Advertising That Works

"In our factory, we make lipstick. In our advertising, we sell hope."
-Peter Nivio Zarlenga

I did a post recently about the downside of advertising, and the backlash and loss it can bring.Read the post here

This post is about the right and proven way to advertise for maximum impact, over the years a lot of money have been poured into advertising, by companies and in some cases the product ends up failing in the market, below a good way to build a good advertising philosophy.

Listings/Directories.
Google is a good example of this, as part of its no advertisement commitment, Google has kept opening the search page, refreshing bare and free of advertisement.

It only sells listings and the listings are separate from the search result and have no influence on them.

Listing/directories are places where customers go when they need products. The difference between directories and advertisement is that customers visit directories with purchase intent.

Word Of Mouth Marketing (WOMM)

This has been confirmed as the most valuable form of advertising, the one that consumers trust above all other forms of advertising, it is also the most likely to drive sales.

A research by WOMMA (word of mouth marketing association) showed that 92% of consumers will be convinced to buy a product by word of mouth more than any other form of advertising.

So as an entrepreneur, you should take word of mouth seriously.
You may be asking, if consumers value word of mouth and marketers believe it is effective, then why aren’t marketers more focused on it?

The problem is that for the last few years, marketers have been focused on “collecting” instead of “connecting.” In other words, brands are too caught up in collecting social media fans and they are forgetting to actually connect with them.

Having 100 really passionate fans that love your brand or product is exponentially more effective than having 10,000 “fans” who signed up just to win a free iPhone from you.

Marketers and entrepreneur have studied the four P’s (product, price, place, promotion). But in this new age of social media and information, they need to learn to learn the three E’s (Engage, Equip, Empower).

Having a good grasp of the three E’s , can do wonders for your business, I will go ahead and discuss them in detail;

Engage

Give your customers and followers adequate attention whether you run your business online or offline Engage with them. Listen to what they are telling you. Be part of the conversation about your brand. Be a presence in your fans’ lives.

Danny inny of CEO of Mirasee is a prime example of customer service done well. He and his team are very responsive, no email you send to them will go unanswered.

You must not run your business online before you engage with your customers, it might be as simple as putting a complaint or suggestion box in your office, or ask them orally, it shows your customers that you value their opinion.

Equip

Give your customers reasons to talk. It can be amazing products, great service, promos, It’s on you. It really depends on your understanding of your customers and what will please them the most. Another area you can focus on is social customer service.

Empower

Give consumers different ways to talk and share, let them know that they are important to you and sharing their opinion is important to you.

Follow me on @ogochukwu for more content