So last week I wrote a post to help you figure out how much you should spend on your advertising, and today I want to talk about how to maximize that budget. Hopefully you realize by now that you need to spend enough money on advertising to create an impact in your market.
While you need to make enough noise to be heard above all the chatter from the other companies in your industry, you also realize that you can’t spend more than you can afford. I know that trying to figure out the delicate balance between spending the right amount and overspending is a high wire act, so let me clarify this by saying – persistence overcomes resistance.
That’s a sales term that means if you continue to work on a prospect then you increase your chances of converting them into a sale. In marketing, we use the term consistency to describe the same thing. Obviously people have to know who you are to hire you, which means you have to be heard. And when people think about your product or service you want them to think of your business when they are ready to buy – which consistent advertising will do.
But consistency doesn’t stop there
Consistency doesn’t just mean advertising in the same places all the time, it means the message you put out has to be the same across all channels as well. Don’t fragment your marketing by putting conflicting offers on the street at the same time. If you do doors, windows and siding along with basement refinishing and roofing, and you have simultaneous campaigns running promoting each product individually, then consolidate your marketing by promoting one or two offers to focus the consumer’s attention on those parts of your business.
This will help establish you as THE GO TO contractor in that specific niche, but you will still get to up-sell prospects once you get your foot in the door. And by using a targeted approach versus a shotgun approach to marketing, you should be able to increase your calls and conversion ratios too. There is one more benefit that should save you a couple bucks too. By narrowing your focus and using consistency in your marketing you will save money at the supply house since you will be buying a lot more of fewer items instead of a little bit of a lot of things, which should help drive down costs.