Monday, March 25, 2019

How To Know When You Need A New Advertising Agency

Even though many of us don't own or run our own businesses, we know that times can be pretty rough in the business world. In order to stand out and compete, businesses will take on the services of an advertising agency so that while the business focuses on having a solid product or service to offer, the advertising agency can focus on making the business a consumer juggernaut.

In practice, this sounds great. In fact, the argument can be made that this is the way to go for businesses looking to stay ahead of the game versus their competition. Far more often than you'd think, businesses will try to take on advertising internally, figuring that no one knows their business better than they do. The problem with this is that at some point, you're too close and drawing conclusions on advertising strategy is being done based on emotion rather than analysis & assessment. In the same way you can't really tickle yourself, it's hard to handle your own advertising.

But, sometimes the job isn't getting the job done. What was once an exciting partnership isn't quite as productive, and you wonder what the future holds. Moreover, you hope you see the signs of decline before it starts affecting your bottom line.

How can you tell it's time for a new advertising agency? Well, that be harder than you think. Here are a few tell-tale signs it's time to part ways:

You Encounter Nothing But "Yes" Men - A business owner may find the idea of uniform agreement pretty nice simply because it makes you feel as though you've got all of the answers. The problem is that an advertising agency needs to be able to challenge their client to think differently.

You Lose Track of the Numbers - How advertising dollars are spent weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly helps a business know where they stand financially, where they need to re-group, and how best to move forward. Transparency is key, but if an advertising agency isn't keeping communication about these numbers open, the business who hired them is flying blind.

Your Advertising Agency is Missing in Action - When things are new & exciting, the advertising agency you hired for your business is maintaining regularly scheduled communication, providing a breakdown of all that is happening with your account. Over time, though, the communication becomes less frequent, and the business starts feeling left out and less important. Tension can fester, making subsequent meetings with the agency feel forced and uncomfortable. Both sides may dread appointments. It's time for a change.

The one thing businesses need to keep in mind when working with an advertising agency is that in order for plans and strategies to play out, it takes time. Each side plays their part in achieving goals & milestones along the way. However, keep in mind that an advertising agency works for your business, and if they aren't cutting it anymore, you have to find an agency that will.




The Truth About Menu Boards

Digital Menu Boards are utilized in less than 20% of restaurants in overall nation. The other 80% are needlessly missing out on some incredibly easy and effective ways to increase the bottom line.

What's today's special?

Over half of restaurant customers look to menu boards specifically to find out what's on special. But incredibly, almost half the time the very information that these eager customers were looking for, literally with their money in their hands, was nowhere to be found! For the 80%, it's easy to see why. Imagine how difficult it would be to change static chalkboard signage every time you change your special. For owners of digital display systems, what's on your display can be changed at the touch of a button, with the changes automatically reflected in your POS system, too.

This disadvantage is especially crushing if your major target consumers are younger. The Millennials, perhaps the most important demographic for QSR establishments, are less set in their ways about everything, including the food that they eat. They are looking for new food experiences and your meal specials are prime candidates. Why would you want to miss this opportunity?

One picture is worth 1000 words:

QSR customers are in a hurry. They won't take a time to read lengthy explanations. That's why pictures are essential, especially if you're promoting a new menu item. A tantalizing vision of your latest promotional special, in all its mouthwatering glory in living color, will have your customers reaching for their wallets far faster than any verbal description. While posting great pictures is as easy as a few taps on a keyboard for operators boasting digital display systems, it will present much more of a challenge for those still stuck with chalkboard or painted signage.

Greater control with digital signage:

For franchises or other types of multi-site operators, what customers see on menu boards can be centrally controlled. A new limited time offer and new pricing can be made to appear at all your locations, whether they are on the other side of town, or on the other side of the continent. And, if you're spending millions on advertising that great new blockbuster offer on the web and on TV, you want to make sure that what your hungry, eager customers see on your menu signs is in sync with the expectations that you spent so much time, effort and money in creating.




3 Surprising Ways Artificial Intelligence Can Push Marketing and Advertising to the Next Level

Artificial intelligence is going to change everything we do in advertising and marketing, but not in the way we think. The truth is that if used correctly, RPA software and intelligent machine learning can give companies and agencies the power to provide extraordinary experiences for customers. The kind of campaigns that move the customer on an emotional level.

After all, that is the key to a loyal customer base. The people who come back again and again because they know on a gut level that a business understands them. Steve Jobs saw this after a calligraphy class inspired his design for the iconic mac fonts. Creativity and intelligent automation seem like the furthest concepts from one another, but in fact, they are intrinsically connected.

We are currently drowning in a sea of data. This data contains valuable information about consumer preferences, their likes, and dislikes. The key to creating something that consumers truly want. Even giants, such as holding companies dedicate a massive amount of resources to crunching the numbers.

Combining AI with creativity can open up a whole new field of marketing and advertising. There are three ways this can take shape, and they are all interconnected.

Targeted Experiences - when you add AI to the marketing mix, it opens up a whole new category in the funnel. This means curated experiences for every different type of customer in the market. Capturing Millenials and Baby Boomers with the same campaign, using powerful messaging that appeal to each group. This isn't the stuff of tomorrow. Many agencies are already deploying AI technologies to their advantage and producing creative that works across the board. According to Entrepreneur, AI will help companies target customers more accurately and place budget dollars where they belong.

Tighter Budgets - speaking of dollars, the analytical power of AI software will help solve one of the most age-old problems in advertising. Funding campaigns that deliver on ROI and help companies take calculated risks that pay off. Marketing and creative wants the budgets to be higher, and businesses want to cut costs. There is no "right" or "wrong" party here. A large part of advertising is trial and error, but that means wasted money. However, when businesses and agencies use intelligent machine learning software to analyze customer data, a lot of the guesswork goes out the window. This creates a positive feedback loop, where money can flow to the projects that need it and build richer marketing experiences.

A Marriage of Creative and Data - any marketing manager worth their salt knows that the best creative is made possible by data and analytics. Machine learning algorithms are making this symbiotic loop stronger. They perform elaborate functions without slowing down the customer experience. This allows creative teams to get fast feedback, giving businesses time to change their approach and become agile. Instead of waiting for analysis to determine if a campaign is resonating, with MLA's, companies can get results almost in real time.

Don Draper would have killed for the kind of value AI can add to creative. It's a chance to leave the guesswork behind and make more impactful campaigns. Like it or not, advertising and marketing are just one of the many fields AI is going to change.





Promotional Specialities Good for Business No Matter Where You Are

From imprinted pens to colorful printed t-shirts with your logo or advertisement, promotional specialities can be good for your business no matter what part of the world you are located.

If you have a business then imprinted promotional items can help you spread the word about your business, attract customers and provide them with a useable item they can remember you with.

And it doesn't matter where you are located, these items should be a part of your promotional and advertising campaigns and efforts.

There are literally thousands of items from which to choose to have your logo or advertising placed and you can select items that are good matches for your type of business.

And you can also select items that you feel will be useful, appeal to your customers and at the same time get your advertising message across to them.

One consideration is - if it's an item they can use then they will likely hold onto it a much longer period of time and in that way your ad message will stay with them a greater length of time.

Wearable items are very popular with t-shirts and caps being the most popular. Other popular items include pens, calendars and cups. Small technology oriented items are now popular and include USB jump drives and CD/DVD cleaners.

Ordering advertising speciality items for your business is very easy and can be done via the internet.

There are many providers around the world and how quick you can get your items depends from where you order and the total cost, including shipping, depends on the location of the provider and their proximity to you.

Most providers, no matter who and were, can provide good quality merchandise for you and your customers. Also the bigger the order the better price breaks you will usually get.

While some advertising speciality companies represent manufacturers, other make the items themselves. And certainly all have the ability to print your logo and advertisement in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes.

Choose a good provider, visit their website and perhaps call and talk to a customer service person. Explain the type item or items you are considering, give quantities and check their prices, shipping time and then make your decision what to order.

Many of their websites feature ordering sections and provide an online "catalog" of most of their specialities.

Payments are usually accepted by check (may take longer to clear the banks), money orders, PayPal and credit/debit cards.

If ordering from another country take into consideration the exchange rate but international delivery now makes it possible for your package to be delivered to your home or business.





How to Get Business Leads at an Affordable Cost

There are many factors which contribute to the growth of the businesses. It is the sales which actually determine the number of products or services being actually purchased by the customers. For increasing the sales, the leads play a vital role. Many of businesses are using various ways to get those leads which can ensure its sales growth. The main problem in generating those quality leads is the cost that is being incurred in it. However, there are many of the ways through which one can get the business leads at an affordable cost.

Here, we will see some of the ways through which, one can get business leads at an affordable cost:

1. SMS Marketing:

SMS Marketing is one of the easiest ways to get the business leads at an affordable cost. You just need to frame that attractive SMS which can excite your prospects to give you a call for knowing more or purchasing your product or service. You can even get mobile number database provider agencies where you can get the reliable numbers of your customers.

2. Email Marketing:

Email Marketing is another way through which you can get the leads at a minimum cost comparatively. The Email list provider agencies will charge for the Email Ids provided for you and you can purchase it easily as it may be of minimal cost. So, you can approach any of the Email Id database provider agencies and start sending the bulk Email to your prospects easily. You can describe your product and services very easily in your Email, which can give a proper insight into your product to the companies.

3. Article marketing:

In article marketing, you just need to write a nice article regarding or related to your product or services. The benefits of the product or services and how the customers can benefit from it, you can then add a link to your website or add contact number if possible at the end of it. The article further needs to be marketed properly and reach out to masses. You can either write your own article or outsource the writing which can be at minimal cost. This will definitely give you nice leads.

4. Getting referrals:

Wherever you go for business, you should always ask for the referrals. These referrals have the great possibility of turning into your customer. This will not incur any extra cost to you.

5. Networking Events:

The networking events are a very nice platform to network with the similar business person. They can probably give you some of the nice leads if they have nice contacts. This you can achieve in a very minimum cost.

These are some of the ways of getting business leads at an affordable cost. You should always try to get maximum benefit from these business leads.

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What Advertising Media Agencies Know - And Aren't Telling

In this new age of technology running the show in just about every industry you can think of, it is safe to say that more traditional fields like advertising have had to adapt. While some of these agencies weren't quite up to the task, others morphed into top-tier advertising media agencies and used the power of technology to their advantage. This, in turn, allowed the companies who hired them to also excel.

Regardless of the era, however, one of the main points of contention between clients and advertising agencies has been a lack of communication. Clients feel out of the loop and uninformed about the plans and strategies they paid for, and this never bodes well for anyone. Clients lose faith in their advertising agencies, and these agencies begin to lose clients.

It's possible that the reason for secrecy might be these agencies trying their best to maintain a proprietary hold on how they do business. After all, if the client can do the same work or if a competitor was privy to this information, any advertising media agency would be in a real pickle. Still, this doesn't quite satisfy the idea of an ad agency deciding to keep a proverbial wall between itself and a client. What gives?

If you're a company that's wanted a little insight into what advertising media agencies know but aren't being too forthright about, here's a little 411:

They Change As Much As Clients Do - Being in business is tough for clients, which means that advertising media agencies have to stay ahead of the game to get you to where you want to go. As business ebbs and flows for you, so, too, does it change for them. They've just got better poker faces.

The Human Touch is Vital To Their Existence - Even the though the technological push is strong, agencies do their best to keep the human connection front & center in all they do. It's when this focus is lost that relationships fall apart.

Technology is A High Priority - If you're in media, you need to know all about devices, platforms, the Internet, social media, and everything in between. Clients rely on this knowledge to take them to the top.

Media is A Blur - Here's where things get a little weird. The definition of media has changed so much in just the last few years that knowing what media represents can be hard. In many ways, this can be advantageous because if media is blurred, then how it's used can also be unique and diverse.

Opportunity versus Advertising - Agencies know it, and so do you. Advertising will be more about what kind of opportunities can be created rather than just getting the word out about your business. Whether it's the agency or their client, if there is no opportunities to explore, then you might be sunk.

Advertising media agencies are certainly the way the ad game is being played this day and age, and if you want to keep up with the fast-paced world of business, your company needs to get wise to the ways of these agencies. That said, it's important to know that they, too, derive their own existence from the same resources whose depths they plumb for your business. As such, it benefits both the agencies and their clients to maintain a strong relationship with open communication and understanding.