Advertising that Hurts Your Business

Effective advertising can do wonders for your business. Successful ad campaigns have numerous benefits, including increased revenue and additional clientele. In some cases, successful advertising has even shifted a company’s place in the market from dark horse to top contender.

However, the infamous adage, “All publicity is good publicity,” isn’t always applicable to the marketing realm. In fact, certain advertising channels may do your business more harm than good. Here are a few common mistakes that can have a negative impact on your customer’s perception of your business:

Spam
Spam, or unsolicited e-mail, frequently sent in bulk, may not sound half bad if you’re looking for an easy way to reach customers. For little cost, you can send information about your services to millions of people without using a single scrap of paper.

In reality, spam rarely helps attract customers. Spam has exceptionally low click-through rates. For example, those annoying pharmaceutical ads in your inbox have a click-through rate of just 0.02 percent, according to research conducted by CipherTrust, a company dedicated to protecting users from viruses and spam.

Pop-Ups
Like spam, pop-up ads are often ineffective. According to a 2006 study “Consumers Love to Hate Advertising” conducted by Forrester Research, 81 percent of broadband users have pop-up blocking software installed on their computers, which means getting through to prospective clients is extremely unlikely.

Beyond the blocking, it’s evident that pop-ups may pose a threat to customer satisfaction. Since customers consider spam more of an annoyance than a promotion, you may want to refrain from using this technique.

Making promises that you can’t keep
As obvious as it may seem, It’s important not to make false guarantees about your services, or be dishonest about what you can provide for your customers.

If you can't substantiate the claims you use in your promotional campaigns, don't make them, period.

Similarly, it's best to err on the side of caution when it comes to estimating the amount of time it will take you to complete a project. If you don’t meet your deadline, clients could be reluctant to trust you again. If you faster than you had planned, your clients will be pleasantly surprised and will ample reason to utilize your services again.

Keep it fresh
Boring ads do little to enhance your company’s image. Although ad campaign consistency is important to develop your brand’s image, monotonous content can have an adverse effect. If your advertising isn’t modern, prospective clients could infer that your services are out-of-date as well.

Give yourself room
A common mistake that you should avoid is trying to squeeze too much information into brochures and pamphlets. Customers generally don’t have the time to decipher a brochure, and may toss the material out before they’ve even figured out how to contact you and give your business a shot.

When designing your supply materials, remember: Less is more. Include the basic details of your business, contact information and accomplishments—but don’t worry about adding too much else. Using a simple, yet provocative headline is also essential.

Positive promotion
There is no specific advertising formula that suits every business. There are various media to choose from to promote your services—such as newspapers, magazines, the Internet, television and radio and using them all is unnecessary and expensive.

Determine which channels will be most effective based on your comfort level and budget. If you’re not particularly Web savvy, you don’t need to use the Internet for promotion. If you have a minimal budget, distributing flyers around the area is probably sufficient. Regardless of the media you choose, the most important thing is keeping your customers in mind and happy. The best advertising tactic doesn’t involve rich media, but it does require satisfied customers. Ultimately, the best promotion for your business is word-of-mouth and a customer that is impressed with the quality of your work is sure to spread the word about your business.