Unless it’s solicited, people generally don’t want your advice—not on dog training, child raising, work, or diets. Heeding this warning can be difficult for company managers and mothers of grown children. After spending years teaching, guiding, and solving problems, it can be hard to turn off that “teaching mode” when we leave work or spend time with our adult children.
When I’m Asked
At work, I get asked for advice all day long. Sometimes it’s simple questions like how to do something or where to put something. Other times, it’s big-picture decisions: Should we invest in new equipment? Is it time to let someone go? Where should we spend our advertising dollars?
Of all the questions, advertising is the hardest to answer and the one I get asked the most by budding entrepreneurs. There are so many ways to advertise these days. In a nutshell, here’s a little of what I’ve learned, some advice.
Know Your Customer’s Habits
My first tip: Don’t let the tail wag the dog.
By that, I mean don’t start with the advertising medium and work backward. Instead, start by understanding your product, who buys it, and where those customers are most likely to learn about it and make a purchase.
I know my FlagandBanner.com business-to-consumer customers tend to be older. They read newspapers, check their mail, and often prefer to use the phone.
On the other hand, my business-to-business customers shop from their desks. They search online, work from approved vendor lists, and prefer to communicate by email.
But when it comes to my other businesses, such as the Dreamland Ballroom and the Dreamland Lounge, the advertising strategy changes completely. Those customers tend to be younger and more spontaneous. They find out what’s happening around Little Rock through social media. They probably don’t even have a mailbox. (Just kidding.) But I do know they’re not reading the newspaper.
If social media is going to be your advertising strategy, my advice is to attend a tradeshow or workshop to learn the tricks of the trade from leaders in the industry. There is a lot more to being social than just throwing up a post.
The Fourth “P”
Marketing experts often talk about the three Ps: Product, Price, and Placement. Personally, I think they need to add a fourth P—and put it first: Person.
Who is your customer? Is there a need or demand for your product? Who is most likely to buy it?
Once you know that, the rest becomes much easier.
FlagandBanner.com offers a quality product at a fair price, so we advertise heavily online and through direct mail.
The Dreamland Ballroom and Lounge offer a place of enjoyment unlike any other in Little Rock, also at a fair price, so we focus much of our advertising on social media.
This advice is simple: before deciding where to advertise, make sure you know who you’re talking to. The customer should determine the advertising—not the other way around.
About the Author
Kerry McCoy founded FlagandBanner.com in 1975 with just $400 and a dream, building it from door-to-door flag sales into a multi-million dollar enterprise. With over five decades in the American flag and banner business, her insights into patriotic trends and flag sales patterns come from serving customers nationwide during times of celebration, crisis, and everything in between.
Kerry is also the host of “Up in Your Business with Kerry McCoy” radio show and continues expanding her business empire through Kerry McCoy Enterprises while sharing the entrepreneurial wisdom gained from decades of building the American dream.
