Advertising is, well – advertising…

I started this article on the way back from Scottsdale, AZ the day after two of the biggest sports events in the U.S. ended on the same day in the same town. The day, outside of writing, was spent taking part in a sort of “luggage treasure hunt” sponsored by my favorite low cost airline, but that’s another story.

Should the small, medium enterprise ( SME ) sector advertise?

Should large enterprise advertise? A much different question, but from a directional perspective the following test can be both fun at parties, and quite telling. Ready? But, first you have to agree that checking your TiVo is cheating, and Coke and Budweiser don’t count, because they actually are brands.

Deal? All right then, Go! – Name three companies that advertised during the Super Bowl, and what products / services they advertised?

If you are like most people, you won’t remember the companies, or the products and services. However, if you do happen to remember the company, you probably won’t remember the products and services. Lack of memory is NOT a brand, it is a symptom of being “brand-less”, a place where core promises are forgotten, or perhaps more accurately, never really seen, or heard in the first place.

“Branding” has become an all too common term for a whole host of things that are not necessarily brand building, particularly for SME; owners, executives and managers accountable for revenue growth.

A recent dialog with one SME client went something like this:

Client: “I’ve just got to start advertising.”

Me: “Who are you specifically trying to reach?”

Client: “More customers.”

Me: “OK, let’s outline a typical transaction for your business, and see what we can see.”

It turned out that there were actually two, potentially viable business building approaches. Advertising was one, and direct sales calls, the other. But, not just any type of random sales calls, we arrived at the need for specific calls designed for the holder of transactional power within the demand chain. This direct approach when looking from a “holistic business” perspective was the lowest cost, and potentially the highest return given the “investment” the business could make. Good, old fashioned, relationship development, as opposed to a potentially VERY costly endeavor that may have produced an operational capacity drain, and additional cash flow issues for the business.

Don’t get me wrong. I am NOT anti-advertising. It’s part of our offer, and I advocate for advertising in situations where it can really, effectively fuel business growth, and more importantly profitability growth. These five keys may help you make your own assessments regarding any one, single market strategy venue:

First, is it a “holistic business” venue? Meaning, does the strategy potentially; add, subtract, or render neutral any of your current operational practices, or market strategies? If so, take a step back to rethink this new plan and perhaps do some concept testing before just jumping in.

Second, what is the expected return on investment ( ROI ) multiple? Optimally, hard dollars in should exceed hard dollars out by 4 to 1, or more. For example, $40K in new revenue, and $10K in expense.

Third, what is the anticipated operational burden? In other words, what does the soft dollar perspective look like? Companies, of any size, can ill afford to consume precious operational production time in a non-productive way. In the dialog above this represented, for example; a fairly time consuming educational process ( awareness building ) amongst potentially “non-qualified prospects” on “why” they might consider needing the product / service ( interest generation ) in the first place. This all sets the tone for a potentially costly trial sale, which may not result in profitable repeat sales, or true, long term brand building experiences for these new customers.

Fourth, is it brand consistent? Does the venue allow for an acceptable expression of the brand image? Often opportunities come up where there is need to compromise the; look, feel, tone, or manner of the graphic / linguistic expression to “fit”. Opportunities also come up that potentially compromise, relative to your desired audience, “who” you can actually reach, setting up a “bank shot possibility” rather than a direct, relationship building opportunity.

Finally, if any one of these is a cause for pause, or you find that you and your team don’t have some pretty solid answers, or at least grounded speculations – NOT “build it and they will come HOPES – then take a step back and get into a holistic business thinking and design mode!