A CLIMBER'S GUIDE

“Are You Insane?”
01/21/2008

That is, do you continue to do the same thing over and over again but expect a different result?

We are in a very difficult business climate with no real end in sight. We will see some potentially significant stimulus programs like rate cuts - but their effects will most likely be short-lived and you'll need to plan for a long road before things turn around. You can debate the state of our economy and how long it will last, but for most businesses one thing is for certain; it's getting tougher everyday. That should be enough to tell you it's time to do things differently.

There is more to making a business profitable than good advertising. True success is only achieved when the decision-making executive, the management team and sales staff and the advertising department are all working together, in harmony. That being said, an effective execution of a sound advertising strategy can help you to increase your share of the market and drive more traffic through the doors of your business, which is absolutely necessary when the market is down.

To effectively deal with the advertising challenges that will confront all of us in the months or years ahead, you must answer the following critical questions:

1.    Do you have a strategy?
2.    Will you think long-term? [Nothing worthwhile in advertising is ever achieved in less than 4 to 6 months.]
3.    Will your plan be scheduled properly as part of a strategically sound media buy - achieving the correct amount or reach, frequency and consistency to make it work?
4.    Do you, or does anyone around you, have the ability or experience to execute that strategy based on proven marketing techniques?
5.    Does the person who sells you advertising tell you the truth - even if you don't want to hear it?
6.    Are you willing to be different and break the mold of predictability?

If you want your business to thrive in the months ahead by achieving a measurable return on your advertising investment, then you'd better deal with those questions head on and stop sweeping them under the carpet.

The average small business has an advertising budget that is currently reaching tens, if not hundreds of thousands of potential customers every month. So why isn't it working? Is it because you keep doing the same thing over and over again? Ask yourself, "Is my message being heard above the noise and clutter of the predictable, same ole same ole - local advertising that is currently flooding the airwaves?" If your goal is to get onto the customer's radar in a new way, create top of mind awareness and help them to find a new reason to give you a try over your competitors, then it's time make a change. If you want to wake people up, start by eliminating the things that kill an ad's effectiveness - like "ad-speak". You must not look, sound and feel like every other advertiser in your category, or in the market for that matter, if you want people to feel differently about you.

Also, remember that there is always a competitor that can, and will, sell it a little cheaper than you. The majority of the general public is so overwhelmed with "price offers" and "claims of savings" that they just don't pay attention to them anymore. If you want to secure those price shoppers - do it by developing a reputation for having the best prices with word of mouth and not by manipulating the customer with a loss leader advertising campaign because no one's buying it anymore.

Once you gain the customer's attention with unexpected creativity that's engaging and different, you can communicate value and savings but only if it's accurate and believable. Most advertisers, (including a couple of my own prospective clients) want to take the easy route and communicate savings through event based advertising, long term financing and/or loss leader pricing. That would be fine if it worked, but it doesn't. What ever you may gain from that creates a false sense of security. Just ask any of the lost souls that are buying full-page ads in the paper and a couple of radio stations or TV programs to support the promotion of their next "biggest sale-ever." Even though they're dying - losing market share with every passing year - they remain addicted to the quick fix. Sure the liquidation event provides a quick spike in sales, but when it's all said and done, you're still losing ground. You're not going backwards in-spite of the liquidation sale; you're going backwards because of it.

My definition of advertising insanity is to want your ads to look like every other advertiser's ads, saying the same thing everyone else is saying and expecting people to take notice of your business and feel differently about you.
The bottom line is, it's time to be different - your future depends on it.

Here's a look at "different" without the ad-speak. This simple ad is one of many that represents a strategy that Pool World used to combine emotions with "different" to increase sales in a category that some say is dying, but all acknowledge is declining rapidly. Their ads get noticed and connect with the emotional reasons you'd buy their products, they're placed with the correct mix of reach and frequency, the store is well run and customer satisfaction is extremely high. This is not advertising brilliance - it's simply following a proven strategy.

Lootcakes

	Climb With Passion
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