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Behind every disappointing small business advertisement there is at least one reason for its failure. The good news is that any flaw with your advertising can be corrected, if you are willing to try new ideas.

Unless you are in the advertising business, chances are your strongest skills are not in advertising. If you are like many small business people, your small business advertisements are likely guilty of at least one of several common flaws.

Identifying what is wrong with your advertising is the first step toward making corrections that will result in greater response, increased revenue and stronger profits.

Following are descriptions of five common characteristics of highly flawed small business advertising. There are more, but correcting these will make for a great start.

Unfocused Market

Many small business owners make the mistake of thinking a bigger market is a better market when choosing where to run their ads. The result is they spend their advertising dollars to reach a larger but less focused market.

Are the places you choose to run your ad laser-focused on your market?

When your ads are focused squarely on your market you increase the likelihood that the readers who see your ad will actually have a need for your service. The more effectively you place your advertising in front of an ‘already interested’ market the more likely they will be predisposed to noticing and reacting to your ad, which is what you want.

For example, imagine your company specializes in helping law firms reduce the cost of prosecuting long, ongoing cases. If you choose to run a series of full page ads in the New York Times instead of the New York Law Journal you will likely be disappointed by the response to your campaign; despite reaching the considerably larger audience of the New York Times you would be missing the focused attention of the legal minded readership of the New York Law Journal.

How can you tell whether or not you can focus your advertising on a more receptive market?

Lack of Distinction

The next most common problem with small business advertising is that advertisements for companies in the same industry often fail to distinguish themselves from their competition.

How can you expect to win the lion’s share of your market if your advertisements pretty much look the same and contain the same elements as those of your competition?

Furthermore, distinguishing your company from your competitors is often made more difficult because, within a given advertising vehicle, advertisements for companies in similar industries appear virtually on top of each other. This scenario is particularly true for yellow pages listings and pay-per-click advertising. In order to succeed with your advertising your ads need to stand out and above those of your competition.

For example, if you are the owner of a pet supply company and your ads simply say, “We Sell Pet Supplies” they will be passed over along with every other bland advertisement for Fido’s food.

On the other hand, your ads will stand out and attract much more attention to your shop if you state that you sell, “King Sized Bones and Bowls for the Royalty in Your Family.” By focusing your ads on the owners of large breed dogs you distinguish yourself from the crowd of pet shops that simply sell pet supplies and make it clear to the owners of large dogs that you sell what they need.

Be sure the copy of your ads has the effect of making what you offer unique. Your highly targeted prospects will reward you by noticing the difference in your ads and buying from you.

Do your ads distinguish your business clearly above your competition?

Failure to Demonstrate Value

Another property of flawed advertising is that it fails to demonstrate the value of any products or services provided. By failing to demonstrate value in your advertisements you give your prospects only a foggy idea of the benefits you provide and no clear reason to buy from you. Demonstrating value will also help you set yourself apart from you competitors.

How can you change your ads to demonstrate the value you provide?

Too Much Focus on Products and Services

Consumers buy products and services because they fill a need or solve a problem. If your ad copy focuses too much on your company and the products and services you provide you miss your opportunity to demonstrate to your prospects that you provide the solution they need.

For example, imagine you are recovering from knee surgery and need to work with a physical therapist to regain your full range of motion. Would you be more likely to choose a therapist who advertises his new and modern equipment or the one who advertises that she will have your knee working and feeling like new again in just three weeks?

What should you focus your advertising on instead of your products and services?

Lack of a Clear Call to Action

A fifth characteristic of a highly flawed advertising is a lack of a clear call to action. An ad without a clear call to action is like calling 911 and not telling the operator where you are. Why bother calling?

Don’t assume that your prospects know what they should do once they’ve read your ad. You need to tell them to be sure they know.

If you’ve gotten their attention, demonstrated your value and shown them that you are the solution to their problem, don’t waste your good work by neglecting to instruct them to take the next step and contact you.

Move Your Marketing Forward™

Stop wasting money on ineffective advertising. If you are disappointed with the business your advertising generates why not take action to correct your dysfunctional ads?

By: Jeremy Cohen

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There are dozens of places that a small business can spend money on advertising. It has been demonstrated by the SBA (Small Business Administration) that on-premise outdoor advertising is the least expensive, most effective method to generate more walk-in customers.

Is your business signage doing the job? Ask yourself the following questions to check your advertising IQ:
Some business people spend more money on a cash register to keep their money in than a good sign to pull people in to fill it! Doesn’t make sense, does it? You don’t buy a ¼ inch drill bit because you want a drill bit, you want a ¼ inch hole! You don’t buy a sign because you want a sign, you want more customers, right? Do you think this sign could hurt your business? Well then, what’s the only other thing it could do? Help your business, right? The world of packaging is a multimillion dollar business. Most of the products you sell are packaged to sell, right? The most important package for your entire business is the front of your store! It’s the first thing your customers see and it must convince them to stop in and buy! A new sign makes the best package you could have! Most investors feel that getting their money back in 7 years is a good investment. Most businesses that purchase a new outdoor sign get their money back in a few weeks! That’s smart investing isn’t it? It would be great if you could go out in the middle of the street and personally invite people into your business, wouldn’t it? First of all, you don’t have time and secondly, you might get run over! The next best thing is to invite them in with a sign. Is your signage communicating with your customer visually! Can you imagine going to a major league baseball game, getting out on the pitcher’s mound during the 7th inning stretch and telling 50,000 fans about your business? Would that improve your business? Well right now, you have over 50,000 people every few days passing less than 50 feet from your front door! They are all potential customers of yours! But first, you have to tell ‘em what you have before you can sell ‘em! If your landlord came in today and made you this offer…”I need some cash right away…If you pay me $5,000 now, I’ll allow you to stay here RENT FREE for the next 10 years!”… Would you do it? That’s exactly what a good outdoor sign will do for you! Make sense? Let’s say that I want to go to work for you…before you say yes or no, let me tell you my qualifications. I’ll work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year for the next 10 years. You don’t have to pay unemployment taxes or any fringe benefits. I’llbe the hardest working employee you’ve got! Would you pay me $300 a month for the next 36 months? That’s what the correct outdoor electric sign will do for you! Where is the nearest McDonald’s from here? How about Holiday Inn? Where is Betty’s Ceramics? You see, you know where McDonald’s and Holiday Inn are, but not Betty’s Ceramics and they are on the same street! The only difference is their signs! That’s why successful franchises spend up to $50,000 for their signs, and 80% of a franchises customers are impulse do to the sign. The average McDonald’s locations get over 1800 customers per day. The sign pays for itself in 7 days! What would happen to your business if you had a larger sign out front? People judge the inside of your business by how you look on the outside! If you could turn your business inside out and show people what you have in here, they would flock in… but you can’t. The next best thing is to get something out front that will show people what you do have on the inside! Does that make sense? Some business people spend more money in monthly payments on a credit card terminal than a good sign to pull in those customers with the credit cards…doesn’t make sense, does it? If you want people to come to your party, you have to send them an invitation right? The more invitations you send, the more people that show up! The same is true with your business, the more customers you invite in, the more sales you make! So, if you want their business, you have to ask for it! You have to make it easy for them to find you…without a good business sign. Is your sign the nicest invitation in town? People like to go where the action is. Nobody likes to go to a slow business! Have you ever gone into a restaurant at lunch time and you were the only person there? Makes you wonder why, right? The right business sign will create customer traffic…it will create lots of activity and excitement! That’s what you want, isn’t it? If you came to work one morning and saw two guys out in front of your business building a large brick wall that would hide your business from the people passing by…what would you do? Probably send them away and tear down the brick wall, right? You don’t want anything hiding your business! Unfortunately, you have that situation right now. There is a brick wall is the front of your business, your storefront. All your products and services are hidden behind the front wall. You need to do something to get those products on the other side of the wall where you customers can see them. Does your outdoor advertising have a large logo or graphic that instantly describes your products? A business without a sign is a sign of no business! The more you tell, the more you sell! Some small business spend more money on signs advertising “going out of business” than they spend on signs while in business…and wonder what happened? Your business is located on the banks of a money stream! You have thousands of dollars flowing past your front door! All you have to do is bait your hook and keep it in the middle of the money stream! A highly visible outdoor business sign will catch more customers than any other bait on the market! A good outdoor image can increase the value of your location without increasing your rent one thin dime! Your business will never stay the same. It will either go up… or out. No business remains static. If you think a sign will help your business…EVEN A LITTLE BIT…then by all means, buy one!

By: David Evarts

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