Some reasons to ponder come courtesy of a Roy Williams’ Monday Morning Memo essay, from way back in 2008. Read the whole thing here. Every point he makes is still valid today. Here are a couple:

 2. reputation.
Consider the people who don’t buy from you. Are they buying elsewhere because they haven’t heard about your company, or is it because they have? I’ve never met a business owner willing to believe their company had a bad reputation…
 

7. media myths.
Are you anxious to find a more effective media? If so, you’ve got really bad ads. I’ve never seen a company fail because they were using the wrong media or reaching the wrong people. But I’ve seen thousands fail because they were saying the wrong things. A powerful message will produce results in any media.

Photo by Aurelio/dpc

In my advertising sales/consulting practice, I meet with about 200 local businesses each year.

• They hear from television advertising salespeople, telling them to get out of radio because radio doesn’t work.
• They hear from radio advertising salespeople, telling them to get out of newspaper because newspaper doesn’t work.
• They hear from social media “experts” telling them to get out of radio, newspaper and television because traditional media doesn’t work.

Here’s the dirty little secret I pass along to them:

There are plenty of potential customers who watch television, listen to the radio, read the newspaper, and consume media online every single day. When I hear that the advertising isn’t working, it’s generally one (or more) of three problems:

1. They didn’t get the message right. You’ve got to tell a story your audience cares about, and give them a good reason to do business with you.

2. They aren’t delivering the message often enough, or consistently enough. Customers will buy when they’re ready and not a moment before. You need to keep reminding them.

3. They don’t deliver on the promises their advertising makes, and the audience doesn’t believe them.

 

If you tackle the issues above, you’ll get the advertising to work. If you don’t, switching media isn’t going to help.

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