What are the best steps to take when considering marketing your business? What mistakes should you try to avoid? Below are some of the common missteps businesses make when advertising and some suggestions on how to avoid them.
MISSTEP #1: TOO MUCH CHANGE
- Consistency is key. Make sure to use the same color scheme, logos and fonts that you have in other areas of your business. If you use a color scheme and logo on your website, include that in your ad.
MISSTEP #2: USING TOO MANY OF THE WRONG THINGS
- When creating an ad, be sure to avoid overcrowding and trying to include every detail about your company. Stick to 2-3 main selling points. And don’t forget to include contact information in your ad – customers want to be able to reach you, make sure they know how to! [28] If you haven’t created an ad for your business, take advantage of DECM’s design We-Design option. Provide your selling points, quality images or logos and your color scheme, and our designers will put together a beautiful ad for your business!
MISSTEP #3: ADVERTISING INFREQUENTLY
- Advertising takes time. You may not see a response right away, but the longer your target audience is exposed to your ad, the better. Viewers generally need to see an ad at least more than once for it to by impactful and the more consistently the customers view an ad, the more reliable the business appears. Take advantage of DECM’s long term contracts of up to 36 months (with rate protection) to guarantee your message gets out consistently to your target audience.
MISSTEP #4: TOO LARGE AN AUDIENCE
- Advertising dollars can go to waste when you throw money at too large of an audience. Evidence shows, that targeted advertising has the best return on investment. As Paul Suggett at thebalancecareers.com says, “Advertising to everyone is advertising to no-one.” [29] DECM offers local, micro-targeted, advertising to customers that are in your community, looking for your services. When your ad is in a trusted, local DECM publication, it also fosters word-of-mouth, building trust.
MISSTEP #5: IGNORING COMPETITORS
- Know what your competitors are doing! Look at advertising for other businesses in your industry and look for ways to differentiate your product or service. Find a niche that you fulfill and convey it to your customers in your ad to make yourself stand out. Jonathan Herrik from hatchbuck.com explains “You need a solid reason that’s easy to explain and gives people an obvious reason to do business with you instead of your competitors. [30] Stand out by locking out your competitors with a Professional Spotlight in DECM magazines and give yourself the added bonus of content marketing to explain why YOU are the best in your industry!
[28] Sgallant. The 5 Most Common Mistakes in Advertising. https://gallantmedia.ca/the-5-most-common-mistakes-in-advertising/
[29] Suggett, Paul. 5 Common Advertising Mistakes Made By Small Businesses. https://www.thebalancecareers.com/common-advertising-small-business-mistakes-4142640
[30] Herrik. Jonathan. The 8 Disastrous Small Business Marketing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them. https://www.hatchbuck.com/blog/8-common-small-business-marketing-mistakes/