ic environment, advertising takes time to catch on. Although some famous print ads and television commercials have had immediate impact, most advertising builds slowly through consistency and repetition. Thus your advertising must appear frequently enough to become a familiar presence; think of it as something that customers must see three or four times before noticinIf you think advertising is a high-stakes gamble, one that is full of risks and gimmicks at expensive prices, think again. Advertising follows, in fact, some very logical rules. The first is that good advertising is based on market research. Before you advertise, you need to understand the customers you're trying to reach. What are their needs? What factors influence their decisions to buy? What features of your products or services offer what they truly want? And what weaknesses in your competitors could bring these target customers to you?

The second rule is that when you are advertising, particularly with different media, you must always measure your advertising results. Only through consistent, systematic evaluation can you determine the percent of return you're getting for each ad dollar spent. Moreover, by pinpointing which advertising is working and which is not, you can capitalize on your successes, cut your losses and revise your program by trying a different sales approach or different media.

Track your advertising religiously. Always ask new customers how they heard about you. Put a dedicated phone number in your Yellow Pages ad; the number of calls coming in on this line will quantify the effect the ad is having. If you advertise with coupons, count the coupons redeemed. If your advertising spotlights a certain product or service, monitor its sales.

A third rule is that like anything new entering the public environment, advertising takes time to catch on. Although some famous print ads and television commercials have had immediate impact, most advertising builds slowly through consistency and repetition. Thus your advertising must appear frequently enough to become a familiar presence; think of it as something that customers must see three or four times before noticingfluence their decisions to buy? What features of your products or services offer what they truly want? And what weaknesses in your competitors could bring these target customers to you?

The second rule is that when you are advertising, particularly with different media, you must always measure your advertising results. Only through consistent, systematic evaluation can you determine the percent of return you're getting for each ad dollar spent. Moreover, by pinpointing which advertising is working and which is not, you can capitalize on your successes, cut your losses and revise your program by trying a different sales approach or different media.

Track your advertising religiously. Always ask new customers how they heard about you. Put a dedicated phone number in your Yellow Pages ad; the number of calls coming in on this line will quantify the effect the ad is having. If you advertise with coupons, count the coupons redeemed. If your advertising spotlights a certain product or service, monitor its sales.

A third rule is that like anything new entering the public environment, advertising takes time to catch on. Although some famous print ads and television commercials have had immediate impact, most advertising builds slowly through consistency and repetition. Thus your advertising must appear frequently enough to become a familiar presence; think of it as something that customers must see three or four times before noticintic evaluation can you determine the percent of return you're getting for each ad dollar spent. Moreover, by pinpointing which advertising is working and which is not, you can capitalize on your successes, cut your losses and revise your program by trying a different sales approach or different media.

Track your advertising religiously. Always ask new customers how they heard about you. Put a dedicated phone number in your Yellow Pages ad; the number of calls coming in on this line will quantify the effect the ad is having. If you advertise with coupons, count the coupons redeemed. If your advertising spotlights a certain product or service, monitor its sales.

A third rule is that like anything new entering the public environment, advertising takes time to catch on. Although some famous print ads and television commercials have had immediate impact, most advertising builds slowly through consistency and repetition. Thus your advertising must appear frequently enough to become a familiar presence; think of it as something that customers must see three or four times before noticin how they heard about you. Put a dedicated phone number in your Yellow Pages ad; the number of calls coming in on this line will quantify the effect the ad is having. If you advertise with coupons, count the coupons redeemed. If your advertising spotlights a certain product or service, monitor its sales.

A third rule is that like anything new entering the public environment, advertising takes time to catch on. Although some famous print ads and television commercials have had immediate impact, most advertising builds slowly through consistency and repetition. Thus your advertising must appear frequently enough to become a familiar presence; think of it as something that customers must see three or four times before noticinic environment, advertising takes time to catch on. Although some famous print ads and television commercials have had immediate impact, most advertising builds slowly through consistency and repetition. Thus your advertising must appear frequently enough to become a familiar presence; think of it as something that customers must see three or four times before noticing it's there.

Besides being logical, advertising can also be inexpensive - even free. So after you've identified your target customer and defined your strategic sales message - the prerequisites to all forms of advertising - explore the following cost-saving advertising alternatives.