Traditional Advertising... Is It Defunct?

Talk to almost any advertising agency or Fortune 500 company exec about advertising and promotion and you will almost certainly hear the buzz words "fragmented advertising" and "consumer-centric campaigns" and long conversations about the numerous dangers and dilemmas of concocting convincing promotion campaigns today.

Fragmentation is a concept that makes clear the increasing multitude of avenues for one to get their message across to their market.

The evolution of promotion over the last few years (like skipping commercials with the TiVo remote) is one of the chief dilemmas that any business owner of executive is faced with.Now, these dilemmas include audio, visual and electronic media.

Go to Google and do a search for "promotion" and you will get over 450,000,000 results (that's 1 1/2 times the number of people in the US) and results like local promotion, prize giveaways and pay-per-click advertising. It's enough to make a person feel astounded.

Well, what about traditional promotion like billboards, television, magazines and radio then? Are they dead?

No way! No how! Traditional promotion methods still work, according to one promotion mogul, so they're still around.

Figuring out who your target market is, what they want and how they search for that info is the trick.

Mark Twain said, "Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of promotion."

By fully understanding your customers, you can avoid wasting your money on useless promotion mediums and focus your money on those mediums that your customers actually use.

If your customers are senior citizens over the age of 65 then it doesn't make sense to advertise to them online. It would be better to spend your promotion dollars on radio, television, newpaper and magazine ads that they are reading, listening or watching.

Whether your target market is working parents or divorced fathers, you really need to know how, when and where they get their information. What radio stations do they listen to? Is it on the Internet? Do they watch television? What magazines are they reading? How? When? Why?

In your attempt to create an effect promotion campaign, what are your best options?

Here are some simple ways:

1. Know your client. What do they desire? Where do they shop? What do they watch? What is their culture? Where do they hang out? Do they want your service or product? Is your product or service affordable enough for them?

2. Know your competitors. Be primed to perform a bit of research. What are your three chief competitors doing to advertise their business? What methods of promotion are they using? How often are they promoting their business? Are they trying to reach the same customers as you are? How long have they been promoting their business? What message are they sending to promote their business?

To differentiate and set yourself apart from the crowd, look at what your competition is doing right and then simply find convincing ways to make your promotion slightly better.

3. Study what the leaders of your industry are doing and copy them. Why reinvent the wheel? Simply take what they are doing and modify it so that it fits your target market and budget.

4. Get your message across clearly. What is it that you want your customers to get from your promotion? What do your customers want to hear? Why should they buy from you, and not someone else? Make every word count.

Dollars to donuts, your customers are probably more technologically savy than they were even just one year ago let alone five years ago. The World Wide Web has made what seems like infinite amounts of data and information accessible to your customers. However, the #1 problem that your customers now suffer from is an overwhelming overload of information.

Another side effect of the Internet is that your customers have probably become used to getting "instant gratification" when they are looking for information, products or services. They want to buy now and receive it right away because they simply do not want to wait. Giving your customer what he wants, when he wants it is one of the top challenges that businesses face today. Can you meet that demand?

A highly convincing promotion does not try to be everything to everyone. Your promotion should be like you are having a conversation with your ideal customer... not a group of people. If you want your customers to see your promotion as a wonderful service instead of a nuisance, simply give them what they want.

Pay attention to who your customers are and what they want and you will be at an advantage. Traditional promotion is not dead... far from it!

Article Source: http://www.christiannotepad.com

The Bank of Green puts money in your {hand|bank account|pockets) by giving you the best info on auto insurance, bankruptcy, banks, business plan, taxes and advertising amongst other topics.