Advertising costs money but can generate sales.
Advertising is one method of promoting your business. A company advertises because it wants to increase its general visibility to its market, introduce a new company image or increase sales. Advertising takes place on the Internet, through print publications, television and radio. Be smart when spending your advertising dollars to get the most production out of them.
Test
Designing an advertisement is an art and a science. Graphics pull readers towards the ad. Certain words turn people away. For example: "learn" means that effort will have to be expended on the part of the buyer while "discover" gives the impression of effortless. Design several different ads varying one element at a time and test to see which ads bring in the most sales. The testing can be done by running the ads in different parts of the country, during different time periods or to different customer bases.
Track
Code the ads or the customer's response so you know which ads are effective in bringing in traffic and sales. Some ads may generate a lot of interest but won't convert the visitors into paying customers. Code web-based ads by linking the ad to a different page on your site. Direct mail ads are coded by directing the customer to respond to a certain suite number at the end of the street address. Tracking is also done by using slightly different prices such as $19.95, $19.97 and $19.99.
Consistency
One advertisement most likely won't have much of an impact. Develop an advertising program that has a regular schedule of ads running. Consistency is important in the message of the ads. Customers shouldn't have to wonder that they saw an ad yesterday that touted your low prices and last week your customer service. Decide on the message of your ads and keep it consistent within the ads and with the image you want your company to have.
Complimentary
Ads are only one part of a marketing program. Use the ads in conjunction with publicity, social networking, website development and traffic generation through methods such as article marketing. Each method of promotion should compliment the others. You pay for advertising so the exact message is conveyed when, and how, you want it. You don't have to pay for publicity, say an article in a newspaper, but you have no control over what the newspaper says, when, or if, the story runs.
Tags: sales Advertising