How to Get More from Your Advertising Dollars

Management Article – March 2006

Part 2 of 2

Last month, I discussed the components of an effective campaign, this month I will give you tips on how to differentiate yourself from your competition.

Charles Tandy (of Tandy Corp fame) once said, “The most likely person to buy something from you is the person that just bought something from you.” We spend an inordinate amount of time trying to get new business instead of prioritizing and focusing on existing customers.

There are 2 types of advertising: brand building, and selling. Although your brand is valuable intellectual property, I believe we should spend the bulk of our budgets on selling advertising. Here are examples of each:

Brand advertising-A flier shows a bottle of Jack Daniel Whiskey and says, “Reward yourself”.
Selling advertising-A flier shows a bottle of Jack Daniel Whiskey and says “Jack Daniel quarts, $8.99 at Bud’s Liquors, through July 31”.

There are examples; Some URG partners have leveraged the URG logo and standards of quality and service into something that differentiates them from their competitors. I once wrote an article that discussed branding sand. Your job is to create the perception that your products are better than your competitor’s. One way we accomplished this over a decade ago was by offering lifetime warranties. Let’s face it; your used alternator is not very different from your competitor’s offering. I once had an inquisitive recycler ask me, “How can you guarantee parts forever?” I said, “We don’t guarantee them forever.” He said, “Your ads say that.” I followed, “Yes, our advertisements say ask about our lifetime warranties.” I am not sure if he understood that our willingness to guarantee the part forever created the perception that it must be better.

Figure out how to differentiate yourself from your competition; then use selling advertising to leverage that into greater sales and profits.

Don’t forget to go the website for my new book, www.greenweenies.com, to learn all the backroom business terms. There are 1,200+ terms in over 300 pages, with hilarious illustrations by world famous Gahan Wilson. You can register there for your free weekly “green weenie.” If you want to know what a three fingered booger is, or what’s in a train wreck envelope, it’s the only place to go!

Remember, only you can make BUSINESS GREAT! Next month, more from Chapter Six of How to Salvage Millions from Your Small Business.

Please email if you would like me to send previous articles.