Not being there – The advertising FEAR FACTOR

One of the things I see in the wedding advertising world is the statement, “Everyone else is advertising there.  If I don’t someone will take my spot and get that business”.   I guess it is the fear of not “being there” when a potential prospect is looking.   This is not only in online advertising, but in printed advertising, billboards, bridal shows, and the list goes on.  

Unless you have an unlimited advertising budget, you need to realize something…You are not going to be everywhere all the time.   You just need to do the best job you can at making sure are going to be at the right place at the right time.   But you need to do that within reason or your advertising budget. 

One of my favorite bloggers (well my favorite blogger) recently discussed something very similar to this when it comes to the VenueAdvertising books.  You know the ones I am talking about, the wedding magazine that every venue has, that you NEED to be in.  They get the printing and showcase their venue for free, and all of the costs are picked up by the advertisers in this book.  Once again, someone is laughing all the way to the bank (I think the name was Hawthorn).  This blogger finally said NO, and it isn’t hurting her business a bit. 

I had a conversation with another gentleman recently who was spending over $4000 a year with one of the online wedding websites.  His comment was that everyone in his area was on it and he “HAD” to be on it.   He admitted himself that it took over 30 jobs a year to make up for this ONE advertising campaign.  I am still scratching my head but it is his business model and as long as he is happy, I am happy.  I am sure he is looking at the overall cost and effect of spending this much money.  Even at the cost of advertising these days (which advertising cost is really getting stupid in my opinion), one would think that you could invest in 4 or five other effective advertising outlets for that amount.  If you follow up to insure you are getting a return on your investment on each of those, you would probably make out just as well, if not better.  You may even save on some of your advertising budget.

I am not saying stop all of your advertising or don't advertise here or there as I know advertising is a cost of doing business.  Of course it is your money and you can do what you want with it.   You can always look at it as the proverbial "brand exposure", but how much are you really willing to spend for brand exposure.  One would think that we would use some common sense in advertising and getting some facts before writing that check or breaking out the charge card.  Just because everyone else is doing it, it doesn't mean it will be a cost effective form of advertising for you.   Don't let the FEAR FACTOR sway you in trying to make an informed decision on where you spend your advertising dollars.  

(And now a word from our sponsors)
It is no secret that I also have wedding professional advertising web sites throughout the country.  I would hope that the professionals that are paying our sites to advertise, are doing it because we are providing a value, and not just because "everyone else is doing it".   I also do everything we can to insure we provide a means to get a quick return on our advertiser's investment. After all, our success is totally dependent on our advertisers success.   This also mean (unlike some of the national sites out there) we do not overcharge our advertisers. 

(end of commercial)

Are you REALLY getting your return on your advertising investment???  You need to find out and get some facts so you are not overtaken by the FEAR FACTOR.  You need to do your research with each and every prospect, continue to check your web statistics, and find out what brought that prospect to you.  Last but not least, before spending money on advertising, sit down and figure out how many jobs it is going to take to recoup the costs of any form of advertisement…..and are you really getting that many jobs from that advertisement.  That is when you will turn the FEAR FACTOR into the KNOWLEDGE FACTOR.