Building better ads –
Types of ads and how to use them better.
Part 4 of 4
Customer Awareness – The purpose of these ads are to let customers know about a change – new location, ownership, or feature. This is different to the Image Building ads. They’re all about some change. New people, change of positions or a new manager.
These don’t need to be large ads but should give the info. If there is a person involved, put their photo in. People love to see people they know or many times they will seek out a person they have seen in an ad. Be professional and to the point. Don’t try to sell your company with this type of ad.
Hospitals use this type of ad to promote a new doctor that is now on staff. They give their credentials and what they are experts in. A photo is always used and contact info, is essential.
Budget type ads – There are times when the company needs to save money but wants to keep its name in front of readers. This keeps them from losing momentum on ads already run.
When you start an ad campaign, you should be running it long term unless it is a close-out sale. The longer you run, the better your name will be recognized. People also trust you more.
I had a chiropractor that was doing well with his ads, but every time he stopped advertising for his slow season, his calls would drop off quickly. After a few times of this, I convinced him to move to budget ads during the November & December months and other times he was traditionally slow. His calls slowed a bit but not like they did the previous year. His ads also did better when he went back to the larger ads.
This is important if you are one of those businesses that needs to be in front of customers when they need your services (doctor, dentist, attorney, insurance agents, stock brokers, etc). If you miss a month and it happens to be the month that they are looking for your info, to compare/change companies, you’re out of luck if you don’t have an ad running.
Budget ads are designed to keep you in front of people when times are slow or tough. Prospective customers can find you when it is time to consider a change.
These are small ads that should be run short term.
Next week I will talk about compelling offers. What makes one offer more compelling over another? Who should use this and who should not?
Sell Well.
Boyd Petersen
Certified Marketing Coach