LANSING – Your website is up, signs are in place, the literature is glossy and your Facebook is a “like.” But where are your customers? It’s an advertising slump. The conundrum: trying to figure out how to attract more customers while meeting the day-to-day business demands. It’s time to break the slump. The best place to start is a Strategic Communications Plan.
“Many companies never seem to be satisfied with their advertising performance,” says Lori Cunningham, Managing Partner of Queue Advertising. What are we talking about? “Simply the targeting, messaging, outreach and follow-up activities that attract customers,” adds Steve Trecha, President and Chief Results Officer of Integrated Strategies Inc.
“The SCP spans a period of time, results are reviewed frequently and actions happen based on results,” states Jordan Sutton, director of Operations and Client Services at Sutton Advisors. “An advertising plan, no matter the size of your budget, is an important guide in every business decision.” Think about it – without customers the business doesn’t survive. Without a plan, you slump.
“You’re in a slump when you launch your business too,” observes Kellie Johnson-Murphy, owner of Kellie’s Consignments, a popular apparel and furnishings consignment gallery in Okemos, MI. Similar to a baseball batter’s slump, simply saying, “See the ball; hit the ball,” doesn’t break a slump. “It’s not as easy as that,” notes Johnson-Murphy. “It’s a strategy. It’s knowing your target market and advertising channels and finding the combination that works best. I call it the recipe.”
By Lori Cunningham, President of Queue Advertising
To read the rest of her column, click on https://www.sbam.org/Resources/ArtMID/2980/ArticleID/2459/Where-are-my-customers
