Marketing Solutions Blog
To Advertise or Not to Advertise – That is the Question
February 9th, 2010 | No CommentsSo now I bet you want an answer. It depends on your business. Some businesses will thrive no matter how the economy fares and some are dependent upon consumer confidence levels and their disposable income. Some products only sell certain times of the year and some products are only NEEDED by the consumer every four to ten years (think cars and mattresses).
There are two rules of thumb when it comes to advertising. First, advertise when people are in the market for your product. For example, advertise perennials in the spring as that is when gardeners are planting. Second rule of thumb, advertise when people are not necessarily shopping for your product or service to build your brand awareness. Tires and mattresses come to mind in this instance. Tires and mattresses are advertised day in and day out, but the average consumer probably isn’t aware of this UNLESS he needs a new mattress or she needs new tires. In general, most consumers tune out advertising messages until they are in the market for the product unless something about the product or the messaging grabs their attention.
It’s always important to advertise when consumers are in the market for your product. If your product is one that is seasonal (perennials, snow tires, beach balls) then you need to focus the majority of your marketing effort on the time when consumers are buying your product.
However, if your product is one that consumers don’t think about until they actually need it then it is important to keep your brand out among potential customers. For me, this hit home about a year ago. I began searching for a long term care facility for my mother who could no longer live with me at home. There were dozens of choices and I didn’t have the first inkling of what to look for, so the first place I went was to the internet for research. Then I began paying attention to all advertising with messages about in-home care, senior daycare, long term care, rehab care. The messaging had been there all along but until I was ready to hear it, I had tuned it out.
The answer to the question I posed earlier is “yes, you should advertise”. Yes, you should advertise even when the economy is weak and even when you think that no one is paying attention. Because there is always someone paying attention and you need to be in their cross hairs when that person is ready to make a purchase. There’s a rhyme I learned in high school Junior Achievement that I’ve never forgotten: He who has a thing to sell and goes and whispers in a well is not so apt to get the dollar as he who climbs a hill and hollers.
