Strategies to Multiply Your Marketing Dollars

There are many tried and true strategies to get the most impact for your marketing dollars, whether print or online, especially with limited funds. Presented below are a few tips to get you started on the right path.

1) Outline the goals for your campaign because that will affect the type of media, schedule and budget. For instance:

• Is this a newer company that needs to start by building brand awareness?
• Are you trying to market a special promotion to generate immediate sales?
• Are you in the stage of building credibility and relationships that will eventually lead to more recognition and sales?

Remember, people need to Know, Like and Trust you to buy from your company.

2) Do your homework on the media options

Print and online publishers prepare media kits that offer insights into their target audiences, distribution and rate card prices.

• Really drill down to make sure the media channel is reaching your specific target audiences and that they are actually receptive and consuming it.
• Based on your selling cycle, which media options are best and when? For instance, if you’re considering radio, listenership is higher during the summer.
• There are many other indicators such as Cost-Per-Thousand, Cost-Per-Click, etc., that we’ll get into in another edition of our e-newsletter.

3) Negotiate the best deal

Media representatives have space to fill. Once that issue of a magazine, e-newsletter or other channel is sent, they can’t get those dollars back.

• Based on our 25+ years of buying media, we can’t remember a time when we purchased an ad at rate card pricing.
• Depending on the number of ads you’re considering placing, always negotiate from a much higher ad insertion frequency and then work your way down from there.
• Also ask about remnant space, which normally comes at a very large discount.

4) Added value can give you more bang for the buck

An example is if you’re placing a print ad in a magazine, most publications also offer e-newsletters to their subscribers. To expand your exposure and awareness, negotiate ads in these online publications at no additional charge.

5) Partner with a complementary business

A great strategy to gain a lot more exposure and reduce ad costs is to contact another business to share ad space. For instance, our group has an extensive background with hotel chains, so we’ve partnered with other travel-related suppliers such as rental car and luggage rack companies to develop promotions and share ad space. This methodology also applies to online media, such as e-blasts.

So much to know and so little time

We understand that gaining a thorough knowledge of print, broadcast and online media is overwhelming. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be because you can lean on our team’s 25 years of expertise to save you time and money, while expanding your company’s impressions and results. Contact us today to discuss your strategies and see how we can take your campaigns to the next level.