Advertising - Should You Be Advertising Your Services?

Home
>
Advertising
>
Advertising - Should You Be Advertising Your Services?

Advertising - Should You Be Advertising Your Services?

You offer a reliable, quality service. You know that if more people knew what you can do, you'd increase sales. So you advertise in the most likely media for potential clients to read about you. But there's no response. Why?

If this scenario is familiar to you there's a few likely causes.

1. Maybe your ad's aren't designed well - poor layout, inappropriate offer, etc.

2. Maybe you have selected the wrong media, placement or timing.

3. Maybe you shouldn't be advertising your services.

Now I know there's a lot to consider when writing advertisements - creating "killer headlines", long copy versus short copy arguments, using white space, etc - and I could give you some tips on how to buy media. But I'm not getting into that today. I'm going to talk about the third point - maybe you shouldn't advertise.

But wait! (I hear you ask)... Why shouldn't I advertise my business?

Put simply, some services are not suitable to be advertised in the usual fashion. Most advertising is to stimulate action, usually a purchase or decision to place an order. If you're selling a 'product' this is relatively easy to achieve. Customers know what they are buying. There's usually some sort of benchmark, or product criteria, customers use to judge whether your product will do what they want.

But when it comes to services, many potential customers (or clients - I use both terms interchangeably) may not be able to make the same sort of judgement. This is particularly the case for services where the specific outcome is hard to predict, or where there is a large degree of emotional involvement or risk in the customers decision making process.

Think about it this way. Services can be broadly classified under the following headings:

* People Processing (eg hairdresser, medical)

* Possession Processing (eg computer repairs, dog obedience training)

* Knowledge Processing (eg education, entertainment)

* Information Processing (eg accounting, investment advice)

Generally speaking, possession and people processing services are more tangible than knowledge or information processing. For possession and people processing services, clients can see/touch/feel the outcomes, and they may even be personally involved in the delivery of the actual service. Additionally, tangible services usually incorporate a higher level of personal contact (intensity or frequency) between the provider and the customer.

So, for more tangible services, clients often have more reference points on which to base a future purchase decision.

If your business provides services with less tangible, and more variable, outcomes then media advertising may not be the best answer for you. For your type of services customers will be very interested to understand 'how' you deliver your service and will need to develop a suitable degree of trust in you before they will make the decision to use your services. These criteria cannot be fully met through advertising alone.

So what should you do to get more business? Here are a few ideas:

* Perform your service to an excellent standard - surpassing mere customer satisfaction.

* Provide information to educate your potential clients.

* Develop sales processes that identify real problems you can solve.

* Make sure you address the true concerns and risks of your clients.

* Understand the clues customers use to decide whether they will use you.

* Create a network of related service providers who may refer prospects to you.

* Develop mutually beneficial joint-promotional activities with well-respected businesses in complementary fields.

Please don't misunderstand my message. Advertising can be very productive. If you can clearly state specific benefits (i.e. outcomes) and overcome the initial concerns of prospective clients, then advertising may work for you. That's why possession processing services such as lawn mowing can be easily advertised. For your average lawn the customer can recognise and understand what they are buying.

However, if your business provides relatively intangible services that deliver outcomes dependent upon a variety of factors, then media advertising should not be high on your list of marketing activities.

Stuart Ayling runs Marketing Nous, an Australasian marketing consultancy that specialises in marketing for service businesses. He helps clients to improve their marketing tactics, attract more clients, and increase revenue. Stuart also offers telephone consultations and runs regular marketing seminars. For additional marketing resources, including Stuart's popular monthly newsletter, visit his web site at http://www.marketingnous.com.au.

In The News:

Yahoo! News: Top Stories

Burris denied seat in US Senate to succeed Obama (AP)

AP - Roland Burris failed in his bid to take President-elect Barack Obama's Illinois Senate seat on Tuesday in a scripted piece of political theater staged just before the opening of the 111th Congress.

Economic crisis, Obama response face new Congress (AP)

AP - The new Congress opened for business at the stroke of noon on Tuesday, eager to join President-elect Barack Obama in tackling the worst economic crisis in generations. Democrats celebrated last fall's election gains in the House and Senate.

Israeli strike near UN school kills at least 30 (AP)

AP - An Israeli bombardment struck outside a U.N. school where hundreds of Palestinians had sought refuge on Tuesday, the U.N. and Palestinian medics said, killing at least 30 people many of them children whose parents wailed in grief at a hospital filled with dead and wounded.

Obama says trillion-dollar deficits may last years (AP)

AP - President-elect Barack Obama says the nation probably faces huge deficits for years to come, but heavy spending is needed now to spur the economy.

Social Security begins taking online applications (AP)

AP - The Social Security Administration, bracing for the coming eligibility of 80 million baby boomers, is introducing an online application that will allow people to apply for retirement benefits in as little as 15 minutes.

Stocks up moderately after mixed economic reports (AP)

AP - Wall Street proceeded cautiously Tuesday, with stocks rising moderately following disappointing readings on pending home sales and factory orders.

Apple cuts copy protection and prices on iTunes (AP)

AP - Apple Inc. is cutting the price of some songs in its market-leading iTunes online music store to 69 cents and plans to begin selling all tracks without copy protection.

Travolta family returns to US with son's remains (AP)

AP - Actor John Travolta and his wife, Kelly Preston, have returned to Florida with the remains of their 16-year-old son, Jett, who died at the family vacation home in Grand Bahama.

Islamic militants ridicule death of Bush cat (AP)

AP - Islamic militants posted sarcastic comments on an extremist Web site Tuesday ridiculing a recent announcement by First Lady Laura Bush that the family's cat had died.

Phillies' J.C. Romero is suspended for 50 games (AP)

AP - Phillies reliever J.C. Romero and Yankees minor league pitcher Sergio Mitre were suspended for the first 50 games of next season after testing positive for a banned substance.

Democrat Roland Burris blocked from Senate (Reuters)

Reuters - The man named by the scandal-plagued governor of Illinois to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate failed to gain entry on Tuesday when the chamber's secretary rejected as incomplete his credentials for the seat.

Israeli tank fire kills 42 at U.N. school: medics (Reuters)

Reuters - Israeli tank shells killed more than 40 Palestinians on Tuesday at a U.N. school where civilians had taken shelter, medical officials said, in carnage likely to boost international pressure on Israel to halt a Gaza offensive.

Treasury says TARP costs $26.55 million through January (Reuters)

Reuters - How much does it cost to spend $350 billion?

New Congress convenes focused on economy (Reuters)

Reuters - Democrats sealed their increased control of the U.S. Congress on Tuesday with the swearing in of newly elected members expected to help enact President-elect Barack Obama's call for a massive economic stimulus package.

U.S. and European data grim (Reuters)

Reuters - Dire economic data from the United States and Europe showed the world's two largest economies remain mired in recession, and Toyota Motor Corp said it would halt all production in Japan in response to plunging demand.

Obama says expects deficit to approach $1 trillion (Reuters)

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama said on Tuesday that he expects to inherit a U.S. budget deficit approaching $1 trillion and that his administration would have to make some tough budget choices.

Russian gas disruption spreads across Europe (Reuters)

Reuters - Russia sharply cut gas flows to Europe via Ukraine on Tuesday in a dramatic worsening of a pricing dispute with Kiev that threatened to disrupt supplies as far west as Italy and Germany.

Many in U.S. military don't get time to vote: study (Reuters)

Reuters - Many U.S. troops serving overseas are effectively excluded from voting because they are not given enough time to cast absentee ballots, according to a report released on Tuesday.

Heavy fighting in Gaza City as Israel opposes truce calls (AFP)

AFP - The heaviest fighting of Israel's war on Hamas raged in Gaza's main city early on Tuesday as the Israeli government fended off appeals to stop the death toll from mounting further.

Obama picks Leon Panetta as CIA head (AFP)

AFP - US president-elect Barack Obama has chosen former White House chief of staff Leon Panetta to head the Central Intelligence Agency, a Democratic Party official told AFP Monday.

Advertising - Should You Be Advertising Your Services?

Advertising Advertising