All businesses advertise their products and services, even nonprofit organizations. Without advertising, a company would lose out to their competitors. In essence, competition is one of the driving forces behind advertising because businesses need to differentiate themselves. However, the primary reason to advertise is to attract customers. Fortunately, there are a number of business advertising tools that businesses can use to apprise customers of their products and services.
Phone Book
A phone book is a highly effective advertising tool for businesses. A company can list its name, address and phone number in the white pages, then place a display ad in the yellow pages. Some businesses use bold listings in the white pages as they tend to get more attention. A business may also indicate in the white pages that they have a display on a certain page. There are many types of yellow page display ads, including small business cards, quarter, half and even full-page advertisements. The advantage of yellow pages is they are available 24 hours per day, every day.
Direct Mail
Direct mail is another highly effective business advertising tool. Companies who use direct mail often develop a sales letter, brochure and order form and insert the contents in an envelope. Subsequently, the company mails the envelope to consumers who purchase the types of products they sell. Companies that use direct mail must find mailing lists that target specific companies. The DMA (Direct Marketing Association), the-dma.org, is one of the largest distributors of direct mail leads. There are also other forms of direct mail like coupon booklets, which run ads for multiple businesses.
Television Advertising
Television advertising may be purchased on a national or local level. Larger corporations will usually run national TV ads across the country, while small businesses will advertise locally. Overall, television advertising can be very expensive. A business will usually have to run multiple spots over several weeks or longer to build up awareness for an offer. A business can usually get discounts on television advertising during nonpeak periods.
Radio Advertising
Radio advertising is an effective way to target specific demographic groups. Most radio stations appeal to a certain age group or style of music. Radio advertising is relatively cheap compared to television advertising. Also, businesses can often create funny renditions that leave a lasting impression with listeners, according to the article "Radio Advertising Pros And Cons" at allbusiness.com.
Internet Advertising
Internet advertising is a way for businesses to reach customers in the United States and even in other countries. There are many types of Internet business advertising tools, including email marketing, banners, classified ads, pay-per-click, public relations, website linking and even search engine placement. Pay-per-click ads allow businesses to spend what they want on advertising, limiting each click to as little as several cents each. Search engine placement can be highly effective, but the advertising company will usually need an expert to ensure a high ranking in the search engines like Yahoo, Google and Altavista.
Print Advertising
Print advertising can also be highly effective. Companies can run classified or display ads in newspapers, magazines and even trade journals. Print advertising is usually not as targeted as radio advertising or direct mail, unless a company is advertising in a specialty magazine or trade journal. With their best offer, businesses who use print advertising try to appeal to as many people as possible out of the masses.
