(By Pat Bryson) We’ve all heard “my advertising didn’t work.” Much of the time, the campaign – I use the term loosely, here – didn’t work because it was conceived incorrectly. It didn’t have the three necessary ingredients for a successful campaign:
- Enough frequency weekly
- Enough consistency (52 weeks)
- The right message
But sometimes, the campaign was perceived not to work when it actually did. The culprit? The advertiser didn’t have a clear picture of what advertising CAN and CANNOT do. It’s up to us to educate our clients on what they can expect from their campaigns.
Advertising of any kind can do ONE thing: It can bring a potential customer to the place of business once. That’s it. We create traffic. What happens after we send a prospect to our client’s door depends in large part on them.
What factors determine if a warm body makes a purchase? Several important factors must work together to complete the sale and turn that prospect into a customer that returns again and again.
- Personnel that are well-trained and friendly
- Value: price related to perceived benefit
- Parking that is convenient and accessible
- Seasonality
- How does the store look?
- Are the floor displays attractive? How are goods packaged?
- Are the restrooms clean? (a surprisingly big factor especially for restaurants)
- Where is the store located? Easy to get to?
- What are consumers wanting to buy?
- Competition: today both bricks and mortar and virtual
- Is the store known for good service after the sale? How’s their reputation?
- Advertising (finally!)
All of these factors must work together to produce a sale. Unfortunately, many times we get potential customers in and the client doesn’t sell them. We get the blame. That’s why we need to discuss these factors with our clients beforehand. With the difficulty of staffing today, item #1 is often the culprit.
Businesspeople today have a hard job. They must juggle supply chains, staffing issues, increased cost of goods plus all the normal issues. Trusting us with their advertising and marketing efforts can remove a big burden and save them time. If we have that element of trust, we can discuss the above items and hopefully guide them to higher revenue. It’s a win-win for all!
Happy Selling!
Pat Bryson is the CEO of Bryson Broadcasting International, a consulting firm that works with sales managers and salespeople to raise revenue. She is the author of two books, A Road Map to Success in High-Dollar Broadcast Sales and Successful Broadcast Sales: Thriving in Change available on her website. Read Pat’s Radio Ink archives here.
