Billboard Advertising in San Antonio

My job is helping people grow their business by teaching them the steps necessary how to win the minds of their customers.

What is Local Advertising

Local advertising is very intimate. Local advertising is not throwing cash to the wind. Local advertising requires measurement, deliberation, and strategy. You probably know how many competitors you have, but do you know how their foot traffic compares to yours? Do you know what market they are having the most success in? Can you use a different advertising approach to gain the upper hand in their market?

Notice the title of this inaugural blog post is not, “What is the purpose of advertising?”. The majority of my clients are local, here in San Antonio. While I do business outside of the city, my consulting is most effective at the local level, and this is where my competitive advantage is put to the test. The local advertiser faces unique challenges that a regional or national company does not. I will be discussing these challenges and differences in tomorrow’s blog post, but for the time being let’s nail down what the purpose of local advertising is.

It is surprising how many business owners and marketing directors completely misunderstand: 1. What the purpose of advertising is and 2. What advertising is supposed to accomplish. In The 33 Ruthless Rules of Local Advertising, Michael Corbett discusses advertising as establishing an equity stake in your target market.

Local Advertising is an Equity Stake 

Finance describes equity as an ‘ownership stake’ a shareholder might have in a company. We are talking about the same idea here. An equity stake is the concept of taking ownership of your consumer’s thoughts. The financial world talks about equity as ownership of an asset, an asset which presumably is going to grow and pay dividends.

Your situation as marketing director is no different - when you buy advertising you are investing in your market. This investment pays off if your calculus was correct, and it brings in prospects. After you transform your prospects into customers you now have a dividend-paying asset! Cliches are accurate - customers are your most valuable asset. While the present value of your customer at time = 0, is the sale you made at time = 0, the future value of your customer could include repeat sales, higher value sales, and referral sales!

Your Consumer’s Brain is a Battlefield 

The consumer’s brain is your battlefield, and your opponents are your competitors. Once you step foot on this battlefield, you become a general who must call the shots and rely on your subordinates for accurate information. Keeping the following laws in mind, will give you an edge as you wage war over the mind of your customer:

• Building an equity stake is a zero-sum game. The larger your equity stake in your target market, the harder your competitors must work to win back your customers’ minds. As your target market grows, so must your equity stake.
  
• Advertising needs to increase foot traffic. If your employees are not recording traffic counts (inbound phone calls, emails, walk-ins, and tire-kickers), do not start an advertising campaign until you have a system in place to efficiently record this metric. This metric is measured in prospects per month.
• Advertising can only bring a prospect to your doorstep; from that point it is up to your skilled sales force or friendly reception to turn a prospect into a loyal customer. Do not rely on advertising to increase your revenues – that is your job. I repeat - advertising can only increase your foot traffic.
• Think about perception. Like a skilled general in battle, you must survey your opponents and determine what tactics you must employ to have a killer strategy. This is where you must create the perception that your company is different from the competition. This does not necessarily have to be the case, but it is necessary to win the battle.

Gideon employed this strategy perfectly on the eve of assaulting the Midianite camp. Gideon adapted by attacking at night using torches and battle drums to cause confusion and chaos in the enemy camp. Gideon was outnumbered, but knew what tactics he had to use to put his strategy into play. He appeared much larger and powerful than he actually was.

 Know What Makes Your Company Different

What you believe makes your company different from your competition is what you must capitalize on. These unique attributes become your currency to start buying up equity in your target market. You do not buy advertising with United States Dollars, you buy advertising with your company’s uniqueness. Your prospects see your ad then when they are ready to buy- they will think of YOU.

This is successful, local advertising. Local advertising is not always about building a brand (although this might be a tactic), advertising is about creating perception. Isolate your comparative advantage, isolate why you are unique, and isolate the differences between you and the general on the other side of your battlefield. Then exploit these differences, whether they exist or not and go out and win the minds of your customers.