M # 2 - Media Before we go into media - I'd like to ask you to suspend your previous beliefs of "what works and what doesn't" as regards to Media. Let's survey what's available: Print - Newspapers, Magazines, Yellow Pages Direct Mail - Letters, brochures, Postcards, other Broadcast - Radio & television There is no "good or bad" media - media is just a means for delivery of information. Just like a gun is a means to deliver a bullet. There are good shots and bad shots - a good shot hits your target and delivers an effective message. Using media, you'll know if your shot is effective by looking at the Return On Investment. If total lifetime value of customers aquired are profitable, then you have a hit an should stick with the media until it's unprofitable. Case in point - a lot of CPA's believe Yellow Page ads don't work - as they tried it. "I got about $6,000 in billings from a $5000 ad" they will say, "by the time I service the client, I'm under water. I'm going to cancel my yellow page ad because it's too expensive." However, those clients that come from the yellow pages then return year after year, and refer new business, so in reality, the yellow page ad is very effective. In the preveious installment, we talked about Market - or the target of marketing communications - If you have a market, choose the media which most cost effectivly can reach your market. If you find your market is unresponsive, perhaps you need to work on the third "M" - the Message.... Marketing problems may not be the result of media which is bad or doesn't work, very likely it's the message to the market. Saying a particular media is bad for marketing any product or service is like blaming crime on guns or knifes - it's not the tool that committs a crime, it's a bad person with a gun or knife. Again, it's all about ROI - if the numbers don't work, then you either need to 1) fix something or 2) change what you're doing. |
