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... cross-section of newspapers and magazines. A regular flow of basic news relea...tice effective marketing grow, thrive, and prosper. They spend the money requi...

Do Advertising And Marketing Work?
It never ceases to ... say the same thing about our products and services?

... mathematics, whose results could cause the agency to dramatically increase (or not) its YP advertising based on projected returns. Another non-standard agency we encountered that did this exercise was happy to spend more than $15,000 a month for the back of the telephone book. They make so much money on their ad budget that they consider it an investment, not a cost. But don't assume that because ads worked for this agency that they'll work for you. Every agency has its unique marketing areas, products, and competition ... return substantially more than this make-believe scenario. It's unbelievable that agents will back away from a successful advertising campaign after they've proven that it works. 6. Don't confuse advertising with marketing, and use both to achieve your goals. "Spend" marketing money over extended periods of time to familiarize prospects with you and your products before you "invest" in advertising to achieve direct sales. THE PROCESS OF THE SALE Earlier I told you about how an advertisement directly influenced me to seek out a product because the timing of the ad ... some of the snow and ice to let the water flow away from the building, ice-cold water was constantly pouring on my head from the gutters. I had a product need. A firm called GutterGuard, one of the top 15 home improvement companies named by Remodeling magazine, realizing that heavy snow and ice meant an opportunity, placed a full-page ad in our regional newspaper on the Sunday after the heavy snow. I called. They answered very courteously and had a salesman at my door the next afternoon. During my conversation with ...

... and prosper. They spend the money required for an effective program because they see marketing as an investment in the future. John R. Graham is president of Graham Communications, a marketing services and sales consulting firm founded in 1976. He's the author of a new book, 203 Ways to Be Supremely Successful in the New World of Selling (Macmillan Spectrum, 1996) and Magnet Marketing: The Ultimate Strategy for Attracting and Holding Customers (John Wiley & Sons) . Graham writes for a variety of publications and speaks ... benefits, daily business activity often overwhelms the priority of developing and implementing a marketing program. A successful marketing program is the direct result of a company's commitment and attention to these three basic steps: 1. GETTING WITH THE GOALS Establishing goals and objectives for a particular period of time, perhaps 12 months, is the first step. Be realistic, identifying what you want to accomplish based on what can be achieved. Is the task to increase the visibility of your company in the marketplace? Is the commitment to differentiate your company ... and consumer publications. Such articles increase a company's credibility and position its key personnel as experienced in a particular field. The recruitment firm Robert Half International crafts surveys and distributes their results to hundreds of publications. You'll find published references in a broad cross-section of newspapers and magazines. A regular flow of basic news releases noting new hires, personnel promotions, new products, achievements, seminar and trade show attendance, charitable efforts, awards, and dozens of other subtle efforts will eventually have an impact. Yet most companies don't take advantage ...