Ask the experts: Local marketing gurus offer advice for common marketing questions

The question: "I didn't get any response to my last ad. Why should I try again?"

Kyle Dewitt, creative director with Relentless Media Productions

Unless you have to ask people to form a line around the block, you could probably use more customers. That's why you placed the ad in the first place, to increase traffic and raise awareness. So let's take a look at your ad.

• Does it engage (this is especially important if it's in a section with other advertisements)?
• Does it describe your service in a way that makes people want to know more?
• Is your ad in the RIGHT place (are you selling steaks in a vegetarian magazine)?
• Finally, does your ad DEMAND a response? Without a call to action, you aren't asking for people to respond. Make sure all your marketing materials tell customers what to do next.

By taking the time to make sure your marketing materials have passed ALL the criteria listed, you can expect to see increased results.

Dana Hukel, MBA, BOLD Marketing

A lack of response to any form of paid advertising can be the result of several wrongdoings including:

• Wrong audience for your product/service
• Lack of creative appeal to make it stand out from the pack
• Poor timing
• Wrong message
• Wrong medium
• Lack of proper tracking methods to actually determine if there was a lack of response
• Relying on one stand-alone ad to effectively reach your audience and persuade them to act.

There are ways to "test" a paid advertisement to determine its effectiveness. A unique call to action (CTA) for each advertisement will allow you to track the response. For example, a specific phone number can be used for print advertisements, with a different phone number for television, web, etc. Also, businesses can offer a promotion or discount specific to the print ad or other paid advertisement to track responses.

Another tracking method is to simply ask customers how they heard about your business. Keep a spreadsheet of responses so you can assess which form of promotion is working for your specific trade and which areas are not. This information can help you re-allocate marketing budget dollars for maximum effectiveness.

Keep in mind that it takes approximately seven impressions from your business to convince consumers to act. This may be a combination of web, TV, radio, print, social media and word-of-mouth, so tracking can prove somewhat difficult if the message for each promotion is the same. Also, some consumers may report the last impression as the one that moved them to act, but the combination of all forms of promotion actually supported their decision.

The launch of any advertising initiative should begin with careful planning and strategic assessment of who you want to target, what message you want to convey, and what action you want the audience to take. The answers to these questions will help you craft the right advertisement, using the right medium, with the right message and call to action. If you are unsure how to conduct a strategic assessment of your market and what methods are best suited for your business, seek the counsel of a marketing professional so that you can minimize any wasted advertising dollars.

Gera LeGrand, promotion specialist at the Southeast Missourian

"I went to the gym once, but I didn't lose weight; why should I go again?" I'm not trying to be smug, but advertising, like a fitness plan, takes time and consistency to work. Now that's not saying that after giving an advertising campaign proper frequency and time to work you shouldn't evaluate its effectiveness. Of course you should! However, to determine if your advertising worked you have to know what it was designed to do before you purchased the advertising schedule, and you must share that goal with those responsible for creating and scheduling the advertising. What was the goal? Was the goal to sell a specific item? Was the goal to attract a certain number of customers to your store for a specific event? Was your goal to increase your overall sales by 5 percent? If so, then look at your ad and examine the message. Was the offer strong enough to elicit immediate response? Were you being out-advertised by a competitor? Were there enough consumers in the market for that product during the advertising period, to hit your goal? But here's the tricky part ... was the goal to increase awareness of the products or services you provide, or to educate consumers about your superior service? Those results are a little more tricky to measure! Yet many ad campaigns are designed to increase awareness or for "branding." You should try again, because your business needs to reach out and invite new customers to do business with you, or invite previous customers to visit again, and in today's business environment, the invitation has to be an attractive one! Get your team together, even if that team is just you and the person you buy your ads from...and discuss the schedule, the timing and the message of that last ad, then try again! I heard it said once that you should never begin advertising with the intention of ever stopping, because the only business that doesn't need to advertise is one that is closed.

John Cherry, professor at the Harrison College of Business at Southeast Missouri State University

Why should you try again? Well, because you are a business person, and it is marketing, advertising, promotion and persistence that make your business go. But let's back up, and examine the assumptions of the question: If you are assuming that advertising has the sole objective of leading to a sale or getting customers to come in, you're probably using an oversimplified frame of reference. I don't know of anyone in marketing, advertising or promotion who will go so far as to say that they know precisely what leads to some specific desired outcome. So many other things can affect your promotional efforts: the state of the economy, nationally and locally, what competitors are doing, or transitory things like whether people have received a paycheck or income tax return lately, et cetera. So the best thing you can do in this situation is to recognize that building your business, like getting an education, living a healthy lifestyle and saving for the future, are such profound goals in life that they have to be seen in the proper perspective: as investments of time and effort that play out over an extended period of time. So be patient.

And think of your advertising and promotion in terms of what you're trying to achieve. After all, it just might be that your advertising actually didn't fall flat; maybe you've built up some awareness and appreciation for your brand. This takes time and, again, persistence. Also, don't expect that just one ad campaign is going to turn things around. And don't be too wedded to advertising. You have so many other tools! Promotions (things like contests, price-offs, coupons, bonus packs, etc) are a wonderful supplement to advertising. Public relations keeps your company's good reputation in the media and in the minds of customers. And of course, there's no substitute for skilled salespersons for making a personal, customized appeal to buyers.

So with all these tools at hand, you can climb that hill we call the "hierarchy of effects." It's simple, really, if you think of it as a ladder to the top. First, make customers aware of your brand (use media advertising, PR, and a website that reinforces these). Then, second, get them to try your product or service (professional selling, consumer or trade-oriented promotions). Next, use all the tools of communication to solidify your gains into positive attitudes and brand preference; things like reminder advertising, or specialty advertising: ink pens, note pads and refrigerator magnets with your company name will keep your brand in the eye and in the work and living spaces of customers long after your ads fade away. Then perhaps more direct appeals combining advertising and promotion to achieve measurable results. Understand that no one approach will get you all the way there, so don't give up and don't lose heart. But if you can pull all these together and make them stand up and deliver one coherent message to your customers, you've got a pretty good game plan. They call it "integrated marketing communications."

By the way, The American Advertising Federation reports that companies that cut back on advertising in hard economic times have a tough time coming back, even after the economy recovers. On the other hand, those that remain focused on their goals and maintain a presence through advertising and promotion bounce back faster and out-perform their competitors!

I'll just make one last comment. One thing advertising and promotion can't do is to make customers respect and appreciate your business. It can create awareness, it can bring them to your door or website, but only your finest product or the best service to be had anywhere will ultimately "close the deal," and by that I mean win them over to your brand. And that's a good thing, really. It's their call, and it's your job to lay a path to your business and then deliver.

You should keep trying because time, patience, consistency and a good game plan are the criteria for success.