As I promised in the previous column - this time we will deal with advertising.
A complicated market that requires a lot of knowledge, orientation, and specialization. In this column (and the one that follows), we will try to put things in some order.
Just before we turn to preparing the next ad, I want to ask you a few questions:
Want more news, videos and stories? Join the Haredim 10 WhatsApp channel >>
• Why? (with false at the beginning of the word)
• To whom?
• How?
These three questions will accompany us throughout, so memorize them well. No ad, no matter how well designed, will 'work' and bring results unless we have answered these three questions well and accurately.
And here is the explanation:
First question: why?
We must first decide why we are taking out an ad - for branding? To liquidate stock? To let the public know that we have a store/business/service? To announce that a new collection has arrived?
There are dozens, if not hundreds, of reasons why we target our ads. It is critically important to answer this question before we send an email to the newspaper editor or our graphic designer.
Understand: Studies determine that we have about 8 seconds to 'convince' the reader to continue reading our ad. In an environment saturated with advertising and sales messages, commercials, advertisements, newspapers, and flyers - our brain filters the messages and 'skips' the things it thinks are not important to us.
Therefore, the headline, or the most prominent thing in the ad, should be as focused and have a clear message as possible.
An ad that contains a lot of words, messages, or headlines will most likely not 'work' and will not actually bring the desired results. In this way, we have essentially thrown money away - and that's a shame.
Sit down and make a neat list of the things you most want to tell your customers. Or: What makes you better than your competing businesses. What's called: differentiation.
The list should be arranged by importance and/or urgency.
If you have a long list, you may need to split your ad - and then work according to the level of urgency. First, publish the ad that is most urgent to you (for example: end of season or Shavuot cheesecake sale). Only if you have enough money and/or time, continue with another campaign (or another ad) of the other things you want to tell the guys.
The second question: whom?
This is also a critical question that unfortunately business owners skip over - and that's a shame.
Sit down with your product and/or with a loyal customer who consumes it, and try to understand: Who do you want to reach out to and tell that it's worth buying from you?.
Residents of the neighborhood or the entire city? Women only? Americans? Abrechs? Rich? Deals lovers? Those with specific/ethnic tastes?
Who is my end customer? The owner of an institution? His secretary? The young children in the family? Their parents? The husband for his wife? Or the wife for her husband? Or perhaps the wife for herself?
Are you clear about who the customer you want to reach?
If you answer the second question correctly, you can save a lot of money and heartache.
And now, let's continue.
The third question: how?
It would be a fatal mistake to advertise authentic Moroccan food in the 'Hambesar' newspaper, even though the Hambesar newspaper is an excellent newspaper.
By the same token, advertising a neighborhood sale in Beted Ne'eman on Tuesdays, nationwide, would be a waste of money, while our sale ("Cheap Diapers") is intended for residents of the streets closest to where we live.
Another example: If your products are mainly purchased by men, it would be a mistake to advertise in media that is mainly consumed by women (for example: the women's segment in the morning on Kol Hai radio or advertising brochures, which are naturally read mainly by women).
And these are the most extreme and amusing examples.
Each of the groups has media outlets that suit them. Even if you don't know that these channels exist, check them out. And even if there isn't a channel that suits you, it might be worth it for you to 'create' one.
Because it is better for you to invest in hiring young people to stick ads on the entrances to the buildings around you, than to publish an ad in a place that your consumer does not reach. It may be worth it for you to print, fold, and manually insert a letter with an advertising message into envelopes and mail it to institution owners, than to waste thousands of shekels and precious time on beautiful ads in media that are not read by institution owners.
If you have accurate and truthful answers to the three questions, you can move on to the next step and start designing the ad.
And more about that in the next column.
•
And again, as I promised, we will discuss a question that came in the email over the past week:
A very nice man (I bothered to meet with him, to get to the bottom of the matter) is purchasing a food business in one of the big cities. He plans to make some far-reaching changes to the business.
After clarifying and clarifying things, I recommended to him: not to make the change. Not in the first stage.
Since he has no practical experience in the specific field, I suggested that he enter the business he had just acquired, experiment, make mistakes, learn, connect with the needs and desires of the customers there. Then, and only then, go public with the 'reopening' announcement and implement the ideas he had for developing the place.
It's better to make a mistake and do unsafe things, in the name of the previous owner. It's a shame to rush and announce that there's a new line in the place, with new owners, to raise expectations among customers - and then make a big mistake.
I'm glad you're back to sending questions and requests by email - all those who applied will testify to the personal attention and quick responses.
So guys, you are welcome to send questions, requests for comments, and clarifications to my email. Interesting and insightful questions will be published and answered in the next column.
• The writer is the CEO of the consulting firm M&S, which specializes in business consulting, raising credit for businesses, building and improving sales departments, valuations and recovery plans. And he is the founder of the 'School of Business Management - Startup'.
