| |
| |
|
Advertising Resource Center |
|
|
|
What Happened? Troubleshooting Poor Response from Ad Campaigns
Too many small business owners today run ad campaigns that get little to no results, and they have no idea why. When you have the knowledge to troubleshoot the poor responses, you also have the knowledge to make the needed changes so that - next time - your sales improve! Let's take a look at the breakdown of an ad campaign, and how to determine what went wrong. Response vs. Results It's important to understand the difference between response rate and results. When a customer takes the action you want him/her to take (i.e., clicking to your site, calling your 800 number, etc.), then you've achieved "response." This does NOT mean you've made a sale. The response rate of your ad campaign can be high without ever selling one product or service. "Results," on the other hand, are the sales you make in conjunction with the response rate. When a customer takes the action you want him/her to take AND buys your product/service, then you've achieved results. No Response When you get little to no response, chances are that one of two things happened. One - your ad was poorly written and didn't generate enough interest to excite the customer to take action; or two - the ad didn't reach your preferred target customer. How do you determine which one is the culprit? Test! Use the same ad, but place it in a different ezine or on a different Web site. If response rate improves, you know the ad is most likely fine, but the audience exposure was off. If the response rate does not improve, it's probably best to rewrite the headline, the ad, or both. Response But No Results If you run an ezine ad, banner ad, etc., and get responses without making any sales, the most probable theory is that your supporting ad copy or offer is not doing its job. Ezine ads, banner ads, and the like will never make a sale on their own. The customer is almost always going to be directed to click back to your Web site. If the copy/design of your ad is working, but no sales are being made, take a good look at the copy or design of your site. Chances are that *it* could be costing you sales. Again, testing is the key. Change a headline, add links that direct to "more information" pages, and so on. Run the ad again, and see if your results improve. You'll notice that in either case, testing is the recommended course of action. So many small business owners get in a hurry and neglect to test their ads. While it may seem costly to run an ad, change an ad, and run it again - the truth is that running unproven ads all across the 'Net without gaining any return on investment (ROI) is a huge waste of money. Yes, it does take a good deal of time. Yes, it can cost additional money. However, once you've taken the time to test an ad, and the copy on the supporting Web site that customers will be directed to, you'll be in a much better position to ensure consistent sales from your campaigns. Copyright 2004 Diane Hughes About The Author Diane C. Hughes * ProBizTips.com FREE Report: Amazingly Simple (Yet Super Powerful) Ways To Skyrocket Your Sales And Build Your Business Into A Tower of Profits! ==>> http://madmarketer.com/diane
MORE RESOURCES: Student debt snares parents, putting retirement at risk Sept. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Funding your child's college education is on many parents' mind. With college tuition costs rising each year, there's reason for concern. So, before starting a savings plan, make sure to do your homework and pick the investment option that's right for your family. Mitt Romney’s statement that the “very poor” don’t concern him comes as the portion of Americans living in deep poverty is the highest in 35 years Vigorous debate on the value of state backing Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao raised the prospect of contributing to the euro-area’s bailout programs, telling Chancellor Angela Merkel that China may be prepared to assist in resolving its debt crisis. Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Subir Gokarn said the monetary authority will cut borrowing costs once it’s confident inflation will keep slowing. Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, which accused a fired Singapore trader of manipulating London interbank offered rates, had condoned such behavior and sought scapegoats in an internal probe, the former employee said. Japan Inc. is suffering and the supply chain is bearing the cost. The U.S. labor market recovery is broadening as industries from construction to retail to manufacturing added workers in January and the jobless rate fell to the lowest level in three years. Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Douglas Creutz, analyst at Cowen & Co., and Paul Kedrosky, author of the Infectious Greed Blog and a Bloomberg contributing editor, talk about the relationship between Zynga Inc. and Facebook Inc. They speak with Cory Johnson on Bloomberg Television's "Bloomberg West." (Source: Bloomberg) Advertising campaigns aren't only being designed for TV anymore, the Super Bowl has gone high-tech The day's top ten most important stocks include Estee Lauder, Research in Motion and Zynga Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Steen Jakobsen, chief economist at Saxo Bank A/S, discusses the outlook for Europe's sovereign debt crisis and the U.S. economy. He speaks with Susan Li on Bloomberg Television's "Asia Edge." (Source: Bloomberg) The social network may be valued at $100 billion, or 100 times profit Buyout funds see profits in turning foreclosed homes into rentals |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Whats On Your Business Card? A professional business card says more about youand your business than any other tool in yourmarketing arsenal. You need a card that looksgood, tells what you do and makes it easy tocontact you. How You Measure Yourself Is How You Motivate Yourself One of the keys to strong positive mental attitude is what you compare your personal performance to. Do you compare your sales results to the top producer in your industry? Do you compare your basketball playing ability to Michael Jordan? Do you compare your last presentation to a speech delivered by Ronald Reagan or JFK? Or do you compare your results today, to those you had yesterday? Sports, sales, and the media teach us to compare our success against that of others, living or dead. Pros and Cons of Establishing an In-House Ad Agency There have been several ads promoting books and reports on thissubject, or included as part of the contents in several mailorder books stating: "SAVE UP TO 17% ON ALL YOUR ADVERTISING" It's legitimate, practical and effective, but like so many otherpromises, there are pros and cons involved. The pros are fairlyobvious. Online Classifieds Choosing a Classified Website and creating your advertisements.The internet has opened a vast number of doors for people to market their products and services. Harness the Power of Direct Marketing - More Small Business Power Tools One of the most powerful tools available to small businesses is direct mail. By this I don't mean electronic, Internet-based mail, but the old-fashioned kind that requires a stamp and a trip to the post office. Promote yourself on radio for free Unless you have become extremely popular in your personal or business name, you likely need all of the marketing and promotion you can get. Now, you may say, of course, I'm aware of this, but who has the money? This a good and fair question. Three Keys to Crafting Successful Print Ads Want to create print ads that get results? Below are three keys to get you started.1. Why Your Ad Failed So you spent good money on an ad, put it in a magazine or newspaper, and waited patiently for phone calls that didn't materialize. You're upset: you feel that you've wasted money and time, and now you're convinced that advertising doesn't work. Electronic Score Boards Wide range of electronic Key venues around the globe has turned to Electronic score boards that not only look breathtaking from every angle and distance, but provide consistently reliable performance year in and year out.Different type of sports including athletics, track cycling, running events, street cycling and mountain bike, swimming, synchronized swimming, diving as well as inline skating, water polo, ball spots, motor sports, alpine skiing, cross country and biathlon are some of the areas where Electronic score boards perfect fits solutions for. How To Write More Powerful Brochures, Leaflets, And Catalogues Probably the most interesting thing about brochures and leaflets is that they're seldom read in what we've come to know as the right order - as you would read a book. Rather in the same way that many people read magazines in dentists' waiting rooms, they will flick through brochures and leaflets and stop to take a longer look at bits that grab their attention. Humor in Advertising Many of the most memorable ad campaigns around tend to be funny. Advertisers use this strategy to attract customers to their product. The Only Bad Advertising Is No Advertising - Or Is It? Depending on whom you ask, you will get told many "truths" about advertising. The question I have for you today is this - "Is the only bad advertising, no advertising?"Before we begin, it might help us to agree on what advertising is, so here's one definition:"Advertising is the non-personal communication of an individual's paid persuasive information regarding products, and or services via various media. Vinyl Banners for the Right Occasion The sinage marketplace is competitive! Consequently, some companies are going to focus on price and neglect quality. To complicate the situation, companies that produce stock vinyl banner material offer a bevy of different materials based on weights/thickness, color, reflective properties, ink absorption properties, etc. 7 Tips for Better Ads The content of advertising is basically the sameno matter what the media. It is good and it works,or it is bad. A Lesson In Advertising From The Eighteenth Century Back in the 1760s, the great Dr Samuel Johnson delivered himself of the dictum that 'promise, large promise is the soul of advertising'. It's a good thought, a great thought; and I contend that what was true then is equally true today. A Lunchtime Lesson on Print Advertising I promise you'll be able to finish this article before you finish the first half of your PBJ. Are you sitting down? Good. What Does the Back of Your Business Card Say? Business cards with nothing on the back are wastedopportunities to sell.Use the back of your card to expand and reaffirmyour selling sentence (which should be prominenton the front of your card). Localized Advertising - Door-to-Door Ad Distribution on the Fly! Have you ever had to distribute door-hanger advertisements for your business? Have you ever employed door-to-door sales techniques to increase your brand awareness? Have you ever had to walk mile-after-mile repeating the sales pitch, over and over? Have you ever had to stand outside of an arena event and pass out flyers to exiting patrons? If you stop to think of the cold calling technique of door-to door advertising, you would discover how sometimes humiliating it is to have a disinterested and irritated individual slam the door in your face, yell insulting things toward you, or be escorted off of their property. To combat this instantaneous humiliation, the idea of door-hanging advertisements gives the sales person a means of getting the word out to more people faster than before but more importantly, it saves the person the anguish of the advertised becoming irate over the interruption. Constructing Business Advertisements What many may consider the most important part of advertising is writing an effective ad. The information provided in a classified ad may be the deciding factor if it is successful or a, "bomb". Why Not Use the Humble Fax in Your Advertising Strategy? When my daughter complained recently about the prohibitive cost of news media advertising, we had a discussion about the ways in which she could sell her range of body products (hand creams, lip balms etc). I explained to her that huge firms like K Mart wouldn't spend millions of dollars annually for advertising if it wasn't necessary.
|