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::: The advertising INVESTMENT PLAN
STRATEGIES of Jurg Burger
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This company
communication
technique is one way
to present products,
acquire new shares
of the market,
and consolidate
relations
with customers
(homeowners,
builders,
professionals) and
designers/architects.
The advertising
investment plan
is formulated every
year, and when
prepared with care,
ensures ample returns ...
Companies that succeed in
upholding their investments
in advertising during periods
of market contraction are the
ones in best position when the
market starts growing again. Advertising
is a fixed annual investment
in an amount proportional
to the company's turnover. Like
every investment, it pays off only
if the actions are chosen and
planned carefully and sudden, impulsive
decisions are avoided.
The drafting of an advertising
plan is also an effective way to define
company communication strategy
and to schedule related
activities during the year. A good
advertising plan provides tangible
answers to the following three
questions. What do we want to
communicate? Which target
group do we want to reach? What
results do we want to obtain?
Let’s start with the final question.
::: The results desired
from advertising
activities
In deeper detail, advertising
serves various purposes:
1. INFORMING OTHERS, MAKING A NAME
FOR YOURSELF. Before making their purchase,
customers want to see the
showroom, the brands on sale,
and the products. This awareness
influences decision-making
criteria. Innovative products require
a solid information base in
order to gain initial success.
2. WINNING NEW CLIENTS. In addition to making a name
for himself, anyone who opens
a new showroom must also
give potential customers a
good reason for visiting. Compared
to informative advertising,
communication conducted
to win new clients must exert a
power of attraction. Winning
new customers can also be an
objective for an already established
showroom.
3. POSITION YOURSELF IN THE MARKET
AND BUILD A POSITIVE IMAGE.
Positioning is a precise marketing
choice in which you define
yourself in regard to your competitors
operating in the same
territory. Every company has
to distinguish itself from its
competitors by offering products,
qualities, services, and/or expertise that it alone can offer.
If your biggest strength is the
quality of your products or service,
your potential clients had
better know all about it. This
type of communication aims at
creating a positive opinion of
the company among the members
of the target group.
4. THE INVITATION TO PURCHASE.
Advertising that directly pursues
a sales objective is usually based
on a product. The advertising
message shows the product, illustrates
its advantages, and
contains an invitation to purchase,
which may be a promotional
offer or a seasonal sale.
Product advertising is particularly
effective when it is programmed
in synergy with the advertising
campaign of the product’s
distributor. Potential clients
see or hear the distributor’s advertising
commercial while at
the same time receiving information
on where the product can
be found in his or her own town.
5. CONSOLIDATE IMPORTANT RELATIONS.
Development of activities in a
multi-merchandise showroom
depends on the capacity to establish
and consolidate good relations
with designers. Not only
does the architect have the
power to influence the client’s
choices, he can also provide orientation
towards the showroom
he prefers. Cultivating and consolidating
relations with your
designer(s) is a strategically important
objective.
Each one of the objectives above
has its own importance that
must be scaled with the company’s
resources and priorities. The annual advertising plan is the strategic
tool that sets the size of
the investment, the objectives to
achieve, the target groups to
reach, and the communication
content and channels to use. It is
important to re-formulate the
plan each year in order to optimize
the investment and prevent
the fragmentation of the budget
into uncoordinated actions that
are often improvised at the last
minute to exploit opportunities
that may appear interesting from
the economic point of view but
have little to do with the company’s
overall strategy.
::: How can
the advertising plan
be structured?
We offer these guidelines for the
considerations and assessments
to be made:
1. DEFINE THE OBJECTIVES OF SHOWROOM
DEVELOPMENT:
• Which methods will we use to
increase company turnover?
• Do we need to win new types
of customer?
• How can we improve our
working relationship with designer(s)?
• Which new products do we
intend to propose to our customers?
• Which new services or improvements
in existing services
will best satisfy our customer’s
expectations?
2. SET THE BUDGET FOR ADVERTISING
INVESTMENTS.
3. DEFINE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES FOR EACH
TARGET GROUP, SUCH AS:
• Homeowners: spread word
about the showroom (if recently opened), expand usership,
and spread word about new
products or new services, etc.
• Designers/Architects: update
them regularly on all the new
collections, inform them of innovations,
and establish relationships
with new architect
studios, etc.
• Builders and professionals:
win new customers in this
group by proposing new
products and solutions.
4. DECIDE THE CONTENT OF YOUR MESSAGES.
Company advertising introduces
your company, positions
it in regard to your competitors,
and contains the promise you
make to your clients. Informative
advertising and promotional
advertising deal instead with
your products and services.
5. CHOOSE THE MOST APPROPRIATE ADVERTISING
CHANNELS FOR THE ACHIEVEMENT
OF YOUR COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES
FOR EACH TARGET GROUP.
The main advertising channels
to be considered are:
• Billboards and handbills
These are suited to increasing
the visibility of your showroom
and communicating offers
and promotions. They
have low costs and can be restricted
to specific areas.
• Newspapers and magazines
The printed press is an excellent
company advertising channel.
Local newspapers can be used
to reinforce the product advertising
performed by the distributor
in the national press.
• Internet
Internet is another useful
channel for winning customer loyalty. Website newsletters
and e-mail communication can
be very helpful in providing
architects, builders and professionals
with technical information
and updates. CRM
(Customer relationship management)
software has been
developed with the express
purpose of personalizing communication
with loyal customers
to great degree.
• Local trade fairs
Participation in trade fairs is
a good way to make a name
for yourself and present your
best products and most innovative
services to a wide segment
of the public. The dialogue
with potential clients is
direct, and offers the chance
to explain all your product’s
advantages, answer questions,
remove doubts, and
showcase your expertise.
6. PLAN YOUR ADVERTISING ACTIVITIES
AROUND THE YEAR.
Good planning does not preclude
significant unplanned investments
throughout the year.
One quarter of your budget
may be set aside for special
events and opportunities that
arise during the year, provided
that they are coherent with the
communication strategy already
formulated.
7. ESTABLISH CRITERIA FOR THE CHECKING
OF ADVERTISING ACTIVITY EFFICACY.
Checking results is the fundamental
requisite for the improvement
of your communication
and your choice of the
next means to adopt. Result data
will be useful in optimizing
next year’s investment.
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