Advertising is about communication, so it’s important to use language your customers clearly understand.
Advertising is essential to business growth. In fact, it’s one of your most powerful tools for generating customers, increasing sales and establishing credibility and name recognition in your industry. Regardless of which advertising medium you use, follow these key steps to make the most of your budget and achieve the highest degree of success.
Determine Your Target Audience
Before you decide what you’re going to say, find out who’s going to hear it. Clearly define your customers. Identify their demographics and media consumption habits to determine which advertising medium will best reach them. Do they prefer industry and trade magazines or local print media?
Set Your Objectives
Why are you advertising? Are you attracting new customers? Launching something new? Maybe you’re establishing your company’s brand or countering the efforts of a competitor. Wherever you’re headed, make sure your advertising efforts lead you in that direction. Your objectives will determine how your copy is written and the overall look and feel of your advertising.
Maintain Your Brand
The most important part of effective branding is consistency. Whether it’s your company colors, the font used in your display ads or the dimensions of your logo, always maintain your brand standards. By using your company’s familiar look and feel, your ads will be much more recognizable to your audience.
Position Your Product or Service
How do you want customers to see you? If your business offers new, innovative services, your ads should reflect that. If you’re the established market leader, make sure customers know it.
Speak to Your Customers
Advertising is about communication, so it’s important to use language your customers clearly understand. If your product or service is highly technical and you are trying to reach the average Joe, use simple language.
Sell Your Benefits
The consumer sees your product or service in two aspects: what it can do for them (benefits) and how it does it (features). Sell your benefits first, and use your features to back them up.
Be informative
People want to learn. Use your advertisement as an informational tool. Let them know why they need your product or service, always selling your competitive advantages.
Get to the Point
Make sure the intentions of your ad are clearly stated. Customers can’t react to an advertisement without knowing what action is expected.