Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

It’s now Wednesday and I still don’t know (or care) who won. Not that I have anything against football. I grew up in a family of devout OU (Boomer Sooner!) fans and Mom is glued to all the games all weekend. I’m just not interested. Which brings me to advertising. Is it done for the “right” reasons? (more about that in a sec) Is it reaching the right people? (even if the audience is the perfect demographic target for the product and your pitch is riveting - will they all be in the bathroom during your 30 seconds of fame?) And, how to know when it’s effective?

As David Wolfe notes over at Ageless Marketing, department store founder John Wanamaker (died 1922) once said, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I just don’t know which half.”

Advertising - at any level - is an expensive (and iffy) proposition. A $500 monthly ad is a big investment for a small business. And, trust me, at least part of those millions the Super Bowl advertisers paid came out of somebody’s budget who wanted to do other things. Even mega-company marketers have to make compromises and are often forced to contribute chunks of their budget to programs they neither like nor want. In one of my corporate gigs, I had to allocate $400,000 of my annual budget to HQ Advertising for generic high-level image ads which did nothing to promote my division. Which brings me to the “right” reasons. A lot of marketing is done for ego-stroking - not of the customer but of the company. Hey, it’s sexy to see your business advertised during the Super Bowl! (Or a full-page ad in the New York Times, the local paper of record or a glossy magazine.)

So, the next time you hear a sales pitch for ad space - do a quick self-exam for ego inflation. Sure, we all like seeing our names in print, lights, etc. but stop and ask yourself, “Am I doing this for the right reasons?” Will I reach my targets? Is it relevant to them? Will it create interest? Will it lead to sales? I’d submit those dollars might be much better spent on programs and services to increase the loyalty of your existing customers (who can also be your best salespeople.)

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Tags: marketing, advertising