I am often asked about the difference between advertising and marketing. It is most definitely not an unusual question in a market such as Joplin where more advertising has been done than marketing. I, however, am a city mouse living a country mouse life these days. I use that by way of explanation because heavy marketing is more common in larger, more competitive markets. In those markets, quality strategies and tactics become more important than simple quantity of advertising.
Advertising is a subset; just one component of marketing. Marketing, on the other hand employs research, branding, messaging, graphics, contests, public relations, customer support, sales funnels, product pricing, podcasting, social media, and the list goes on, to deliver a comprehensive plan for growing your profit margin while growing customer loyalty in a way that matters to the stakeholders. Many times I have summed up this difference by saying that advertising is putting your company name and product out in front of as many potential clients as many times as possible. Marketing, on the other hand, is carefully crafting a meaningful message that speaks directly to a potentially profitable customer and placing it where they are apt to see it and be moved.
Most business owners I speak to have experience with advertising efforts. By that they mean they have taken appointments with someone selling a particular kind of advertising be it phone book listings, TV spots, radio airtime, school sponsorship, etc. and they have “tried” it. What they have not typically experienced is developing a marketing strategy wherein these efforts could fit nicely and fulfill a need to help the company achieve an aspect of their larger growth goals.
No matter how much advertising you buy, my first piece of advice is to carefully consider your messaging. By way of example, I often find owners who deeply care about how long they have been in business. There are some appropriate places for showcasing years of expertise. However, the buying public cares more to know how well you are delivering on your company’s promise. Another common mistake I see is the emphasis on features and benefits. This, in my opinion, leads to a boring listing of offerings, which are quickly forgotten. Again, there are some appropriate places for listing all of your offerings, but what gets pushed out is a clear depiction of your differentiation. Great marketing messages, in my opinion, highlight what makes your brand/product/service unique and worth trying. A compelling marketing message does more to show than to tell.
No matter how much advertising you buy, my second piece of advice is to carefully narrow down your target audience. When great messaging is created it is typically very targeted to a particular buyer. Most companies, however, don’t have the luxury of having just one type of buyer. A common mistake business owners say is that they just want “more customers”, but a generic appeal is not going to deliver specific results. Specific messages should be crafted with a specific buyer in mind. This will help you spend more of your money chasing fewer, but more loyal clients who are genuinely interested in your brand/product/service. This kind of thinking moves business owners into establishing multiple campaigns which all can feed into the larger success of the company by diversifying efforts within a larger marketing strategy.
No matter how much advertising you buy, my last piece of advice is to carefully select the right media for the campaign. I’ve heard time after time the horror stories of how an owner tried a particular kind of advertising only to feel that it didn’t work for them. My friends in the media buying industry will quickly say that they didn’t buy enough or often enough. While that might be completely true, it is almost always also true that the first issue of crafting the correct message did not happen and/or the message did not match the market. Mostly, I tell business owners that they should not become inextricably tied to any kind of media. When it is appropriate to buy TV, buy TV. When it is appropriate to buy radio, buy radio and on down the line. Once you have the message created, match the market by understanding the demographics of the media you are purchasing. Make sure your media representative knows the exact segment of the market you are looking for and get them to show what they can deliver within those demographic confines so you can make the best decision for your money.
Successful marketing should involve creating a compelling message, matching the message to the market and scaling up from your successes incrementally. These considerations will help you work more effectively toward a measurable goal with the proper use of advertising.
This article was originally published in the Joplin Regional Business Journal.
If you want to discuss these ideas further or talk about your marketing plan contact me at priscilla@littlebirdmarketing.com.
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