7 mistakes small businesses commit when they cut down on advertising
Small businesses make
the biggest mistake when they cut their advertising expense when they should be
pumping it up. Advertising and promotional expenses are needed to get more
sales, customers, and mindshare on crushing the competition.
But the first thing
that suffers when businesses eliminate advertising expense is the entire
business. What happens if a business—whether starting out or is established
already—stops to promote and advertise?
You don’t stay on top
of mind. Why do Telcos and other big brands continuously advertise non-stop? Do
you see any TV network, broadsheet, or radio station having no Telco
commercials or ads? They want to be on top of mind, or the one with the biggest
mindshare to their customers whom they don’t want to switch to the competition.
Mindshare always keeps the bucks. Whoever brand that stays on top of the
purchasing mind of the customer, wins.
You pay large taxes.
Businesses that don't have advertising expenses pay huge taxes because there is
no deduction for sales discounts and ad and promo as a business operational
expense. You use advertisement to get more customers and have more sales. So,
how come you are not promoting and advertising? Sales discounts are tax
deductible and so is advertising expense.
You don’t maximize your
sales potential. Some days, you decide to give clients sales promotion and days
when you want to dispose of your inventory but since nobody knew it except your
staff and crew, you are not maximizing its full potential. Instead of selling
more, you get less.
You lose sales
dramatically. You put in a lot of investment and capital to your business only
for it to suffer because you cut up the chance for your old and new customers
to get to know you better, and cement the relationship.
You know that you are
not doing something important. Feeling guilty about not really pushing your
business to the limits? Because you keep it in the dark. This is the age of
information (overload) and social media where people’s attention is just within
140-character span. This is the age of all sorts of distraction. So, what are
you doing in the cave?
You miss some things
that the “word of mouth” cannot deliver.
Word of mouth advertising or WOMMA is not the ‘tell all, be all of sales
and marketing’. It’s a great partner of an effective advertisement, promotion,
and marketing campaign that drives customers into your stores and drive sales
to your cash register. Like what the big brands do, invest in a good ad plan
and work with only the best agencies that help build your business rather than
just robbing you of ad money.
You don’t make your
brand or business live forever. Because you don’t talk about it so often, you
don’t innovate. You don’t claim your position, and that is why the competition
is eating you. You don’t go where your customers are and so you risk to be
forgotten. You are not talking to your market regularly and you don’t stay into
their minds and therefore get no share of their pockets.
I know a lot of small
businesses that cut down immensely on their ad budgets and I also know why
their sales and popularity drop dramatically as days go by. There is a
multi-million suite-slash-hotel, bar and restaurant near our place. The owners
have spent a lot of their fortune in that business but unfortunately, it’s not
making money. From the looks of it, it is losing badly. Why? The lady owner is
so proud that she thought, if she builds it, they will come. Crazy!
Well, it’s her loss
anyway. Unless, she learns the painful lesson that she really needs to advertise,
promote, and market her business; it is the only time she can smile with her
sales.
Do you need a clue?
Life is a Beach and she’s one of them.
Follow me on Instagram
@vanjpadilla and let’s start the storytelling session rolling.
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