|
|
The Guide |
Photos |
Videos |
Columns |
Calendar
|
|
I feel that the single most important aspect of an effective advertising campaign is planning. You have to know what you want to promote, to whom you want to promote, how you want to promote it and when you want to promote it. Other factors to consider are budget, time and the return on investment.
We all know that one angry customer will tell everyone they see how awful their experience was. We should also know that one happy customer will only tell one or two people about their experience. This means we have to work extra hard to make sure every client is happy.
How can you get more word of mouth advertising? First, make sure your customers are happy. Second, ask your customers to tell their friends. Every time we receive a compliment from a customer we say something to the effect of "Thank you! We try very hard to make sure every client is happy. Don't forget to tell your friends about us!" They almost always respond with "Oh, I will" or "I already have". Third, get other businesses talking about you. There is no better referral than one that comes from a business. In the mind of the public, a referral from another business instills a sense of trust and dependability. This can be achieved several ways such as networking, chamber events, corporate clients, etc.
Effectiveness can be defined as how much business you generate from your website. I had a conversation with Michael Clay not to long ago and I credit him with this revelation! I am in no way qualified to give advice on how to build an effective website, but I would like to pass on a piece of advice I learned from Michael. He told me that there are people out there who can design a really great site. The site may look fantastic, but will not be effective because no one can find it. They don't know how to market the site with proper key words and tags and a bunch of other technical jargon I don't fully understand! He also said that there are people out there who know how to do all the technical stuff that needs to be done before your site will come up in appropriate organic internet searches.but they may not be so good at the design portion. It is rare that you will find one person who can do both well. My point being, take a look at your website. Better yet, have a professional take a look at your website and determine if it truly is effective, then be prepared to do what it takes to correct any problems your site may have.
Once you have a website be sure to put your web address on everything. Include it on your business cards and marketing materials, signs, shirts, your vehicle, and anywhere else you can think of. When potential clients see that you have a website, it helps them realize they are dealing with a professional. They like the idea that they can review your information on their computer in the comfort of their own home or wherever and whenever it is convenient for them. Even if they don't remember your web address, it will let them know you have a website and they may search for it online themselves. This is where it is important to have an effective website so it is easy for them to find you.
My current marketing plan is this.customers don't have to remember my name, they only have to remember that there is a balloon lady or party store or decorator in Delphos, Ohio. 99% of my customers are from the tri-county area and they all know where Delphos is. My intention is that they will do an internet search for "balloons, Delphos, OH" because they remember there is a balloon lady in Delphos. When you Google those key words, my site is always the very first listing on the page. I also rank very high when surrounding communities are searched with those key words. My point is, any other advertising you do should lend itself to making it easy for your customers to find you with an internet search. Because unless they need your product or service when the see or hear your ad, they will not remember your name. However, when the need for your product or service does arise, they may remember there's a place in Delphos that has what they need.
There are also hundreds of directories and wedding and event websites out there that will list your business for free. Many of them will even include a link to your website if you put a reciprocal link on your site. While it is time consuming finding all these places to list your information, I feel it is well worth my time. My business is listed in well over 100 internet directories and sites and at least half of those have a direct link to my website. Just be sure the sites you are listed on are reputable sites that you want to be affiliated with. I highly recommend www.onewed.com, we receive website referrals daily from this listing. The majority of these sites have the option to upgrade to paid listings, but we maintain free listings on all but one local directory.
We also have accounts with several social networking sites such as My Space, Face Book and Twitter. Even though I only update these sites once a month or less, it does on occasion get a response from a potential client. You may find that many of your contacts on these sites are friends or family, but they also have lots of friends that may see your updates. This is like free advertising. Like-wise, a blog is a great addition to any marketing arsenal. I have not yet started a blog, but it is on my "to do" list. For a blog to be effective, you actually have to up date it more than once or twice a year!
We generally do not run ads in any newspapers unless we are promoting a special event such as a grand opening or a big sale. The biggest reason general ads in newspapers are not effective is because we do not have the advertising budget to run multiple ads over a long period of time. These types of ads are only effective if you are consistently on the same page, in the same place for multiple weeks. This type of advertising cannot be done sporadically or it will not be effective.
Bridal tabs can be a very effective form of advertising because it is going directly into the hands of your target market. Likewise, if you are an entertainer, any of the family publications would most likely be effective. The biggest problem we are seeing with the bridal tabs in our area is that there are too many of them. We have about four area newspapers that publish a bridal tab 3-4 times per year. The result is the bridal market is flooded with these publications and due to budget constraints, vendors are forced to pick and choose which publications they can afford to advertise in. Our solution has been to advertise in only the first publication of the year for each newspaper. This seems to be the best time of year to reach the most brides. This is typically when most bridal fairs take place and the brides seem to be trained to do their planning in the beginning of the year.
This concludes this installment of Marketing & Advertising. Next time I will be writing about marketing materials, bridal fairs, trade shows and networking.
Tammy Corzine
Celebrations
Delphos, OH
419-695-4455
www.CelebrationsOhio.com
celebrate@CelebrationsOhio.com
