How To Do Market Research?

How To Do Market Research?

You probably do some market research every day in the course of your routine management activities without being aware of it. You check returned items to see if there's some pattern. You ask one of your old customers, who has stopped coming to your shop, why he hasn't been in lately when you run into him on the street. You look at a competitor's ad to see what that store is charging for the same products you're selling. The internet brings a significant amount of secondary research as well as allowing primary research on your website. How to do market research starts with knowing your benefits to customers and then using the internet and marketing techniques to understand how the customer sees your benefits in regard to the competition.

Marketing research simply makes this process more orderly. It provides a framework that lets you objectively judge the meaning of the information you gather about your market. The following flow chart shows the steps in the marketing research process:

Define problem (limit and state clearly)

Assess available information

Assess additional information, if required:

1.review internal records and files

2.Interview employees

3.Consult secondary sources of information (Internet and the library)

4.Interview customers and suppliers

5.Collect (or have collected) primary data

• Organize and interpret data
• Make decision
• Watch the results of the decision

Defining the Problem

This, the first step of the research process, is so obvious that it is often overlooked. Yet, it is the most important step of the process.

You must be able to see beyond the symptoms of a problem to get at the cause. Seeing the problem as a "sales decline" is not defining a cause; it's listing a symptom.

In defining your problem list every possible influence that may have caused it. Has there been a change in the areas your customers have traditionally come from? Have their tastes changed? Put all the possible caused down. Then set aside any that you don't think can be measured, since you won't be able to take any action on them.

You must establish an idea of the problem with causes that can be objectively measured and tested. Put your idea of the causes in writing. Look at it frequently while you're gathering your facts to keep on track, but don't let it get in the way of facts, either. (Incidentally, while this Guide speaks of "problems," the same techniques can be used to investigate potential opportunities too.)

Assessing Available Information

Once you've formally defined your problem, you should assess your ability to solve it immediately. You may already have all the information you need to determine if your hypothesis is correct, and solutions to the problem may have become obvious in the process of defining it. Stop there. You'll only be wasting your time and money if you do further marketing research.

What if you aren't sure whether or not you need additional information at this point? What if you'd feel more comfortable with additional data? Here, you've got to make a subjective judgment to weigh the cost of more information against its usefulness.

You're up against a dilemma similar to guessing in advance your return on your advertising dollar. You don't know what return you'll get, or even if you'll get a return. The best you can do is ask yourself how much making a wrong decision will cost and to balance that against the cost of gathering more data to make a better informed decision.

Gathering Additional Information

Think cheap and stay as close to home as possible. Before considering anything fancy like surveys or field experiments, look at your own records, files, and search the internet. Look at sales records, complaints, receipts, or any other records that can show you where your customers live or work or how and what they buy.

One business owner found that addresses on cash receipts allowed the pinpointing of customers in his market area. with this kind of information he could cross reference his customers' address and the products they purchased. From this information he was able to check the effectiveness of his advertising placement.

Your customer's addresses alone can tell you a lot about them. Obviously you can pretty closely guess your customers' life-styles by knowing what the neighborhoods they live in are like. Knowing how they live can give you solid hints on what they can be expected to buy.

Credit records are an excellent source of information about your markets, too. In addition to the always-valuable addresses of real live customers, they give you information about customers' jobs, income levels, marital status. Granting credit, so it can be seen, is a multi-faceted marketing tool - though one with well-known costs and risks.

When you've finished checking through your records, go to that other valuable internal source of customer information - your employees. Employees may be the best source of information about customer likes and dislikes. They hear customers' minor gripes about your store or service - the ones the customers don't think important enough to take to you owner-manager. They are also aware of the items customers request that you may not stock. Employees can probably also give you pretty good seat-of-pants customers profile from their day-to-day contacts.

Going Outside for Marketing Research Data

Once you've exhausted the best sources for information about your market, your internal data, where do you go? Well, the next steps in the process are to do primary and secondary research on the outside.



Secondary research first.

Naturally, since it's called secondary research, you do it before you undertake any primary research. Secondary research simply involves going to already published surveys, books, magazines and the like and applying or rearranging the information in them to bear on your particular problem or potential opportunity. Treat all internet data except that you collect from your website as secondary data.

For example, say you sell tires. You might reasonably guess that sales of new cars three years ago would have a strong effect on present retail sales of tires. To test this idea you might compare new car sales of six years ago with the replacement tires sales from three years ago.

Suppose you found that new tire sales three years ago were 10 percent of the new car sales three years previous to that. Repeating this exercise with car sales five years ago and so on, you might find that in each case tire sales were about 10 percent of the new car sales made three years before. You could logically conclude that the total market for replacement tire sales in your area this year ought to be about 10 percent of the new car sales in your locality three years ago.

Naturally, the more localized the figures you can find the better. While, for instance, there may be a decline nationally in new housing starts, if you sell new appliances in an area where new housing is booming, you obviously would want to base your estimate of market potential on local condition. Newspapers and local radio and TV stations may be able to help you find this information.

There are many sources of such secondary research material (while the internet is great, so information is NOT on the internet, so check other souces). You can find it in libraries, universities and colleges, trade and general business publications, and newspapers. Trade associations and government agencies are rich sources of information.

Primary research, the last step.

Primary research on the outside can be as simple as your asking customers or suppliers how they feel about your store or service firm or as complex as the surveys done by the sophisticated professional marketing research giants. It includes among its tools direct mail questionnaires, telephone or "on the street" surveys, experiments, panel studies, test marketing, behavior observation, and the like.

Primary research is often divided into "reactive" and "nonreactive" research. The "peanut shell study" at the beginning of this Guide is an example of nonreactive primary research: it was a way of seeing how real people behaved in a real "market situation" (in this case how they moved through the store and which displays attracted their attention) without influencing that behavior even accidentally.

Reactive research (surveys, interviews, questionnaires) is probably what most people think of when they hear the word "marketing research." It's the kind best left to the experts, since you may not know the right questions to ask. There's also the danger that either people won't want to hurt your feelings when you ask them their opinions about your business or they'll answer questions the way they think they are "expected" to answer, rather than the way they really feel. If you feel you can't afford high-priced marketing research services, ask nearby college or university business schools for help.

What is Marketing Research?

Basically, marketing research is understanding your potential and actual customers. Find out what catches customers' attention by observing their actions and drawing conclusions from what you see. To put it more formally, in the words of the American Marketing Association, marketing research is "the systematic gathering, recording, and analyzing of data about problems relating to the marketing of goods and services."



Marketing research is an organized way of finding objective answers to questions every business must answer to succeed. Every business owner-manager must ask:

• Who are my customers and potential customers?
• What kind of people are they?
• Can and will they buy?
• Am I offering the kinds of goods or services they want - at the best place, at the best time, and in the right amounts?
• Are my prices consistent with what buyers view as the products' values?
• Are my promotional programs working?
• What do customers think of my business?
• How does my business compare with my competitors?

Marketing research is not a perfect science; it deals with people and their constantly changing likes and dislikes which can be affected by hundreds of influences, many of which simply can't be identified. Marketing research does, however, try to learn about markets scientifically. That simply, is to gather facts in an orderly, objective way; to find out how things are, not how you think they are or would like them to be; what people want to buy, not just what you want to sell them.

Why Do It?

It's tough - impossible - to sell people what they don't want. (Remember the Nehru jacket?) That's pretty obvious. Just as obvious is the fact that nothing could be simpler than selling people what they do want. Big business has to do market research to find that out. The same reason holds for small business.



Business owners often have a "feel" for their customers - their markets - that comes from years of experience. Experience can be a two-edged sword, though, since it comprises a tremendous mass of facts acquired at random over a number of years. Information about markets gained from long experience may no longer be timely enough to base selling decisions on. In addition, some "facts" may be vague, misleading impressions or folk tales of the "everybody knows that..." variety.



Marketing research focuses and organized marketing information. It ensures that such information is timely. It provides what you need to:

• Reduce business risks,
• Spot problems and potential problems in your current market,
• Identify and profit from sales opportunities,
• Get basic facts about your market to help you make better decisions and set up plans of action.

Advertising and Selling mix depends on Channels

It is axiomatic that as channels lengthen, the need for advertising to the end user increases and personal selling effort declines. Thus, long channels and heavier advertising effort are inseparable. Or, it may be said that since product sales effort (or quality of communication) decreases as the channel lengthens, the firm's need for direct communication with the end user increases accordingly, for the personal sales effort is diluted by local and personal economic interests and distractions.



Decisions regarding channels, sales talents required, and advertising effort are dependent on the requirements and demands of the purchaser for technical information, display and merchandising aid, and the amount of money involved in the typical transaction. The results are these, simply stated: highly complex and big ticket items are sold (and serviced) directly by a sales engineer while standard low priced goods purchased in small quantities go through longer channels and are "sold" by a good-will builder, an order-taker. The selling is actually "preselling" which is done by advertising.



Planning the Persuasion System-The Sales Promotion Mix

The sales promotion mix should be based on the following considerations:



Be realistic in terms of purposes to be achieved.

Respect the effectiveness of advertising, selling, and display separately and in coordination.

Respect all parties of interest, including middlemen and salesmen.

Involve all marketing management personnel, permitting early participation.

Permit a general plan which can be tentatively approved before final details and cost are determined.

Permit individual and group judgment to be employed in conjunction with quantitative techniques.



The following steps are needed to create a sales promotional distribution effort. This pattern can be based as much on judgment as experience will permit and can utilize modern models and systems methods as desired.



1. Analyze and determine customer attitudes, company and product "image." Consider company age, stage of product life cycle, channels of distribution.



2. Review customer buying motives, desires of middlemen, salesmen, all parties involved, as customer-users or participants.



3. Establish resulting objectives, purposes of "persuasion system," and parties to be influenced, including middlemen.



4. Summarize attitudes to be developed or created by the program or system (with no indication at this point as to which promotional medium is expected to achieve each purpose).



5. Rate the product as to its technical complexity and amount of typical sale; determine approximate balance of advertising, selling, and display required.



6. Outline the purposes of advertising (and possibly display) in terms of objectives to be achieved by each medium for each participant or group.



7. Outline the purposes of personal selling in terms of objectives to be achieved by each salesman (or type of salesman).



8. Draw up general recommendations, including probable effectiveness of advertising, selling, display.



9. Develop reasonably reliable estimates of costs of advertising, by types, media, time period, purpose.



10. Same, personal selling. Define the salesman's job.



11. Same, display.



12. Review marketing department organization, in terms of its appropriateness for general plan.



13. Review general program with participants and with parties influencing budget.



14. Draw up program in detail, present it for final general approval.



During the training period, it would be an excellent idea to see that all salesmen are grounded in the details and objectives of the marketing plan. Additionally, the role of the salesman in making the plan work should be emphasized

Appraising Market Potential and Planning for a Product

1. Performance of the product. What will it do? With what result? What particular features, advantages does it have? Appraising Market Potential and Planning for a Product should be done every six months in todays business environment.

2. Uses. In what situations can it be used? Applications? What problems will it solve? In other words, how can this performance be utilized?

3. Users. Who has those situations and problems? What kinds of firms, products (and who are their users)? Are they our present customers? Many or few users?

4. Buying motives. What is user buying? Low cost? Employee safety? Fast production? Dependability? Flexibility? Convenience? Personal self-expression?

5. History. Has a product like this been attempted? If any failures, what were the reasons for them? Do those reasons still exist?

6. Buying habits. How often would users buy this product? In what quantities would they buy? Is it a seasonal item?

7. Price. Can we make it and sell it at a profit? Are material costs reasonable, competitive, in quantities necessary? Can we afford the marketing costs?

8. Location. Where are the people who could use the product? Are they concentrated or scattered?

9. Numbers. How many possible users are there? How are they sorted by types of users?

10. Channels. How do we get the product to these people? Are our present channels adequate? How about discount schedule for any middleman? Can it be attractive?

11. Sales facilities. Can our present salesmen sell this item? Is our present sales organization suitable? Would special training be necessary for our salesmen? Dealers?

12. Advertising. Can it be advertised along with our present lines? How much "education" would be necessary? (Consumer acceptance of the idea as well as the product.)

13. Packaging, transportation. Is there any packaging and shipping problem, in terms of breakage, spoilage, storage, freight rates?

14. Outlets. Would our present dealers accept it? Could their salesmen sell it? How much missionary work necessary? Exclusive dealerships? Any credit problems?

15. Service. Will service facilities be required? What channels of handling such service are necessary? Can our outlets handle such service?

16. Competition. What quality, performance, price shall we produce? What similar products are now on the market? How are they selling? What new items, substitutes are on the way? How about patents, other legal restrictions?

17. Long-run considerations. Will this be an item with a long future vs. hit-and-run? Will it give us prestige and good will? Could we add related items to advantage?

Management Needs Answers to plan

Management Needs Answers to plan

Assignment, delegation, and responsibility are created as plans are made. As the plan progresses, "questions will be asked." These should be answerable if a sound control method has been built into the program:



1. Who are the profitable customers, where are they? If this is known, then how unprofitable are the losers, and why?



2. Which kinds of jobs are the profitable ones - by process, customer type, purpose? Which are the unprofitable and why?



3. How are our prices as compared with our competitors? What kinds of jobs have we been low bidders on, what kinds have we lost?



4. How many of our customers are in declining industries? How are sales to "old reliable" holding up? Are there any likely newcomers we ought to see more of?



5. How well are our salesmen covering the line? Are any of them becoming product specialists at our expense? Are they calling on all customers?



6. our salesmen seeing the right people when they call? Who are the right people? Do we have this information on record?



7. Have we any group of customers who appear to give us only their low-profit business? Can we do anything about this?



8. Are our customers classified as to (a) importance to us (b) potential volume (c) profitability? Are we playing the winners in salesmen's call frequencies?



9. Are we providing any services that our customers particularly like? Are we providing any that are unnecessary, costly but not desirable?



10. How effective is our advertising and public relations program? What kind of corporate image do we have? What kinds of work does the public associate us with?



11. How do salesmen rank as to profitability of business brought in? Have we any unprofitable salesmen? Let's see what our most profitable man is selling, and to whom.



12. How can we save salesmen's time? What kinds of detail can we relieve them of, profitably? What kinds of selling can be done by phone or mail?

Creating the Marketing Mix

Every business problem has alternative solutions else decisions would be unnecessary. The criteria for such decisions must be based on objectives - aspects affecting volume, profits, service and growth. Every business decision including creating the marketing mix must be based on whatever facts are available or can be assembled - the more the better so long as manageable.

Questions may be developed to organize facts to cover marketing decisions. Such questions, when answered properly, would create the most logical "marketing mix." Thus all of the functions of marketing would be performed in maximum coordination as the modern concept of marketing management demands. The implementation of these components into an operable mechanism is a matter of delegation, management, and administration.

To emphasize the need for review and check-off of all marketing functions, and to insure full coverage in the marketing program, 17 questions are presented which a manufacturer might well ask his staff when reviewing in detail prospects for a product, particularly a new one. While many will call for clearly factual, even statistical data, others can be answered readily from observation and experience.

Most failures in marketing can be attributed to executive oversight, neglect, or lack of facts with respect to answering these questions. Hence, their importance cannot be overemphasized.

A marketing plan consists of a total volume goal broken down (at least) by products, customer types, areas, and time periods. That is, how much of each product is to be sold to each type of customer in each territory over each month or quarter? How much profit is each to produce?

The results of such planning create the salesman's budget or quota, his responsibilities over the time period selected, and a basis for his appraisal and control and for his compensation. It is essential to the salesman's performance that he understand these procedures and provisions. Therefore, they must be included in his training.

In summary, good business organization calls for management to:

•Establish the business goal
•Analyze the market potential
•Plan a marketing program to get the job done
•Organize manpower, equipment, capital
•Train people to execute assignments
•Execute-administrate the program
•Control it - goals, budgets, performance as planned

Thus the "marketing mix" is developed and the selling and sales promotion job defined. Only then can we question and measure the performance of those responsible.

Marketing as a Profit Center

Marketing as a Profit Center

 

Marketing involves many activities including selling; but it is many things more than selling. Transportation, storage, credit, packaging, and even buying are marketing activities. Sound marketing management consists of seeing to it that all marketing activities (transportation and warehousing as well as selling and advertising) are also effectively and efficiently performed, in harmony toward the common goal of profit.

 

Historically, we have produced in order to be able to sell. Now, we market - have a marketing organization - in order that we may justify production. When the typical (or average) consumer product (food, clothing, autos, appliances) is purchased, more than half of its price pays for its marketing, only half or less goes to production, manufacturing.

 

Until recently, our methods of production were generally more efficient than our methods of marketing. Currently, greater strides are taking place in marketing than manufacturing. Yet there is still more room for improvement in marketing than in manufacturing.

 

Today, the production costs of different firms are more likely to be competitive than their marketing costs. Assuming that the firm's production costs are competitive, the question of profit lies in efficient marketing. No firm can succeed if (1) its production costs are excessive or (2) its marketing program is less efficient than that of its competitors.

 

Production should thus provide marketing with a product that is cost-competitive and can be priced and sold at a profit. It is then up to marketing to bring about these sales with maximum efficiency. Thus, marketing management becomes a center responsible for the production of profit.

 

"Profit" does not accrue until the goods are sold, delivered, and paid for. Hence, if production costs tend to be almost identical and the price competition is keen, the question of profit lies almost entirely in relative marketing efficiency as between producers. If "marketing" encompasses all activities beyond production and if profit losses can occur in any phase of distribution, then it is marketing efficiency that makes or breaks profits.

SPECIALTY ADVERTISING

SPECIALTY ADVERTISING
"Giveaways" -- the pencils, pens, buttons, calendars and refrigerator magnets you see everyday -- are called "Specialty Advertising" in the advertising business.
Chances are, you have some specialty advertising items right at your desk.  Businesses imprint their name on items and give them away (or sometimes sell them at very low cost) in order that:
You notice their name enough times on the item to build "top-of-the-mind" awareness.  So when you need a restaurant, for instance, you think of their name first.
You appreciate the goodwill of the company giving you the item and eventually return the favor by giving them some business.
These are both long-term advertising investments that can take months or years to turn into actual sales.
First, select the best item that would tell your story most effectively.  While an accountant can give away an inexpensive calculator, the same item may not be ideal for a hairdresser.  A comb or brush might be more appropriate in that case.
Second, decide what you are going to say on the item.  A company slogan?  Address directions?  Since you have a relatively small area, you must be very concise and direct.
Third, figure out your method of distribution.  Are you going to send them to each customer through the mail?  If so, how much will that cost?  Will you have them in a big bowl that says "take one"?  Distribution is just as important to consider as buying the item.
Just as there are many reputable specialty advertising professionals in your area, the industry is notorious with a lot of high-pressure telephone and mail solicitors who often give specialty advertising a bad name.  Don't buy specialty advertising through the mail without checking the quality and prices with trusted local representatives first.  And, buying specialty advertising over the telephone is not recommended at all.
Specialty advertising is a unique way to generate goodwill and put your name on items that people remember.  But don't do it unless you have an item and distribution plan that will benefit your business.

OUTDOOR ADVERTISING

OUTDOOR ADVERTISING

When people think of Outdoor Advertising, they usually think of the colorful billboards along our streets and highways. Included in the "outdoor advertising" classification, however, are benches, posters, signs and transit advertising (the advertising on buses, subways, taxicabs and trains). They are all share similar advertising rules and methods.

Outdoor advertising reaches its audience as an element of the environment. Unlike newspaper, radio or TV, it doesn't have to be invited into the home. And it doesn't provide entertainment to sustain its audience.

Some Outdoor Advantages

Since it is in the public domain, Outdoor Advertising assuredly reaches its audience. People can't "switch it off" or "throw it out." People are exposed to it whether they like it or not. In this sense, outdoor advertising truly has a "captured audience."

It's messages work on the advertising principle of "frequency." Since most messages stay in the same place for a period of a month or more, people who drive by or walk past see the same message a number of times.

Particular locations can be acquired for certain purposes. A billboard located a block in front of your business can direct people to your showroom. Or you can reach rural areas efficiently by placing a billboard in each small town.

Outdoor advertising is an excellent adjunct to other types of advertising you are doing. In fact, it is most effective when coupled with other media.


Some Outdoor Disadvantages


Outdoor advertising is a glance medium. At best, it only draws 2-3 seconds of a reader's time.

Messages must be brief to fit in that 2-3 second time frame. Ninety-five percent of the time, either the message or the audience is in motion.

The nature of the way you have to buy outdoor advertising (usually a three month commitment) is not conducive to a very short, weeklong campaign.

When you buy outdoor advertising, remember that location is everything. High traffic areas are ideal. A billboard in an undesirable area will do you little good. Keep your message concise (use only five to seven words) and make it creatively appealing to attract readership. Few words, large illustrations (or photos), bold colors and simple backgrounds will create the most effective outdoor advertising messages.

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Broadcast (network)TELEVISION ADVERTISING

Television is often called "king" of the advertising media, since a majority of people spends more hours watching TV per day than any other medium. It combines the use of sight, color, sound and motion...and it works.  TV has proven its persuasive power in influencing human behavior time and time again. But it's also the "king" of advertising costs.

 

Advantages in Television Advertising

Television reaches very large audiences-audiences that are usually larger than the audience your city's newspaper reaches. The area that a television station's broadcast signal covers is called A.D.I., which stands for "Area of Dominant Influence."

 

Some advantages of television advertising include the following:

 

1. Advertising on television can give a product or service instant validity and prominence.

 

2. You can easily reach the audiences you have targeted by advertising on TV. Children can be reached during cartoon programming, farmers during the morning agricultural reports and housewives during the afternoon soap operas. A special documentary on energy sources for heating homes and business will also attract viewers interested in heating alternatives.

 

3. TV offers the greatest possibility for creative advertising. With a camera, you can take your audience anywhere and show them almost anything.

 

4. Since there are fewer local television stations than radio stations in a given area, each TV audience is divided into much larger segments, which enables you to reach a larger, yet, more diverse audience.

 

Disadvantages in Television Advertising

Because TV has such a larger A.D.I., the stations can charge more for commercials based on the larger number of viewers reached.

 

The cost of television commercial time is based on two variables:

 

1. The number of viewers who watch the program.

2. The time during the day the program airs.

 

One 30 second television commercial during prime time viewing (8 p.m. to 11 p.m.) can cost 10 to 30 times more than one radio spot during drive time (which is considered prime listening time).

 

While the newspaper may cover the city's general metropolitan area, TV may cover a good portion of the state where you live. If such a coverage blankets most of your sales territory, TV advertising may be the best advertising alternative for your business.

 

Producing a commercial is also an important variable to consider. On the whole, television audiences have become more sophisticated and have come to expect quality commercials. A poorly produced commercial could severely limit the effectiveness of your message, and may even create a bad image in your customer's mind.

 

Advertising agencies or TV commercial production facilities are the best organizations for creating a commercial that will be effective for the goods or service you are offering. But the cost of a well-produced commercial is often more expensive than people think. Some TV stations will claim they can put together commercials for "almost nothing." Before agreeing to this, find out what "almost nothing" means. Then, determine if the commercial quality and content they are proposing will represent your firm's image.

 

Many companies use the station's commercial production facilities for creating "tag lines" on pre-produced commercials. Often, the station will help you personalize the spot for little or no cost...if you advertise with them. Remember, more than anything else, when it comes to making a TV commercial, you get what you pay for. And when you're buying commercial time, it makes sense to have the best sales presentation possible.

 

Remember, like radio, the message comes and goes...and that's it. The viewer doesn't see your commercial again unless you buy more placements.

 

Creativity: A Vital Element

When you advertise on TV, your commercial is not only competing with other commercials, it's also competing with the other elements in the viewer's environment as well.

 

The viewer may choose to get a snack during the commercial break, go to the bathroom or have a conversation about what they just saw on the show they were viewing. Even if your commercial is being aired, viewers may never see it unless it is creative enough to capture their attention. That's why it's so important to consider the kind of commercial you are going to create...and how you want your audience to be affected. Spending money on a good commercial in the beginning will pay dividends in the end.

 

Don't Use TV Unless Your Budget Allows

Attempting to use TV advertising by using a poorly-produced commercial; buying inexpensive late night commercial time that few people watch; or just placing your commercial a couple times on the air will guarantee disappointing results. To obtain positive results from TV advertising you must have enough money in your budget to:

 

1. Pay for the cost of producing a good TV commercial.

2. Pay for effective commercial time that will reach your viewer at least 5-7 times.

 

Properly done, television advertising is the most effective medium there is. But it is big league advertising...and you shouldn't attempt it unless you have enough money in your budget to do it right.

 

If you're still attracted to TV, it's a good idea to call in an advertising agency for production and media buying estimates. Then, figure out what sales results you can expect. With such data, you should be able to reach a logical advertising decision.

RADIO ADVERTISING

Since its inception, radio has become an integral part of our culture. In some way, it touches the lives of almost everyone, every day. Radio, as a medium, offers a form of entertainment that attracts listeners while they are working, traveling, relaxing or doing almost anything.  A farmer, for example, may listen to the radio while he is having breakfast or plowing his field.  People driving to work often listen to the radio.  Radio offers information such as: news, weather reports, traffic conditions, advertising and music for your listening pleasure.

 

What Are Some of the Good Things About Radio?

 

Radio is a relatively inexpensive way of reaching people.  It has often been called the "theater of the mind" because voices or sounds can be used to create moods or images that if crested by visual effects would be impossible to afford.

 

You can also negotiate rates for your commercials, or even barter. Stations are often looking for prizes they can give away to listeners, so it's possible to get full commercial credit for the product or service you offer.

 

Advantages to radio advertising include:

 

The ability to easily change and update scripts are paramount to radio broadcasting, since news stories can and often do happen live.

 

Radio is a personal advertising medium. Station personalities have a good rapport with their listeners. If a radio personality announces your commercial, it's almost an implied endorsement.

 

Radio is also a way to support your printed advertising. You can say in your commercial, "See our ad in the Sunday Times," which makes your message twice as effective.

 

What are Some Limitations to Radio Advertising?

 

Radio advertising is not without its disadvantages too, such as:

 

You can't review a radio commercial. Once it plays, its gone. If you didn't catch all the message, you can't go back and hear it again.

 

Since there are a lot of radio stations, the total listening audience for any one station is just a piece of a much larger whole. That's why it's important to know what stations your customers and prospects probably listen to. Therefore, most of the time, you'll have to buy time on several radio stations to reach the market you are after.

 

People don't listen to the radio all the time...only during certain times of day. So, it's important to know when your customers or prospects are listening. For example, if you want to reach a large portion of your audience by advertising during the morning farm report, you'll have to specify that time period to the radio station when you buy the time.

 

One of the most popular times to reach people is during Drive Times (from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.)  It's called that because most people are going to or from work during this period, and because most people listen to their radio when they drive.  Unfortunately, radio stations know that this is a favorite time to advertise, so commercial costs are much higher during this time.

 

Radio as a broadcasting medium, can effectively sell an image...or one or two ideas at the most.  It is not, however, a detailed medium...and is a poor place for prices and telephone numbers.

 

Radio listeners increase in the spring and summer, contrary to television audiences that increase in the fall and winter and decrease in the summer. This is an important aspect to consider when you are choosing advertising media.

More Details

MAGAZINE ADVERTISING

Many of the same "print" type principles, which apply to newspaper advertising also, apply to magazine advertising. The biggest differences are:

 

Advertising messages are more image-oriented and less price-oriented.

The quality of the pictures and paper are superior to newsprint.

Advertisements involve color more often.

 

The general rule that you can run the same ad 3-5 times within a campaign period before its appeal lessens applies to magazine advertising as well, even with a monthly publication. So it makes sense to spend extra time and money to prepare a worthwhile ad that can be successfully repeated. Over long terms such as these, however, be aware that the client (you) often tire of the ad before the audience does.

 

Because ads in magazines are not immediate, they take more planning. Often, an ad for a monthly magazine must be prepared at least a month in advance of publication, so ads detailing prices and items have to be carefully crafted to insure accuracy.

 

Since the quality of the magazines is superior, the advertising that you generate must be superior as well. Consider getting assistance from a graphic artist or an advertising agency.

 

There are two categories of magazines: trade magazines and consumer magazines. Trade magazines are publications that go to certain types of businesses, services and industries. Consumer magazines are generally the kind you find on the average newsstand. Investigate which type would do your business the most good.

 

An agency can also purchase the magazine space for you, often at no charge, because the magazine pays the agency a commission directly. If you wish to purchase the advertising yourself, contact the magazine directly and ask for an "Ad Kit" or "Media Package." They will send you a folder that includes demographic information, reach information, a current rate card and a sample of the publication.

 

Although most magazines are national in nature, many have regional advertising sections that allow your business to look like it purchased a national ad when it only went to a certain geographical area. 

 

This can be especially useful if your product or service is regional in nature as well and could not benefit from the magazines complete readership.  Each magazine does this differently, so contact the one(s) you are interested in and ask them about their geographic editions.  Some sophisticated magazines even have demographic editions available, which might also be advantageous.

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NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING

NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING

Every advertising medium has characteristics that give it natural advantages and limitations. As you look through your newspaper(s), you'll notice some businesses that advertise regularly. Observe who they are and how they advertise their products and services. More than likely, their advertising investment is working if it's selling!



Some Advantages in Newspaper Advertising

Many homes still receive a newspaper, either by newsstand or home delivery. Reading the newspaper is a habit for most families. And, there is something for everybody: sports, comics, crosswords, news, classifieds, etc. You can reach certain types of people by placing your ad in different sections of the paper. People expect advertising in the newspaper. In fact, many people buy the paper just to read the ads from the supermarket, movies or department stores. Certain days of the week (you know the "insert" days for large retailers) are still strong for newspapers. Depending on your product, newspapers may still be a strong advertising vehicle.



Unlike advertising on TV and radio, advertising in the newspaper can be examined at your leisure. A newspaper ad can contain details, such as prices and telephone numbers or coupons.



There are many advantages to advertising in the newspaper. From the advertiser's point-of-view, newspaper advertising can be convenient because production changes can be made quickly, if necessary, and you can often insert a new advertisement on short notice. Another advantage is the large variety of ad sizes newspaper advertising offers. Even though you may not have a lot of money in your budget, you can still place a series of small ads, without making a sacrifice.



Some Disadvantages with Newspaper Advertising

Advertising in the newspaper offers many advantages, but it is not without its inherent disadvantages, such as:



1. Newspapers usually are read once and stay in the house for just a day.

2. The print quality of newspapers isn't always the best, especially for photographs. So use simple artwork and line drawings for best results.

3. The page size of a newspaper is fairly large and small ads can look minuscule.

4. Your ad has to compete with other ads for the reader's attention.

5. You're not assured that every person who gets the newspaper will read your ad. They may not read the section you advertised in, or they may simply have skipped the page because there wasn't any interesting news on it.

6. Circulation is dropping for most papers.



Here are some other things to remember:



1. Newspaper circulation has dropped in almost every city. Sunday is the day a newspaper is read most thoroughly.



2. Position is important, so specify in what section you want your ad to appear. Sometimes there's a surcharge for exact position...but don't be afraid to pay for it if you need it.



3. Request an outside position for ads that have coupons. That makes them easier to cut out.






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WhenUsing Several Media – Compare Your Results.

When your ads appear simultaneously in different media - such as the Internet, newspapers, on radio and television, in direct mail pieces, and as handbills - you should try to evaluate the relative effectiveness of each. You can check one printed medium against the other by using companion ( the same or almost identical) ads in the newspapers, direct mail, on the internet, and handbills.

 

You can make the job of analyzing and comparing results from the media easier by varying your copy - the message. Your ad copy, thus, becomes the means of identifying your ad response.

You can check broadcast media - radio and TV - by slanting your message. Suppose, for example, that you advertise an item at 20 percent reduction. Your radio or TV ad might say something like this; "Come in and tell us you want this product at 20 percent off."

 

You can compare these responses with results from your "20 percent off" newspaper ad. Require the customer to bring in the newspaper ad - or a coupon from it.

 

Some of the ways to vary the copy are; a combination of the brand name with a word or some words indicating the product type; tone of voice; speed of delivery; picture variation; size variations; and color variations. Check your printed ads against each other as well as against your radio and TV ads.

 

Be careful that the copy variation is not so great that a different impression is received from each medium. Here you would, in effect, have two different ads.

 

Short-Term and Long-Term Effects of Advertising

Even one ad or commercial or highway poster can result in sales for one product and attention for your business. You should remember, however, that a series of ads that are related will result in sales over a longer period of time than the campaign lasts. Your business name will become very much better know. Your expenditures for advertising therefore, should be scheduled over a period of three, six, and twelve months. Avoid deciding to advertise this week and putting off the decision about when you will next advertise.

 

Deciding on the Right Advertising Media

 

The person who saves money by not advertising is like the man who stops the clock to save time.  In today's fast-paced, high-tech age, businesses have to use some form of advertising to make prospects aware of their products and services.

 

Advertising is an investment in your business's future. And like any investment, it's important to find out as much as you can before you make a decision.

 

Website Marketing

Management of a website and the accompanying marketing can be a confusing and complex task. Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM), and Pay Per Click (PPC) are all terms that you see referencing the management of website marketing. Keywords, links, and page optimization are all important nonpaid aspects of making your website an effective sales tool for your business.

The above are technical aspects. Even more important is the brand development of the site and the presentation of your products and/or services key benefits. If search engines are the queens of the internet, then customer service is the emperor. Getting the technical aspects correct is only important if your site convinces the visitor that you can fulfill their specific needs.

Even if you have no interest in the physical management of your website, you need to understand how this key marketing tool functions. Websites are not "build it and leave" tools, You must consistently evaluate and modify a website for it to provide the performance you need. Businesses are allocating more and more of their marketing budget to the Internet. To meet the competition you need to manage your site and the various marketing technologies and tools.

The internet is now at the “top of the food chain” for marketing tools. It can provide a 24/7 fulfillment tool, a brand building tool, and perhaps most importantly a feedback loop from current and potential customers. The most important step you can make in developing a website is to define which of its functions you will need to utilize. It doesn’t matter if you build your own site or you work with a website designer, understanding how the web fits into your marketing plan is the most significant part of developing a web presence.

The internet for firms consists of two major parts: your website and your hosting service. When you define your needs in regard to what content your site will have, then you can make an informed choice as to which “hosting” service is best for you. Selecting a host is the most technical decision (beside the actual “building a website”) decision you will have to make. Take some time to read the details on a few of the major hosting sites like network solutions and you will start to understand what is offered. If you choose to use an outside website developer let them help you make the choice.

Remember that when you build a website you are in fact opening another location or perhaps your only location. It is a strategic decision which will be around as long as you are in business. Think carefully about content and structure – knowing that you will modify and perhaps totally change the website several times during the life of your business. A website is an investment in the capital assets of your company, treat it as you would your most important tool or resource.

Ad Management

Repeat an ad

If response to an ad is good, run it - without change - two or three times and check the responses of each appearance or broadcast against previous ones.

 

Keep repeating the process. Much advertising loses effectiveness because the advertiser doesn't keep reminding people. Repetition helps increase knowledge of and interest in, the product. You can soon estimate how often you should repeat each ad - exactly or with minor changes.

 

Analyze all ads in relation to response

Divide ads into at least two classes: high-response ads and low-response ads. Then look for differences between the two classes.

 

The time the ad was broadcast or run may be responsible for a particular response level. Other factors, however, may be just as influential as time or even more so, though in radio time is often crucial.

 

Consider the message and how well it was expressed. Did the copy stick to the theme or did it wander? If you used slogans, did they help make the point? For print, consider the effects of illustrations, type, size, color, and ad location. In broadcast, consider whether or not the voice of the person doing the ad or music used may have had an effect.

 

Emphasis on brand names should also be checked. Price figures should be analyzed. If price lines are involved either in the ad or in the merchandise line of which the advertised product is a part, you should consider them also.

 

Check the effect of the length of broadcast ads. Did you get the best results with 10-second, 30-second, or 60-second announcements?

 

Check the size of print ads. Size often has a bearing on response. As a general rule, the larger the ad, the larger the response.

 

Try to see a pattern of dominance

Your analysis of high-and-low response ads may show that certain details make the difference between a high or low response. Try to find the combinations that work best for your firm and merchandise.

 

Note changes occurring over time

You should never take a winning combination for granted. There is no single formula that will insure high response ads every time. Advertising changes. Therefore, you should watch the ads of others to see what changes are occurring. Continue to analyze your own ads, make small changes occasionally, and note any variations in response.

 

Listen to what people say about your ads

In doing so, try to discover your mental framework within which any comment about your ad was made. Then try to find points that reinforce believability and a feeling that your product fulfills some wish or need.

 

However, you should not be misled by what people say. An ad can cause a great deal of comment and bring in practically no sales. An ad may be so beautiful or clever that as far as the customer is concerned the sales message is lost.

 

Testing Attitude Advertising

Testing Attitude Advertising

Testing Attitude Advertising

When advertising is spread out over a selling season or several seasons, part of the measurement job is keeping records. Your aim is comparing records of ads and sales for extended time.

 

An easy way to set up a file is by marking the date of the run on tear sheets of newspaper ads (many radio stations now provide "radio tear sheets", too), log reports of radio and television ads, and copies of direct mail ads. The file may be broken down into monthly quarterly, or semiannual blocks. By recording the sales of the advertised items on each ad or log, you can make comparisons.

 

In attitude (or image-building) advertising, the individual ads are building blocks, so to speak, which make up your advertising over a selling season. The problem is trying to measure each ad and the effects of all of the ads taken together.

 

One approach is making your comparisons on a weekly basis. If you run an ad, for example, each week, at the end of the first week after the ad appears or is broadcast, compare that week's sales with sales for the same week a year ago. At the end of the second week, compare your sales with those of the end of the first week as week as year-ago figures.

 

At the end of the third week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 month, and 12 months from the running of the ad, repeat the process even though additional ads may have appeared or been aired in the meantime. For each of these ads, you will also make the same type of comparisons. You will, of course, be measuring the "momentum" of all your ads as well as the results of a single ad.

 

After a time, you probably will be able to estimate how much of the results are due to the individual ad and how much to the momentum of all your advertising. You may then make changes in specific details of the ad to increase response.

 

When comparing sales increases over some preceding period, allowances must be made for situations that are not normal. For example, your experience may be than rain on the day an ad appears cuts its pulling power by 50 percent. Similarly, advertising response will be affected by the fact that your customers work in a factory that is out on strike.

The key idea in an ad

Plan the ad around one idea

Each ad should have a single message – the key idea in an ad. If the message needs reinforcing with other ideas, keep them in the background. If you have several important things to say, use a different ad for each one and run the ads on succeeding days or weeks.

The pointers which follow are designed to help you plan ads so they will make your store stand out consistently when people read or hear about it:

Identify your business fully and clearly

Make sure your radio and television ads identify your sponsorship as fully and frequently as possible without interfering with the message. Logotypes and signatures in visual ads should be clean-lined, uncluttered, and prominently displayed. Give your address and telephone number. It's possible to use a musical or sound effect signature identified with your store to create a "logo" on radio, too.

Pick illustrations that are similar in character

Graphics - that is, drawings, photos, borders, and layouts - that are similar in character help people to recognize your advertising immediately.

Pick the audio format or typeface and stick to it

Using the same typeface or the audio format for radio or television helps people to recognize your ads quickly. Using the same format or kind of type and illustrations also allows you to concentrate on the message when checking ad response changes.

Make copy easy to understand

Printed messages should be broken up with white space to allow the reader to see the lines quickly.

Broadcast messages should be written conversationally. Remember, these messages are human beings talking to human beings.

Tell your listeners how what you're advertising will help them. Consumers buy benefits, not products.

Get the main message in the first sentence, if you can. Sentences should be short. Be direct. Go straight to the point. Get the audiences' attention in the first five seconds of the radio or TV commercial.

Try out your script on somebody else or read it into a tape recorder. When you play the tape back, you'll easily spot phrases that are hard to understand (or believe!). Your ears are better than your eyes for judging broadcasts ads.