Advertising in Today’s Marketplace

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advertising, business, cutting expenses, Internet Marketing, Kingdom Business, marketing, recession, tough times

I have had 15 years experience in selling advertising.  I have sold Radio,  yellow pages, and worked with Internet.   Advertising is an interesting business; and, as the economy changes, so do advertising trends.

Cut advertising expenses first??

I was getting gas this evening and ran into a friend who owns several radio stations.  I asked how the radio business was, and he said things were great.   He then told me he has been in radio through 4 recessions, and it has never really effected their business.  He said that this year was not as good as last year, but better than the year before; and,  it was an all time record.   Much of it is because of the area we live in; and if we lived on the coast or in a large metropolitan area, he would be telling a different story.  He asked me how my business was.

In yellow pages, the industry as a whole is down slightly.  The last book we did ended up better than the year before.  We are working on a new book at this time; and, it is going OK.

Before this conversation, I spoke with a body shop owner.  He said that he has been in businesses for over 40 years and that it seems to him that when the economy is bad his business is better.

I talk to business people every day; and ,I hear both sides of the story.   I hear the gloom and doom; and, I hear the success stories.   Yes,  there are folks out there that are truly having a hard time keeping the door open; and, I know how they feel because I have been there.

The number one difference I have seen is the business owner’s attitude.   The people I have personally met who are struggling  are scared to death of what may happen with the economy and have chosen to start cutting everything possible.  Many start with advertising.  I had a salon owner tell me the other day that advertising is the thing she cuts first because it is a controlled cost.   That makes sense in the checkbook; but,  in the big picture it often proves to be a mistake.

Advertising during hard times is an awesome opportunity.  Since there are those who are cutting, it opens the door for you to take their share of the market.

Time to Advertise

Yes, I agree you have to be careful where you put your money, but cutting advertising is a mistake.

Before you cut your advertising, ask yourself several questions.

1.  In my overall budget, what is my current advertising cost?

2.  Where are my advertising dollars going?   Make a list of the last 3 -6 months advertising and break it down by category such as Yellow pages, radio, television, newspaper, and other.    Where are the majority of your funds being spent?

3.  Once you determine where your dollars are going,  you need to look at how effective the ads are.  EXAMPLE:  If you are an at need service company, you need to consider the fact that people don’t think about your business unless they need you.   80% + turn to yellow pages at a crisis time such as this.   They will not remember your phone number from an ad they heard on the radio 2 weeks ago going 70 miles per hour going down the freeway.   On the other hand,  if you having a slow month and you need to generate some fast income, then running a special time sensitive ad on the radio might make them react and go ahead and have the work done at a better price.

4.  Re-direct your advertising dollars for maximum effectiveness.   Example:  If you are running television spots at
$80.00 per 60 second spot. and they are running 2 times a day 6 days a week, then you are spending $960.00 per week or $3840.00 per month.   If you would like to run some specials for the last 2 weeks of the month but you can’t add the expense, then you can re-direct.   If you simply did one spot per day then you have a budget of $ 1920.00 for the month to run your specials.    After your special is over, you can then resume your regular schedule.   This will give you a chance to evaluate the effectiveness of your ads by judging the results.

5.  The last thing before cutting your advertising it to look at your entire budget and expenses and see what else is a cost that you can cut.

Remember cutting advertising is cutting your customer flow; and, cutting your customer flow is cutting your income.

If you are fearful of the economy or just want to know what is really going on, not just what you hear on the media….

Click the Banner on the right for TOWN HALL FOR HOPE   WITH DAVE RAMSEY!

Blessings!

For more information,  we have several really good articles on http://www.kingdombusinessjournal.com, Check them out!

Surviving or Thriving?

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business failure, business opportunity, economy, finances, God, Kingdom Business, Kingdom Business Journal, Life, recession, Saladmaster, small business, The Shepherds Guide

This is interesting.  I decided to write about Surviving or Thriving, and so my wife decided she would also.  Laura wrote the post before reading mine.  Here is mine!

Last week at church someone asked, “How is business? You know there are a lot of people going out of business and cutting cost to survive!”   We continued to talk and the next thing they said was,”but you know this is the time to advertise and get aggressive, when thing are bad.”

So, are you in survival mode or a Thriving and opportunity mode?

I am a Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University Graduate, and I like what Dave Ramsey says,

“I’m tired of hearing all the gloom and doom coming from the media about the economy and unemployment—I bet you are, too! Let’s take a minute to look at the true reality of the situation and what we can do about it.

Yes, many people have lost their jobs and houses. You may be one of them. But guess what? People have lost their jobs and houses even in a bull market. About 93% of people are still employed. That is pretty good! I was alive in the 1970s when unemployment hit double digits, and we’re nowhere near that right now! I’m not making light of the fact that some people are struggling; I’m just putting the situation in the proper perspective.

Even though you may be currently unemployed, that doesn’t mean you have to participate in the recession. People like me who have chosen to not participate acknowledge the reality of a slow economy and suffering people. However, we have decided that we’re not going to form our lives around the negativity coming out of the media and government. We’re intensifying our efforts and going to have the best year of our lives in spite of things slowing down.”

I side with Dave Ramsey, I choose not to participate.  Yes I am aware of the problems that are going on with the economy, but this is the time for opportunity.  When others are surviving  and cutting all cost, others are thriving.  People have asked me, “Isn’t it a bad time for you to be starting a New Shepherds Guide book”?  My response is, that it is God’s book,  God is building it, God called me to be a servant, and God will provide.

Let me give you an example of a direct sells company I am involved with.  Saladmaster is a direct sales company with the finest product on the market in there industry. They looked at the market and found opportunity.  They found that many people are eating at home and cutting back on eating out.  Food prices are increasing and there product helps cut food cost.  Many people are being health conscience and there product provides a healthy method of food preparation by eliminating oil and retaining nutrients.  They also found that more and more people are looking to supplement there income.

Guess what!  They have a are having record sales and they are hiring a lot of part-time people.  They are making an opportunity out of the current condition.

So, are your going to make an opportunity out of the current condition?  Take a look at your product and your market.  Do some research.  Are there hidden opportunities that you could take advantage of ?

CHOOSE NOT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE RECESSION!

CHOOSE TO THRIVE, NOT SURVIVE!

TO SEE LAURA’S VERSION CLICK HERE