Understanding the Different Methods of Offline Promotion
Copyright © Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10454

No business can survive the long run without some
form of consistent advertising. As a result, most
business owners will eventually consider using
advertising to promote their business.

The toughest part of the advertising equation is
in determining where and how to spend your
advertising dollars. If you do it wrong, you
could plunk down your entire advertising budget
and receive absolutely no return on your
investment. But, if you do it right, your
advertising could continue to bring a nice return
for years to come.

HOW DO I MAKE THE RIGHT ADVERTISING DECISIONS

In order to make good decisions concerning how to
spend your advertising budget, you must first
have a good understanding of the different types
of advertising and promotion available and what
can be expected to be achieved by each.

· You must understand which markets the different
media's can reach.
· You must understand the demographics of the
media's consumers.
· You must understand the buying habits of the
consumers reached through the media.

WHAT OFFLINE ADVERTISING & PROMOTION MEDIA'S
SHOULD BE CONSIDERED

The media's that people think of most often are
television, radio, newspaper and magazine
advertising. Of course, these are the big boys
that big businesses use regularly.

Other methods of promotion include trade shows,
press releases, direct sales, telemarketing, word
of mouth, branding and billboard advertising.

CONSIDERING THE BIG MEDIA OUTLETS

The big boys of advertising media's generally
cost big bucks. Given certain circumstances, the
big media's can be bought for very little money.

Take for example, television, radio and
newspapers cost big bucks during their prime
times, but can be bought for pennies on the
dollar during non-primetime hours.

Television primetime is between 7pm and 10pm.
Radio primetime is between 7am and 6pm. With
newspapers, the primetime is Wednesdays and
Sundays.

If you intend to hit a media during prime time,
get ready to drop some bucks. Primetime means
that you will be able to hit more consumers
during these times. So, in most cases, a
primetime buy will enable you to reach more
people with your advertising.

Non-primetime hours can still deliver a lot of
eyes and ears to your message, and sometimes,
these off-hours can be bought for a bargain
basement price.

GETTING MILEAGE FROM EVENTS

Trade shows and press releases are more
event-driven. The trade show is the event, while
the press release generally exploits an event.

Trade shows are an exceptional tool when you deal
directly with potential sellers of your products
or services. Other shows are directed at the
consumer, and those can be very valuable avenues
for sales as well.

The press release is aimed towards gaining
attention for a business by distributing
newsworthy information about the business.

Sometimes the appearance of a business at a trade
show or other show can provide the necessary
angle for a press release. But most often, a
successful press release will actually require
more noteworthy information than the appearance
of a business at a show.

Yet, even the most mundane of information could
be spiced up to give the real air of importance
necessary to get your press release read and
printed.

The great thing about a press release is that
might permit you to get relatively inexpensive
promotion on television, radio, newspapers and
magazines; for far less than what it would cost
you to buy advertising in those same outlets.

UTILIZING A SALES TEAM

Depending on what type of business you run and
the consumers you are trying to reach, you might
find direct sales and telemarketing to be very
lucrative ways to drive sales to your business.

Both are very similar in nature. Direct sales can
be very expensive, as it requires a great
investment of time to accomodate. Telemarketing
seeks to minimize the time expenditure, but it
often leads to a smaller degree of respect and
attention.

Depending on your product or service --- and
always depending upon the people you employ to
the task --- each method will be more suited to
each business on an individual basis.

BRANDING YOUR BUSINESS

I grouped branding and billboard advertising
together in my original list for a reason. I did
this because billboard advertising serves most
businesses best by helping to support the process
of branding.

Branding is the process of establishing your
business as the supplier of a certain product or
service, or in emphasizing a certain USP (Unique
Selling Proposition) as it pertains to your
business.

If branding and USP seems to be a confusing
concept, think about Wal-Mart and their tag line:
"Always Low Prices, Always."

Think about Ford Motors, "Quality is Job One."

Think about the Visa Card, "It's Everywhere You
Want To Be."

You see, these top corporations have managed to
make their USP part of their branding.

Even if you are only competing in a local
marketplace, your USP can and should fit snugly
into your branding strategy.

NO MATTER THE MEDIA OR METHOD

Whichever method or media you should choose to
employ in your advertising and promotion, you
should become knowledgable about your market, and
the consumers reached by each media. It is
important to understand which consumers can be
reached by a certain media, and in what
quantities.

However you choose to spend your advertising
dollars, you should always track the results of
your promotional efforts. Failing to track
successes and failures will ultimately lead to
the failure of a business.

When you know whom you are trying to reach and
how you think you might be able to reach them,
you will begin to learn how to use advertising
and promotion to make your business successful.
That is a good thing --- after all, that is why
you got into the business in the first place,
isn't it?

About The Author:
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