# How did you advertise and how effective was it?



## brian.mobile (28 Nov 2006)

We've all tried different media for advertising....

Radio
TV
Billboard
Bus Stop Ads
Google Ads
Flyers
Print Media
Free Sheets
Radio
Web Banners
Web Directorys
Golden Pages

The list goes on, what media have you used in the last year and found a decent return on investment on?

BM


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## rabbit (28 Nov 2006)

Good question. In my humble experience, it sometimes depends on the business. eg in a very specialised business - a type of sport - the business owner found it very cost effective to advertise in the local clubs publications etc. 

Still, an excellent question. I have advertised in many different medium. Its quite disheartening for a relatively small business to spend good money advertising in a local paper or something and then ask say 10 or so close family / friends a week later if they saw the add....

I knew a tradesperson once who advertised in the Golden pages, and he said he knew he got no new business out of it, as he asked all new business throughout the year how they found him etc.   However, Golden Pages does obviously get new customers for most of its advertisers , but for many businesses its difficult to quantify what part of its advertising works best / is most cost effective.   When I was in a certain line of business, I used to advertise in Golden Pages , because I knew I got new custimers each year who I otherwise would not have got, which paid for the add.  Some other advertising did not work for me.


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## Savvy (29 Nov 2006)

A friend of mine has done similarily.
He found that the most effective methods were local papers(the likes of the Galway Advertiser,Lenister Express,etc) and parish newsletters.
He had a radio ad running for a week and got no responses.
He placed flyers in about 250-300 houses in new estates with families(his target market) and got no responses.
Signed up for calendars and got no responses.
It certainly depends on what's your business.
You need to think if you were looking for that service where would you look.

For example if I was new to an area and wanted to purchase home heating oil, I would use the golden pages and maybe the internet.
If I was looking for a handyman I'd probably would use a local paper and wouldn't even consider the internet to search for one.
Different courses for different horses.


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## algar2 (29 Nov 2006)

I found that when looking into advertising the following website gives good info on the various tpyes and costs of the different types of advertising.
http://www.medialive.ie/index.html


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## Gordanus (29 Nov 2006)

hi Algar2 - that link didn't work for me, would have loved to see it.

I ask every customer how they heard about me and found out that my Golden Pages ad was useless - generated few enquiries and NO business!  Having my own website was ok.   Most of the customers it turned out are word-of-mouth -cuts down on advertising costs for sure, but you end up being very careful to maintain your reputation.  But that's what I was doing anyway.


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## algar2 (30 Nov 2006)

Gordanus said:


> hi Algar2 - that link didn't work for me, would have loved to see it. quote]
> 
> Hi Gordanus, that seems strange, it work for me, you can try typing medialive into google. its the first page that comes up.
> 
> It really is worth a look when doing research into the advertising that best suits your company.


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## evoke (30 Nov 2006)

that is a very good site for advertising. 
i was just wondering  what     sccm    means for newspaper advertising.
it seems to be €17 per inch on the galway advertiser. does that seem cheap or i am reading it wrong.  i think what it means is that it is 17 per inch for 70,000 paper circulation.

can anyone correct me on this please

thanks


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## evoke (30 Nov 2006)

forgot to ask aswell  "page b/w" mean aswell for it. i seen it on the magazine advertising rates aswell


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## evoke (30 Nov 2006)

so it means page balack and white .sorry for asking


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## dockingtrade (30 Nov 2006)

Would this be an idea. If you were to advertise in the goldenpages start your business name with 'A'? Im sure everyone who uses the golden pages starts at the top of the category and probably doesnt go very far beyond that.


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## rabbit (30 Nov 2006)

dockingtrade said:


> Would this be an idea. If you were to advertise in the goldenpages start your business name with 'A'? Im sure everyone who uses the golden pages starts at the top of the category and probably doesnt go very far beyond that.


 
Unfortunately the eye usually gets caught by the bigger, more expensive adds, I find.    Anyway, good point, but it reminds me of the skip hire category is it ...full of  AAA, AAAAA11111  skip hire ltd etc etc...all trying to be the first.   I am just going from memory here  now.


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## brian.mobile (30 Nov 2006)

Golden Pages - effective, but be aware most people when using the GP are shopping around for the 'cheapest deal' - not necessarilly the best quality - get used to a lot of 'How much are you?' questions jsut after you say hello - generally bigger is better here on ad sizes

Golden Pages Website - you really should be on it, patticularity if you have a website. It's pretty effective and will probably gain in popularity with years.

Magazines - if you sell boats advertise in a quality boating mag - very effective - costs can be expensive but be prepared to haggle and save a lot - up to a third if you're handy at it - get a good designer and if you can go full page in the best magazine in it's the class. Biiger is better with magazines, forget about the postage sized stuff at the back of the mags

Flyers - Although I never actually did a mailshot I've heard consistently bad reports

Web-sites - get on the web, if your not on, you should be and you're competitors are laughing all the way to the bank. Get a .ie it has a better customer perception, a decent designer and put your web address everywhere on you vans, clothing, products, it's the best buck for buck advertising you can get. Skimp on the design and you're only fooling yourself

Web-Directorys: Banner and Buttons on the right sites or electronic newsletters can be very effective, get it designed right and make sure you monitor all leads from it. They can be sold for period of time of by page impressions, the latter will confuse the hell out of you first time around and I personally dont like when theyre sold like that

Google Ads - forget SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and dont get talked into it. Run google ads and manage it all yourself, do it right and you'll see quality leads come in

Radio / TV: Not much experience. All I know is that you got to make that ad snappy, funny if possible...I dont remember the serious ones myself

Dont forget to:

Include 'Calls To Action': When you run an ad - ask the person to do something. 'Call before the 30th to receive 10% extra fee' - make a deadline, offer related only to that ad and this will guage effectiveness

Ask 'How Did You Hear About Us?' These should be the first words out of your mouth and have drop down boxes on all e-mail enquiry to see how people are heading about us...your mad if you don't ask

Make a call: Ring the current advertisers on publciations you're going to advertise on: It's a no brainer. Be honest, ask them what they think of the spend and the return on investment. You'll learn loads and you can even (if you're cute enough) talk them into telling you what they paid!

Simple Very Effective Ways to Advertise: 

Flyers in the product box: Your sending it out anyway, so put flyers in with your product. The flyer can say, something like 'mention the name of the person who gave you this when ordering yourself and save 10% on your order' - works a dream. Get it designed professionally, a nice business card feel, and watch the calls come in (if you have a decent offer). This peron is the 'connector', a person who's happy / trend setting will recommend you and your biz. The card / flyer / offer only makes it easier...

PR Shoots: Open up the business pages of any paper tomorrow and you can be guaranteed 75 % of the shots were published using a simple but highly effective formula. Hire a photographer. Write a press release (pay someone to do this - it's an art) and submit the 'story' to the nationwide or Local Press. You'll need to have the contact details of the News Desk and it may be best done through a PR agency, but it can be done yourself. You'd be amazed what you can pull off. Papers dont have enough pics/storys to fill a publication and journalists will copy and paste a good press release. Make sure the pictures is good and the story is good. A pic of the pretty secretary is better than the stoney bossman ;-) Sit down and examine the media you read and read between the lines...you can do this yourself. Don't hassle people in newspapers if it doesnt get on and dont do it more than four times a year.

Vans / Premises / Clothing: all obvious, but they can done really clever and get people's attention. You could for example put (tasteful) jokes on the back window of you van, or maybe questions on vans that would have the answers on other vans, these wil get attention of the many traffic bound drivers, these are just ideas, put the web address on all moveable objects...and in BIG TEXT. Why dont you write the name and web address of your company on the roof of your building is on the airports flight path? Or allow some other company to write it on yours - for a fee???

Sponsorships: Does the local school need a new kit?? An opportunity for good cheap advertising right there

Freebies: yes, they do work, when done right.

Direct Mailings and E-Newsletters: you've got the database, if the person in the front office is twiddling their thumbs, get them sending out tastefully presented information about offers / open days / events. Or emailing newsletters. have an opt out for the recipient and make sure you are noty spamming - use your existing database. Include an invite / offer(call to action) to see the latest stuff. Have some food / music/ booze and a taxi service home laid on and watch the sales roll in..

Finally...Propping up all of the above must be a strong product and friendly customer service. You'd be shocked how many folks will book on the impressions of staff and how many you loose by not monitoring same. No one likes dealing with moaners or disinterested people. My first empoyer told me a good one: they're paying us to be happy as well as to do the job right. Talk to people on their level, dont judge them on their accent or the car they drive, and have a laugh. Everyone likes to made to feel wanted and important.

It still amazes me how many businesses out there have halfwits employed who don't appreciate customers when the boss isn't around. If you are a boss ask a mate to call in an act as a 'mystery shopper' you'd be amazed what you'll find out...but remmeber, reward the people who do come out shining....

Hope all this helps. 

Im dying to hear about other people and how they advertise...

BM


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## Keentoinvest (1 Dec 2006)

It really depends on what you're advertising. What works for one business could be a disaster for another.

Google adwords is an excellent medium if your audience is looking for your service online and particularly if you can offer it to an international audience.

Flyers can work well but again it depends on the business.

Red top papers such as the sun/star/sunday world/sunday bus post are good and once you beat down their ad rates you could see a good return.

Papers in my experience generally work our cheaper than radio and have a better resopnse but that is my own experience. I am sure a different product/message may contradict that.

A good article in a newspaper will also do wonders.

On a final note, the best advertising is word of mouth. I have a colleague who designs websites and who has never needed to advertise. Everything comes from word of mouth


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## dockingtrade (1 Dec 2006)

brian.mobile....you should be paid for your last post,  excellent post very informative


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## delgirl (1 Dec 2006)

Does anyone send their clients Christmas Cards?  

Is it effective?  How can you measure this?

Does anyone who receives the cards as a client register that they have received a card from X company or do they just bin them?


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## paulocon (1 Dec 2006)

Just to second that - an excellent post (maybe a key post?)


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## ButtermilkJa (2 Dec 2006)

evoke said:


> ... i was just wondering  what     sccm    means for newspaper advertising...


SCCM = Single Column CM (Cenitimetre)

Basically, if a paper has 7 columns across, and you want to run an ad that is 10cm high, then you will pay;

7 columns x 10 cm = 70
70 sccm x €17 (cost per sccm) = €1,190

Similarly, if you wanted to run a small "10x2" advert (the height always comes first, followed by width in columns), then it would cost 40 x €17 = €680. Black and white (or 'Mono') adverts should always cost less.

Hope it helps!!


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## evoke (2 Dec 2006)

thanks for the reply . really helped. could not find it anywere on the internet

thanks


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