Why your ad spend is a waste of money
It is the most important difference between simply reaching customers and actually touching them. For most of us, it’s not that hard to remember a time when television, radio, print ads, and even (God forbid) telemarketing calls were the only way to get the word out about your business. Successful marketing was much more about how much money companies could spend, rather than what they were trying to say, and all they were saying was how good their products were. Being on the receiving end of these ads, you will know that it doesn’t really work. Gee Ranasinha of Kexino notes, “We don’t care about marketing because most marketing doesn’t care about us.”
So why do companies keep making the same mistake today?
Today many companies, especially the “big players”, spend ridiculous amounts of money for little or nothing. What’s more, these big spenders invariably lose out to others who spend a fraction of the amount on their advertising. As Mahesh Murthy of the Economic Times of India puts it: “Increasingly, heavy ad spending is not a sign of brand health, but of brand disease. If your brand needs to pay to be in the media and can’t work your way there by your own comment, then you’re just not being smart enough.”
This is also not limited to traditional advertising mediums. With the endless possibilities that the online universe presents, many migrate online only to keep making the same mistakes. There are countless pop-ups, banners, and many other types of ads, all ignored or worse, scaring people away despite initial interest in the site.
Today we live in what is often called “The Age of Transparency”. This means that whatever your marketing message is, people will know the truth, and quickly. Furthermore, this also means that if you are somehow the subject of a smear campaign, you should be able to prove your innocence. An article from The GuardianScott Scott’s Monty cited the “pink slime” scandal that hit McDonald’s not too long ago. In response to the alleged disrespect for the sanctity of human food, McDonald’s Canada posted a YouTube video showing the entire process of creating their signature nuggets. Not only did this debunk the smear campaign, but it has garnered nearly 4.5 million views and 9,000 likes so far.
The moral of the story?
Marketing is no longer about tricking people into thinking your product is more than it is. It has returned to its proper place as a mere component in the overall ‘machinery’ of your business (pardon the pun). The most important aspect of your business has always been and always will be the product or service you offer. Make it good, make it honest, and make it something people want to buy. Everything else is serious (again, sorry).