Andy Powers-A Professional who cares..About YOU!
Public Affairs, Advertising and Marketing
Anyone who tells you that public relations, advertising and marketing are the same thing simply does not know the difference and you should not even be having that discussion with them. But they do work hand in hand. In Business Administration Marketing 101 we were taught that advertising, marketing and public affairs are not the same thing but they do the same thing. If planned and executed properly, the combined forces of the three should attract business to your door.
Media Advertising DOES NOT SELL. Media advertising is best used as a means of branding your image to the prospective consumer.
Sending out Press Releases DOES NOT SELL. In fact, chances are unless you have something of public interest, it won't even get published.
But the power of combining the elements of advertising and effective public relations is effective and will bring customers to your door. All this takes advance planning. Know what image you want your business to project and develop compelling reasons for people to want to do business with you. Empathize with your market and the community in which you do business. Put yourself in their shoes and see if you want to do business with you. PLAN, PLAN and PLAN and when your finished, evaluate your plan and re-energize it.
Let me share with you an example. Let's say you sell diamond rings. The guy from the local telephone guide and bargain shopper news comes in and suggests that you advertise with them. They say not to worry that they will put together an ad that has pretty pictures of diamond rings. You spend ten thousand dollars in a year and wonder why you only made two sales totaling $2,000. The advertising sales people say you need to give the ads time to work for you and sell you ad renewals for another year (another $10,000).
Now let's imagine that you realize that what is more important than the diamonds that you sell is the people who buy them and understanding why they buy them. A man will buy his wife a diamond ring because of the expectation of the look on her face when she opens the gift. With that thought in mind, it will not matter if he spends $1,000 or $1,500; he will buy the ring that has the best chance of making his wife shine with love and gratitude. If your advertising expresses that feeling, he is more apt to visit your store and spend his cash than if you just showed a picture of a ring. Get it? Imagine combining that strategy with public relations. Put you and your business in the center of the community and get involved helping others. Make friends with reporters and give them a reason to write a story either around what you are doing or one that includes you. You are branding a positive public image. Now more people know who you are, and that you own that business that will help them have their wives fall in love with them all over again. I will leave the dollars up to your imagination.
Powers & Company can help you develop a plan that fits for you and attract business to your door. More importantly, we can help you monitor that plan and help it evolve enhancing your continued success.