Mistakes in advertising can be costly to small business. For this reason, many businesses decide either not to advertise at all or to be very conservative with theirads.
However, using the right type of advertising, with the right message, can cut the cost of advertising by making it more effective.
One tip is to use unadvertised specials in your store. If its well received by customers, then it has a better chance of success advertising to your target market using one of six ways thatfollow.
Not every business will use all six types of advertising.
Which type you use will depend on what your message is, and the end result you wish to accomplish.
Remember my two rules of advertising and marketing:
Advertising must always be an investment; it can never be an expense. And, when emotion and logic come into conflict emotion alwayswins.
Use emotion in your advertising and marketing to trigger the feelings of your customers.
The six types of advertising are:
1. How to Advertise Your CompanyImage
Which is more important, the company or its products or individuals? In a small town or small market, this can be a very important question.
For example, your insurance agent might be a personal friend. Youll buy your insurance from him/her regardless of the company they represent. You trustthem.
In another example, you may purchase a lot of goods online or at your local Wal-Mart, instead of local merchants, because of their perceived low-price advertising message.
If youre a new company, you may want to begin by establishing the company name first and the products and services later. This also works for company namechanges.
In the 1980s I worked with a video movie rental chain in San Diego, California called Video Library. Our advertising strategy was to promote the company name rather than promote the movies werented.
We placed small box ads (about 1.5″x 1.5″) throughout the San Diego daily paper that simply said, Video Library??xx Locations We started in 1980 with four stores and by 1985 we had 43 locations.
Video Library was the most recognized name in video in San Diego at that time. Video Library had more computer terminals than the San Diego NavelBase.
2. How to Develop and Use NameBrands
If there is one company in operation today that understands the importance of brand names, it must be Procter andGamble.
Tide laundry detergent is far and away a number one best seller and has been for several years. When the dishwasher appeared on the scene they could have very easily created Tide forDishes.
Capitalizing on a winning product name. But as we all know that thinking doesntwork.
Instead of using the established name Tide, they created a new name that became just as strong in dish washing, Cascade.
Ivory Soap. When you hear the name alone, you know theproduct.
Kraft, on the other hand, has a bunch of products, but only one truewinner.
Philadelphia Cream Cheese has about 70% of thatmarket.
Also notice, the Kraft name is hardly noticeable on the package. Their Velveeta brand of cheese might be anotherwinner.
Kraft makes jams and jellies, Smuckers is number one. Kraft makes their own brand of mayonnaise, but Hellmans is numberone.
Are you starting to get the picture? Kraft also makes another successful brand name, MiracleWhip.
A brand name creates a perception in the customers mind that becomes very strong. Its that strong perception every advertiser strivesfor.
Would you buy Pennzoil Cake Mix? Why not? Theyre a good company, arentthey?
Do you see how ridiculous that sounds? It flies in the face of our perception of Pennzoil as an oil product. Its dramatically out of place as a cakemix.
Theres nothing stronger than a good brand name. If you develop one, put it everywhere you can affordto.
3. How to Advertise a Service Instead of aProduct
Advertising services is one of the most difficult types of advertising. You dont have a tangible product you can put in someones hand. They cant touch it, feel it, see it or smell it. It must often be explained as well as demonstrated.
One of the best examples of service advertising is carpet cleaners. They come in, run some machinery over your carpets and leave. Nothing tangible is left behind. Except cleancarpets.
Service advertising is most often emotional advertising. Carpet cleaners dont sell clean carpets. They sell health to the infant crawling on thefloor.
They sell pride that people can visit a beautiful cleanhome.
4. How to Do Business to Business Advertising
Many businesses never have the need to deal with the public at all. For these businesses, advertising in the newspaper, radio or TV would be a waste of time andmoney.
Youll find these companies using social media, direct mail or placing ads in trade magazines.
For a complete listing of trade magazines look online or ask for the Encyclopedia or Periodicals at your locallibrary.
Also ask to see the Standard Rates and Data Service directory. These will have listings and rates of trade and industry publications you can advertise in.
You can purchase both of these volumes but they are very expensive??hence the library reference.
5. How to Build Your Business Using Co-Op Advertising
Co-Op advertising in one of the best ways for the small business owner to get the messageout.
In this type of advertising the manufacturer absorbs a portion of the cost and can also supply all the artwork for theads.
There are some pitfalls to be careful of when dealing with co-op advertising. Every company wants their business portrayed in the best possiblelight.
To that end, they will be very strict about how and where you place your advertising. Before the official OK to get the co-op money, they will want to approve all ad copy, pictures, size, placement, and use of logos in yourads.
If you place an ad without approval, you run the risk of violating one of the guidelines and absorbing the entire cost of thead.
The media you choose will want payment for the ad within a month at the most. You may not receive your co-op money for severalmonths.
Make sure you get reimbursement procedures in writing and can live withthem.
An alternative to teaming up with a manufacturer is to team up with another local business. You can share production costs for brochures or other printed materials and put each others coupons in your respective businesses.
Bakeries and Party Planners or Party Stores are naturals to work together.
6. How to Use Public Service Advertising (PSAs) to Build CustomerLoyalty
If your company can sponsor a charity event, PSAs are a great way to promote your company in a positivelight.
Most media are required by licensing agreements to provide a certain amount of time or space for the good of their local communities.
Some of the downsides of PSAs. Dont expect to see your ad on The Equalizer or some other prime timeshow.
PSAs are often placed in off times. I dont want to paint everyone with a broad brush here. Some media are better than others. Just because you request a PSA, doesnt mean youll getit.
Media has a limited amount of space or time forPSAs.
You might get a break if youre currently advertising in the media youre using. It might also help if your organization buys a small amount of time or space to run with yourPSAs.
The Last Word on the Six Types of Advertising
The type of message and your target market will often dictate which type of advertising to use. Some companies will use more thanone.
Some will use several depending on the situation. Lets also keep in mind the pros and cons of advertising.
There are two basic advantages to advertising.
One, its the best way to get a message out about a new or existing product orservice.
Two, it can actually lower the cost of a product to the consumer by increasing sales which can result in reduced production costs.
The bad side of advertising is that it can create an artificial need for unnecessary products and services.
Every Christmas the media creates the toy of the season thats impossible for consumers to find on store shelves. Dont get me started on StarWars.
The point is to keep an eye on the message you want your target market toreceive.
If you can, test some of the six types of advertising with various offers and messages.
Find the type that works for you and workit.
Take a look at Tom Egelhoffs Amazon Best Selling Small Business book, How to Market, Advertise and Promote Your Business or Service in Your Own Backyard.
Subscribe to Toms New YouTube Channel??The Art of Learning Small TownBusiness
Listen in on Toms weekly Saturday radio show 8 am to 11am Mountain Time Open For Business on AM 1450 KMMS Radio, Bozeman. Go to kmmsam.com and Click Listen NOW. You can call the show or textTom.
Six Types of Advertising to Build Your Small Business was originally published in Startup Stash on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
