Newsletters and brochures can be powerful marketing tools if they are done right. Learn how to make your printed pieces sell for you. You'll get tips on content, wording, design, typestyles, photos, art, paper, color, printing and more. Bring your printed materials for a confidential review.
 

By Mario A. Pedraza, Business Development Specialist      [Home]
 

Most of the data necessary to answer these issues is usually gathered through research. However, given the reality (budget and time) of small business, most small business executives must rely on journal articles, news, networking, their knowledge of the
market and their best judgment.

If you feel the need to gather some data for this project, good and relatively inexpensive sources of data include the internet, public and college libraries, the local chambers of commerce, trade organizations and trade journals. Commercial data services sell more extensive data to help answer a multitude of more intricate questions such as psychographics and behavioristics.

Remember that all forms of advertising (ads, publications, etc.) are an investment in the future of your company. These efforts do not deliver instant sales nor publicity unless your budget rivals McDonalds'. A steady and patient ad campaign is often the
best strategy. Your goal should be to keep your name in front of the customer and to offer relevant information about your business before, during and after the sale.
 

Answer the following questions to the best of your ability, time and budget constraints. Focus facts and your creative ideas on the problem at hand.
 

   1.Product or Service:

   2.Key Fact: Based on analysis of relevant facts. (Example: You are losing money to the guy across the street, even though your product is twice as good at half the cost.)

   3.Problem advertising must solve.(Attract more customers so you can show them your high quality, competitively priced products.)

   4.Advertising Objective. Be sure to write the objective in measurable and quantifiable terms. Include a current level, milestones and a target level. State a time frame for the project, a deadline and a budget.

   5.Business Dynamics

          Competition: Are they savvy or slow; are they beating you or ignoring you?

          Top Customers: How loyal are they and why do they buy from you?

          Allies or Associates: Can you count on their support?

          Suppliers/Creditors: Will they support this ad campaign?

          Shareholders: Are they hostile or passive? How will they influence this decision?

          Government and Interest Groups: Is the planned advertising likely to stir regulatory or private interest groups into action against you?

          Employees: How will the planned advertising affect them and will they like and support the advertising? Will the advertising help them to be more productive?
 

          Demographics of customers: Age, sex, income, education, marital status,etc.

          Psychographics of customers: Values, attitudes and lifestyles.

          Geographics of customers: Where the customers can be found.

          Behavioristics of customers: How the customers behave toward a product and how they behave to different brands of similar products.

   7.Product or Service Characteristics:

          Features: The physical characteristics of the product or service.

          Selling Points (attributes): What the features give the customer.

          Benefits, Problem Solution or/and Fun Factor: What the selling points mean to the customer. How do your services or products add value to the client's business or personal lifestyle?

   8.Persuasion: How do you stack up against the competition?

          Do your target customers know you exist [Attention]?

          If they know you exist, do they care [Interest]?

          If they are interested, do they understand and like your product [Desire]?

          If they desire your product, are they currently buying your product [Action]?
 

  10.Reason Why: This statement supports the Promise.

  11.Other Issues

          Budget : How much can you spend on this project?

          Timing: When do you want the advertising to appear? Be sure to take into account seasonal business patterns and the lead times for design, production and distribution.

          Distribution: Number of copies to be printed. How will your message get out? Are you sending direct mail or placing a 4-color ad in a magazine. Will you hand out pamphlets at your place of business or place fliers on car windshields?
 

          What are you going to do? Describe project: "Print 5,000 copies of a 2-color, 2-fold, 6-panel pamphlet, printed on 8.5 in. by 11 in., 80-pound glossy coated white stock paper. Final size will be 8.5 in. by 3.5 in. Distribution will be by direct mail. The desired effect is to generate awareness of the company and to support sales calls."

          Why? Give rationale. This is the problem advertising must solve.

          Who? The target customers.

          What do these target customers believe now?

          What do you want them to believe?

          What one fact do you want to communicate to the target customers? The Big Idea or the Theme of your advertising. Remember, if you emphasize everything, you emphasize nothing. Don't try to cover everything.

          How will you persuade them? What facts, substantiation, endorsements are you going to produce?

          What do you want them to do? State the action the target customer must take in order for your advertisement to be successful.

          Your brand character. This is derived from: 1) target audience, 2) stated benefits, 3) whether this is a high, medium or low class product, 4) the price and 5) whether it is bought on impulse [low involvement] or only after some thought [high involvement], 6) where the product is sold or distributed.

          Personality or tone of the advertisement or publication? Formal, informal, whimsical.

          Language of the advertisement or publication? Professional terms, technical terms,lay terms, specific education level of target customers, childrens language, foreign language, etc.

  13.Ad campaign measurement. Be sure to measure the success of your ad or publication by asking your customers where they heard of you, whether they saw your ad or publication and what they thought of it. You can prepare a simple (and anonymous) customer reply card with 6 or 7 questions (no more!) about your business. Three questions could be about your ad campaign.