5 Ways Your Can Be More Effective in Marketing to Customers

The success of your business depends on how many customers know you are open and how they can find you. If your customers can't find you then you won't be in business very long. But if you have proper advertising, a business can become known to the community and have many satisfied customers.

Here are a few ideas to use in making the public aware of your business and how you may serve them.

Newspapers 

Look into the advertising rates for your local newspaper. Even though many people use the Internet to do their searching for goods and services, newspapers are still an option. Newspapers are still a good way to let your customers learn about you. An ad large enough to catch the eye of your customers can be somewhat pricey but you can negotiate a better price for a continual advertising campaign.

If an ad is to pricey for your budget, start out with classified ads because they are less money and you can run it for a longer period of time. 

Don't ignore newspapers as a good way to advertise. Also be imaginative in your campaign by contacting a reporter whose beat is related to your business. A interesting news story with your business prominently written about is a cheap way to get new customers.

Radio Stations

Contact your local radio station. Surprisingly, radio stations are an efficient way to advertise. They are affordable and can reach many people looking to find your goods and services.

Stations are flexible and can design a plan for any budget. After arranging a budget, the radio station can schedule your ad at specific times through the day to focus on the most listeners. Of course, the times when most listeners are listening, those times will have premium costs. So it is possible to start with a small budget and still reach your target audience.

Local Television

Like radio stations you can also create a campaign to stay within a budget. Using local television stations can be the quickest way to get the most exposure for your business. These stations have advertising departments that can assist you with finding the target audience you desire. Striking a balance between commercial length and time of day the commercial airs, can help you stay within your advertising budget. 

You may think starting out with only a few air plays of your commercial a month will not be effective but studies have shown local television is the most efficient use of a businesses advertising dollars.

Billboards

You have seen the billboards on the side of the road. For local advertising these are great. 24/7 these billboards are working to show the community your goods and services. Billboards can also be targeted by choosing the ones that are on major highways and locations in town. 

The better locations have higher rates but they reach more customers. Unlike broad advertising media, like TV and Radio, billboards can focus on specific parts of the city. You can target specific income groups or geographical locations with billboards, depending on the advertising location.

Pamphlets and Coupons

Direct mail, pamphlet, and coupons have been around for a long time and still produce effective results for local companies. You may can find in your mailbox an envelope containing a variety of 10 to 20 coupons from your local businesses and even some national businesses. 

The reason you receive these is that advertisers find this type of advertising very effective. As we have discussed before about target advertising, this technique can be very effective. With direct mail of your pamphlets and coupons you can target by income, disposable income, location to the business or a any other specifics target you need. 

Pamphlets that describe or sell your businesses services are highly effective because first you have targeted the specific type of customer and their attention is focused on the pamphlet from your company. Pamphlet delivery can be effective in marketing to new customers. You need to make an impression on the customers and help them make the decision to use your service. Including a money off coupon can be a very effective enticement.

The number one reason a business fails is from lack of proper advertising. Not connecting with your customers will doom any business. It's your job as the business owner to determine the type of advertising and marketing your business requires.

Advertising during Soccer Games Has Evolved

You can find more soccer games and championships being shown on American television now more than ever. The game has never had the following is enjoys in Europe, South America, and the rest of the world.

The American public is much more interested as a whole in sports like baseball, basketball, and American football. Soccer remains a second rate sport in terms of popularity. As a result, it was rarely shown on major sport channels like ESPN. It also seems like American professional leagues and college teams are all but ignored, especially with dedicated internet access when life gets in the way of TV viewing.

Things are slowly starting to change as soccer becomes more relevant and interesting to American's today. It also helps that advertisers are starting to take note of the game. This has resulted in more air time across a variety of channels at prime time.

In a 1994 article in MIT's The Tech, columnist Michael K. Chung argues that soccer is not shown often in America due to its game structure. The whole game is split into two halves that are never stopped. Thus, there is no time for commercial break during game time. Halftime is the only period when this is possible. As a result, advertisers stayed away from the game. It is only now nearly twenty years later that things are changing.

Most games from Europe are played in the middle of the night. This allows broadcasters to play the big game later during prime time with commercial breaks. This has piqued the interest of major corporations that are eager to tap into a previously ignored fan base. If these companies can grab their attention, then they will be able to improve their margins thanks to legions of soccer fans watching commercials during PrimeTime air play.

Soccer still continues to be shown on 2nd level sport channels dedicated to the sport or only available on satellite through cable TV deals. However, it is a start. Teams like L.A. Galaxy were able to draw in commercial support when they brought in soccer legend David Beckham. Beckham's popularity and iconic status drew the attention of big sports companies who were eager to cash in America's sudden interest in the sport. Now that Beckham is gone once again, there will need to be another celebrity draw to the game. In lieu of actual commercials, companies are able to provide sponsorship and support teams who will display their logos on team jerseys and around the stadium. However, near-field advertising and team sponsorship can only go so far in the eyes of the advertisers.

It is unfortunate that the game does not have the coverage other sports enjoy. However, with the continued support of advertisement, then it will hopefully be aired more. Perhaps if the game was shown as much on TV than it would become as popular as it is elsewhere in the world. However, there still seems the needs for broadcast support which only appears when potential advertising revenue is present.