Hello out there in Radio Land! I have been searching for an article to share with my clients that is quite specific and I can not find it! Maybe you can help...When their revenue is down...and they think they should cut advertising to save money...You get the idea........................Is there an article in print (I know there is!) that I can hand over that explains this mistake in business thinking??
Here are two:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2008/november/198022.html
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5878.html
All The Best...
Greg
Dianne, I posted a link to your inquiry on the RSC Facebook page, and the post received the following responses:
From Steve Howard: "Stopping advertising to save money, is like stopping your watch to save time."
From Kimberly Klostergaard: "Check the RAB...they ran an article a while back about the importance of continuing to advertise."
From Shane Griffin: "Business Triangle - Product / Salespeople / Marketing. Ask your client which one he/she would cut and still be able to run a succesful business. Product- something to sell / Salespeople - somebody to sell your product / Marketing - the ability to tell people about your product that your salespeople are selling. All 3 need each other!"
Loved those articles - the 2nd one even indicates that when money is tight you can use radio instead of tv - just be careful that your client reads it correctly. It could possible be read that tv would be the substitute for radio - but since tv is more expensive normally, they should interpret it correctly. I love this site - I can always get great advice here!
Do this search: Roy H. Williams + "down economy." Read the first few articles on page 1. (Be sure to put quotes around the words after the + sign; otherwise you'll get returns on each individual word.)
You'll find some great material. (Williams is known as "The Wizard of Ads," and is a regular contributor to Radio Ink magazine. Check out his books, too, at Amazon.com.)
Also, I recommend you go to www.MondayMorningMemo.com and subscribe. I've been a subscriber for a dozen years or more. It makes me look forward to Monday mornings.
It's a rare week that I don't learn something valuable from Williams. Best of all, it's free.
Have another great day in Radio!
Bryant
Dianne: Hopefully this will help. Roger
WHY IS IT
A man or woman wakes up in the morning after sleeping on an advertised bed, in advertised pajamas. They will bathe in an advertised shower or tub, wash with advertised soap, perhaps shave with an advertised shaver and brush with advertised toothpaste, and have an advertised juice, cereal and toast, (toasted in an advertised toaster), put on advertised clothes, and glance at an advertised watch. They will ride to work in an advertised car, sit at an advertised desk and write with an advertised pen and use an advertised computer and cell phone. Yet these people hesitate to advertise, saying that advertising does not pay. Finally, when their unadvertised business goes under, they will advertise it for sale!!!
OOOO...I love this. You gave me a great smile today!
Great arguments all. But when someone tells me that they have no money for advertising, what I hear is... "You have not given me an idea that I am CONVINCED will bring in enough people to cover the cost of goods plus the advertising and give me a return".
Everyone knows they need to advertise. You are not teaching them anything. It is not like you are going to find a man turning blue and tell him "you forgot... you need to breathe". They just know it needs to be done.
I come back to banging the same old drum... What are they selling? What is their margin? What is their closing ratio? Does my audience need what they have? WHY should they buy it from THEM? Then if I can make all of that work in my head, write the SPEC ads, write the schedule and hang my ego on it.
But that is just me.
In every recession/depression a major company was created: GE, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft. There is always opportunity.
Here's my favorites saying: If you threw a great party but forget to send the information would anyone show up?
Here's my favorite personal true story: I had been working on a particular business for some time with no luck. I was pretty discouraged. Finally, the business owner called ME and said he wanted to advertise. I was excited as I drove out to meet him, wondering what it was I said that finally flipped the switch for him. When I got there he said he had a budget of $600 for two weeks - to advertise he's going out of business sale! I still wonder why someone would not advertise to increase business but would advertise to go out of business.
