell

Many prospects skim through catalogs and brochures, glancing at the... Read More

Printing - How Do I Buy It?

Why should I care where I get my printed material... Read More

Outdoor Sign

Many business organizations that needs to disseminate late-breaking information to... Read More

How To Make Your Advertising Work!

Many believe that when it comes to advertising, it's a... Read More

7 Unique Ways To Get FREE Advertising

1. Give Testimonials When you purchase a product or service... Read More

How To Use Pictures To Immediately Start Increasing The Response Rates Of Your Marketing

There should only be one, over-riding reason why you're doing... Read More

Secrets of Getting Free Advertising

The opportunities for getting free advertising for your product or... Read More

Constructing Business Advertisements

What many may consider the most important part of advertising... Read More

Does Your Brochure Pass the Test - Or is It Headed for the Trash? Part Two

In part one of this article we discussed the importance... Read More

The TV Shoot, The Spoiled Brat, And A Painful Lesson

It was two days before our shoot. I was in... Read More

Non-profit Coupon Books and Coupon Mailers for Small Businesses

Many groups like the Chamber of Commerce, ASB at the... Read More

The Truth in Advertising

Most of us have seen at least a dozen different... Read More

Brochures - The Ultimate Sales Tool

"How brochures can help you stand out from the competition,... Read More

How to Write Ads that Increase Your Business

I caught myself wracking my brain over what kind of... Read More

Magnetic Signs: Where Do They Work Best?

Recently, a woman called to ask about replacing a magnetic... Read More

The ONLY Type Of Advertising People LOVE!!

Can it be???Is there advertising that people actually love?You bet... Read More

How To Get Big Sponsorship Money for Your Band, Tour, Event or Production

Touring is a bands greatest opportunity for success. But, touring... Read More