A business owner in Sioux Falls asked me for some advice the other day. It was about the ad they place in one of the free local magazines every month. He said a quarter page ad cost him $400 that he’s never seen any response from…and he wondered what he could get on the radio for $400.

I asked him if he was spending his ad budget in any other places. He said yes. So, all-in-all, his budget is about $2000 a

month for advertising right now…spread over about 5 different advertising mediums. And all in print.

I asked him what he was trying to accomplish with his advertising. He said “I just want more people to know about our business and to consider buying from us instead of someone else.” I said, “So, you’re trying to use your $2000 to reach as many people as possible in the most effective manner to help attract new customers and increase your sales?” And he said, “Absolutely!”

I told him that spreading his budget around to different places wasn’t doing him much good. It was too thin. A very few number of people are exposed to his different print ads. He admitted that he thought that’s how he was supposed to advertise. I explained to him that people are people. It doesn’t matter really WHERE you advertise…just as long as you’re making an impact on a decent-sized group of people with your advertisements. He also admitted that his ads didn’t seem to be making any impact at all.

So, here is my recommendation to him. Take that $2000 per month and put it towards a long-term ad schedule on a large radio station. The listeners are there. Tens of thousands tuning in every day. And you’d be able to run many ads every week ensuring that people heard the ad. So, you have the “reaching people” part covered.

Then, we get to work on creating ads that are dang near impossible to be ignored. It’s easy to miss a print ad. But if you have an engaging, creative, smart ad airing week-in and week-out…your message WILL be getting into the EARS of a heck of a lot of people.

I said we also have to think of our ad strategy. What makes his business better? How does he treat customers better? What kind of experience does he provide that his competition would find it tough to match? You have to look at the whole competitive picture. And you have to always focus on what a prospect would like to hear…not necessarily what YOU would like to tell them.

We want people to think of his business FIRST when they need what he offers. And a good, focused radio campaign can achieve what he had hoped was possible, but he just hadn’t found the solution yet.

I’m excited for him. He got it. He called to cancel some of the little advertising expenditures he was doing in other places around town. When he added them all up, he came to about $2000 per month…which can now be invested in a more planned and strategic manner. AND start seeing an actual response and return from his investment.

So, if you’re stretching your dough too thin, and not seeing a lot from it…I have a better way to help you start growing consistently. Year after year.

Thanks for reading. Have a great day! I’d love to help you out when you’re ready.

Duane Christensen

Sioux Falls Radio Advertising blog