Advertising

What Works Better Than Advertising?

Charlie Cook

Is advertising the best way to generate more leads and sales and grow your business?

You might be surprised to know that in most cases, the answer is NO. You could generate ten times the business you’d gain through advertising by using the three marketing strategies detailed below.

Yes, advertising should be part of your overall marketing strategy, but don’t make it the centerpiece of your strategy when there are more effective – and more cost effective – ways to generate leads and sales.

What are the limitations of advertising?

Advertising is expensive –

The high cost of advertising can sink a new business before it has a chance take off. TV ads can cost millions, print ads in magazines with national reach like Fortune or Forbes cost tens of thousands, and radio spots can run you thousands of dollars. Even a micro, pay-per-click ad in Google can cost four to five dollars per click, depending on your keywords.

Advertising disappoints –

Ever run an ad and get only a handful of leads and even fewer sales? Many small businesses spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on ads that don’t pay off in increased sales – or just barely do. Has this ever happened to you?

Advertising doesn’t get noticed –

The average American is exposed to thousands of marketing messages every single day. Advertisers compete harder and harder to get our attention, with more ads in more places every year. The result of this increasing abundance of advertising is that it’s harder and harder to get people to pay attention and respond to your ad.

Advertising isn’t believable –

Not only is your audience saturated with ads and information, they’re sophisticated and skeptical. Most people dismiss the claims made in ads. Even if your ad is completely factual, your prospects’ tendency is to not trust it.

Advertising is touted as the miracle pill for growing your business. You pull out your checkbook or max out your credit card and pay for your ad campaign. But for many small businesses, the results rarely justify the cost.

Don’t get me wrong, advertising can work, if you know when and how to use it but there are better ways to generate leads and sales that you should be focused on first, before you turn to advertising.

Discover exactly how to grow your business with the 5 fundamental strategies you need to take your business to the next level. Use this link to claim your copy >>

What works better than advertising to grow your business? Here are three strategies you’d be nuts not to use:

1. Give Away Something For Free

People love getting something they want and need for free. I use a free 20 page marketing guide. Financial planners give away free seminars. Pfizer gives away free samples of drugs to doctors and some auto dealers give away travel certificates to motivate prospects to visit their showrooms.

Business Week ran an article on March 12th about Chipotle’s successful give-to-get marketing strategy. The fast food restaurant chain has handed out tens of thousands of free burritos and tacos as way of building a loyal clientele. In just one day Chipotle gave away 6,000 burritos when they opened a mid-town location in Manhattan.

This customer-satisfying strategy cost them $35,000, just about the same amount they would have spent for a half page black and white ad in the New York Times.

Let your prospects sample your ideas or your products. It’s the fastest way to help people understand the value of what you provide, to trust you and to want to do business with you. Chipotle has leveraged this strategy to become one of the fastest growing restaurant chains in the country. Imagine what this marketing strategy could do for you!

2. Get Free Publicity

When your prospects read an ad you wrote, they tend not believe it. When they read an article by you in a magazine or newsletter that is published and distributed by a third party, you have instant credibility. Write and distribute your articles widely and people will see you as the expert to turn to.

3. Use Email To Build Profitable Relationships

Once you have a lead, write and send series of emails that give your prospects information they can use. Demonstrate the value of your products and services. This simple strategy can convert a high percentage of prospects to new clients within one or two weeks.

I’m not suggesting that you stop advertising altogether. But use advertising as a supplement to the three business building strategies above, not as the mainstay of your marketing. Here’s why:

Spend $12,000 on advertising online, and if it works perfectly, you could generate up to 2,400 leads and convert those to 1,000 sales. Spend the same amount implementing the three strategies outlined above, and you could generate ten times the business; that’s 24,000 leads and 10,000 sales.

Ready to discover what really works to generate leads and sales online? Like you, I hate to waste money. I’ve detailed the fastest and lowest cost ways for you to make your business a success on the Internet. Use this link to claim your copy >>


What Works Better Than Advertising in Small Business Marketing?

Charlie Cook

Is advertising the best way to generate more leads and sales and grow your business?

You might be surprised to know that in most cases, the answer is NO. You could generate ten times the business you’d gain through advertising by using the three small business marketing strategies detailed below.

Yes, advertising should be part of your overall marketing strategy, but don’t make it the centerpiece of your strategy when there are more effective – and more cost effective – ways to generate leads and sales.

What are the limitations of advertising in small business marketing?

Advertising is expensive – The high cost of advertising can sink a new business before it has a chance take off. TV ads can cost millions, print ads in magazines with national reach like Fortune or Forbes cost tens of thousands, and radio spots can run you thousands of dollars. Even a micro, pay-per-click ad in Google can cost four to five dollars per click, depending on your keywords.

Advertising disappoints – Ever run an ad and get only a handful of leads and even fewer sales? Many small businesses spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on ads that don’t pay off in increased sales – or just barely do. Has this ever happened to you?

Advertising doesn’t get noticed – The average American is exposed to thousands of marketing messages every single day. Advertisers compete harder and harder to get our attention, with more ads in more places every year. The result of this increasing abundance of advertising is that it’s harder and harder to get people to pay attention and respond to your ad.

Advertising isn’t believable – Not only is your audience saturated with ads and information, they’re sophisticated and skeptical. Most people dismiss the claims made in ads. Even if your ad is completely factual, your prospects’ tendency is to not trust it.

Advertising is touted as the miracle pill for growing your business. You pull out your checkbook or max out your credit card and pay for your ad campaign. But for many small businesses, the results rarely justify the cost.

Don’t get me wrong, advertising can work, if you know when and how to use it but there are better ways to generate leads and sales that you should be focused on first, before you turn to advertising.

Discover exactly how to grow your business >>

What works better than advertising to grow your business? Here are three strategies you’d be nuts not to use:

1. Give Away Something For Free
People love getting something they want and need for free. I use a free 20 page marketing guide. Financial planners give away free seminars. Pfizer gives away free samples of drugs to doctors and some auto dealers give away travel certificates to motivate prospects to visit their showrooms.

Business Week ran an article on March 12th about Chipotle’s successful give-to-get marketing strategy. The fast food restaurant chain has handed out tens of thousands of free burritos and tacos as way of building a loyal clientele. In just one day Chipotle gave away 6,000 burritos when they opened a mid-town location in Manhattan.

This customer-satisfying strategy cost them $35,000, just about the same amount they would have spent for a half page black and white ad in the New York Times.

Let your prospects sample your ideas or your products. It’s the fastest way to help people understand the value of what you provide, to trust you and to want to do business with you. Chipotle has leveraged this strategy to become one of the fastest growing restaurant chains in the country. Imagine what this marketing strategy could do for you!

2. Get Free Publicity
When your prospects read an ad you wrote, they tend not believe it. When they read an article by you in a magazine or newsletter that is published and distributed by a third party, you have instant credibility. Write and distribute your articles widely and people will see you as the expert to turn to.

3. Use Email To Build Profitable Relationships
Once you have a lead, write and send series of emails that give your prospects information they can use. Demonstrate the value of your products and services. This simple strategy can convert a high percentage of prospects to new clients within one or two weeks.

I’m not suggesting that you stop advertising altogether. But use advertising as a supplement to the three small business marketing business strategies above, not as the mainstay of your marketing. Here’s why:

Spend $12,000 on advertising online, and if it works perfectly, you could generate up to 2,400 leads and convert those to 1,000 sales. Spend the same amount implementing the three strategies outlined above, and you could generate ten times the business; that’s 24,000 leads and 10,000 sales.

Discover what really works to generate leads and sales online? Get started now >>


The 8 Most Common Advertising and Small Business Marketing Mistakes

Charlie Cook

Advertising can be one of the fastest ways to market and grow your business or it can be one of the quickest ways to go out of business. With the right ad you can attract clients to your business and increase your profits. With the wrong ad you can spend your way into bankruptcy.

To grow your business you need to attract the attention of your prospects, advertising can help you do so if used correctly. Unfortunately, many small businesses owners waste thousands of dollars on advertising efforts that only achieve minimal results.

If you want to get the most from the money you spend to promote your products and services, make sure to avoid these common mistakes.

Focusing on Your Products and Services
If you want to get the attention of your prospects, speak to their needs and wants. Your prospects’ primary concern isn’t that you’ve been in business for 25 years; it is do you know the problem they want to solve. Use your ad to identify at least one common problem of your prospects and the benefit of using your product or service.

Having a Weak Small Business Marketing Message
All to often you hear ads and it takes some thought to figure out what they are even promoting. Make sure your advertisement includes a 7-10 word description of whom you serve and the problems you solve so people who read or hear your ad know how you can help them.

Discover how to find the right words to explain exactly how you help prospects. With a brilliant marketing message you’ll attract more clients right away.

Using the Wrong Words
A word here, a phrase there can change your response rate by hundreds of percent. When you spend money on advertising, first test a number of versions of your copy to identify the one that works best. Just by revising her ad copy so it was client and problem centered, I helped one small business owner achieve her best month in sales ever.

Missing Motivation
Most ads miss the mark in moving prospects to action. If you want to prompt prospects to visit your web site or your store or to contact you, include an offer that motivates them to do so.

Lacking in Frequency
Some people make spur of the moment buying decisions, but most need to become familiar with your services and products, and this takes time. If you want your advertising to work, you need to ensure that your prospects see or hear it regularly.

Web Sites that Don’t Move Prospects to Action
Many small business owners direct prospects to a web site where they have more extensive content covering available services and products. I constantly get calls from people who have been successful at attracting prospects to their web site, but generate few sales.

Once prospects get to your web site make sure the content and visual organization moves them to take the action you want them to. Whether it is providing them with ample opportunities to fill in your service inquiry form, or including a subset of your product catalog in your web page navigation bars, help prospects move to client and customer status.

Lack of Follow Up
Sometimes making a sale requires sending a note or picking up the phone and calling your prospects. If you have an effective lead generation strategy, prospects will provide you with their contact information and the problem they want solved. Use the web, email, and the phone to follow up and close the sale.

Discover how to position yourself and your business for success >>

Discover how you can use your articles to establish yourself as an expert and increase credibility >>

Lack of Tracking
If you are making more from your advertising than you are spending, you’re ahead. Frequently small business owners can’t tell you which of their efforts helped bring in the business. Track each of your ad campaigns and you’ll know where to spend your money in the future, what to modify and what to eliminate.

– Do you know how many sales and how much money you made as a result of each of your advertising campaigns?

– Are you making any of the above common small business marketing mistakes?

– What elements of your small business marketing should you change?

Put your marketing house in order. Fix your strategy and your materials. If you don’t know what to change or how to change it, use experts to help you with strategy, copyrighting, design, PR, and media placement.

Avoid these common marketing mistakes and you’ll find more people contacting you about your products and services and that your making more than your spending on your advertising.

Discover how to find the right words to explain exactly how you help prospects. With a brilliant elevator speech you’ll attract more clients right away. Use the ’15 Second Marketing’ guide to create more business opportunities.


Small Business Advertising Ideas & Tips

Charlie Cook