Advertising – Part One

More than ever before, it is essential for a business to do extensive planning before spending a dime on advertising. An advertising plan should be a major part of your company’s marketing plan. Included in that plan should be research on your target market, the competition, how you differ from the competition, and on the various media in your market that may reach your target market.

Who buys your product? Is it a focused group of customers or is it different per each product you sell? Do you have it priced correctly? Have you selected the location of your store or the availability of your product to make it easy for your customer to find it? Remember, the plan should be developed around the four P’s; Product, Price, Place and Promotion.

That being said, if you know the uniqueness of your business beyond selection, service and price, you’ll be in much better shape than other businesses offering similar products and services in the market. You need to find your Capo D’ Astro Bar.

Years ago, an ad salesperson walked into a piano store to have a meeting with the owner. The salesperson asked the owner why customers would come into his store instead of the store down the street, which sold a more popular name brand product. The owner asked the ad salesperson to follow him over to the pianos on the floor of the store. He proceeded to get down on his hands and knees to show the salesperson something under one of the pianos. The salesperson knelt down to take a look. The owner pointed out a bar that went across the entire under side of the piano. He told the sales person that the bar was called the Capo D’ Astro Bar and that it supported the piano’s weight as it aged. In fact, it allowed the piano manufacturer to offer a lifetime guarantee on their line of pianos.

This became the central feature of every ad the store ran across all medium. That’s why you need to find your Capo D’ Astro Bar. It will take time to discover, but it is worth the wait. Believe me, it will drive traffic and ultimately sales.

What are your challenges when it comes to advertising? I look forward to hearing your comments.

Until next time, and Part Two on advertising…