Watch out for the “I am # 1″.
I worked in media before, both selling and buying and the biggest problem is how easy it is to confuse the advertiser with #s.
First of all, every media property is # 1 in something, but that doesn’t mean they are # 1 in what is most important to you.
There are a few basic steps to choosing the right advertising partner.
1. Understand who your ideal customer really is. Are they people who eat out a lot? Someone who is graduating college and needs to buy a car and get an apartment?… maybe a new married couple who could be house shopping.
2. Know how far your customers may actually travel. Are the majority of your customers walking in from the neighborhood or traveling just to visit your business? If the majority of your traffic is local, don’t buy any media that isn’t 75% focused on your local footprint or you will be paying to reach people who are highly unlikely to visit your store.
3. Know your size. If you can’t handle more than 15 customers a day, why pay for advertising that would have to result in 30 customers per day to break even?
Make sure you ask the right questions and always run the #’s. As much as we all hate the spreadsheets… financial analysis is key to successful decision making.
