Advertising is not a substitute for good sales
technique and superb customer service. Inserting
an ad in a handy newspaper to call attention to a
line of goods will not sell those goods unless you
can back it up with intelligent, well directed
sales efforts in the store. Sales technique and
service must follow advertising and unless it does advertising is a failure.
The function of advertising is to bring
prospective buyers into the store; nothing more.
How you advertise, how much you advertise and
where you advertise, can all contribute to
advertising's success or failure. Assuming you do
an adequate job of promoting your products through
advertising, the visitors will come. Your job, then, is to convert them to customers.
When the visitors arrive, everyone in your employ
must be ready for the task. Any enthusiasm created
by your marketing efforts will cool quickly if
greeted by sour faces and dour attitudes within
the store, or worse, expecting the customer to
crawl under the counter or up a ladder to get what was advertised.
Some merchants believe a "test" of advertising is
to hide the item promoted and make the customer
ask. If no one inquires, advertising obviously
doesn't work. People are basically shy and will
not ask, fearing they didn't hear or read the ad
correctly, since the item is not prominently
displayed. Rather than risk the embarrassment of
hearing "no, Stupid, we didn't advertise anything
like that", they will leave the store, perhaps
never to return. The first step to back up your
advertising is to display the advertised products
in a conspicuous location with signage supporting
the ads. "Ah hah!.. this must be what we read about. Here it is!".
But NOT in the front window. For advertising to work, your visitors must be converted by your salespeople. If the advertised
product is in the window, the visitor can make a decision not to explore further based on a quick first impression. At least give your salespeople a fighting chance to "one on one" with a prospective customer.
Don't blame the advertising if you can not convert visitors into customers. Or worse, if you run them off before anyone has a chance to convert them.
Everyone in the store should know the items being advertised and be able to explain or demonstrate them.
Question your advertising if there are no (or few) visitors. Question your sales efforts if there are
visitors but no (or few) conversions into customers.
Advertising will pay handsome dividends when the service within the store is directed
intelligently. Advertised goods should be displayed prominently and demonstrated easily by
willing workers. Unless you can render such service, on a consistent basis, don't advertise. Sell out.
For more about advertising, get my article "Do Your Radio Ads Work?" RadioAds@BigIdeasGroup.com
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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©2004 BIG Mike McDaniel, Professional Speaker and
Former Major Market TV News Anchor.
The BIG Ideas
Group helps small business grow with mastermind
groups, seminars and sales training.
BIGIdeasGroup.com
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