You Get To Control The Story
Whether you advertise or not, the market will have conversations about your business.
In my previous career, when I was in advertising sales. A common objection I got from my customers was this: they would say “To be honest with you, word of mouth is my best form of advertising.”
I replied that I was glad to hear that word of mouth was working for them because that meant that they were doing a good job for their customers. If they didn’t have good word of mouth, I’d be worried for them.
However, even with exceptional word of mouth advertising, there are a couple of key reasons to make advertising a part of your plan:
- All good businesses will grow by word of mouth, so the role advertising plays is that it allows you to control your brand and influence what people say about you. It serves as a really big mouth, reaching people faster and further than word of mouth can.
- If you don’t advertise, the market will have conversations about you without your input. While that can be both good and bad, it takes the control out of your hands. By having a strong brand in place, you’re insulated against the rare bad conversation by all the good things people hear, think, and say about your company.
- Creating an advertising plan provides focus, clarity and consistency in how your business shows up.
So no matter what business you’re in, I want you to ask yourself this:
What do I want people to say about my business? And, what did I do today and this week to share my story?
