OK, let's talk about small business advertising.

Well, as those of you who deal with us may know, I'm not a huge fan of small-business advertising. Partly because of its 'hit or miss' nature and partly because it's often gone in a flash. It's mainly guess-work on the part of the advertiser, and in my experience commonly represents the biggest waste of your SME's marketing spend.

By that I mean, some firms 'design' an advert, then just sticks it in week after week or whatever, and that's it - accepting the cost and rarely measuring the results. What a waste! Also, it's almost always standard Response Advertising, the least effective kind, so who's to know? (there is another way!). And the Ad Sales people are very good at convincing you to advertise, and have the perfect set of responses for when it doesn't work! Like 'Give it more time' ' Place a bigger advert' or 'Go in more publications and extend your reach' blah blah... and they're generally highly-trained and very good at it - so don't feel bad to have been taken in! We've all had the 'normally this would be £550, but as it's last minute it's yours for £295..' call.

Anyway. it CAN and does work for some of course, I'm not saying always pull the plug.  I'm saying if you are going to do it, get proper advice (just changing to a better headline can increase chances by response-rates 30%+) and whatever you decide, don't leave the design and copywriting to the papers free design studio! Then, most importantly, test, test and test again. The test some more. If you KNOW it works, do more: if it's not working at least you'll know, and you can stop and regroup - and maybe look at other marketing options.  SME ads are normally so badly done, and so disproportionately expensive, it seems mad not to absolutely maximise your chances of success. There are golden, proven rules to follow.

Below are some of the reasons why Adverts fail; so if you insist on doing advertising yourselves, avoid the following...

ADVERTISING PITFALLS

Top 10 Reasons Why Adverts Fail!

1. Using an inappropriate image which does not clearly show, explain or visibly enhance the product / service being offered.

2. Not emphasising the unique selling points (USP’s).

3. Too much reach and not enough frequency.  Effective advertising ensures that a significant majority of the target audience see the advert an appropriate number of times.

4. Too much copy. Filling it with clutter that will drown out your message.

5. Selling the features of what is being offered, rather than the benefits.

6. The business owner does not necessarily know best! (Owner/Director Syndrome). Too much product knowledge or even passion, does not allow the product to be viewed afresh - and often results in adverts that are too feature-rich.

7. Giving up on an advertising campaign too soon, before it has had a chance to work. Avoid the expectation / quest for instant gratification and results.

8. Choosing the wrong publicity media. What performs for one business or service does not always work for others.

9. Changing your copy too frequently, diluting your message and central value to the reader.

10. Too much priority on selective targeting. When done properly, high coverage and frequency tends to yield better results.

Want it done right? You know who to contact!