Most business owners that I meet with, no matter how long they have been in business, have absolutely no idea that there are only two (2) types of marketing that you can possibly do.  It does not matter if it's t.v, radio, direct mail, magazines, coupons, yellow pages, or internet, they all fall into two (2) categories, creative or directional.  Creative advertising is done with the purpose of generating awareness about your product or service with the hopes of creating demand.  Directional advertising is taking advantage of an already existing demand in a particular service or product by listing your company as a provider.  

     I recently met with a client, Gem Pawn Brokers, who was  looking for an opportunity to increase their online exposure.  After interviewing the client, who has been very successful in their industry, I realized that success is relative.  The client was currently doing some creative advertising through banners but was not effectively tracking and measuring their return on investment (R.O.I).  My purpose for meeting with this client was specifically to assist with their online presence and to aid them in taking advantage of one of the best forms of directional marketing, which is search engine marketing.  Search engine marketing can be a very effective tool for clients who are looking to increase revenues.  When creating a marketing plan, the ideal situation is to be able to incorporate both creative & directional types of marketing.  This can be done by intergrating your marketing communications.  Intergrating marketing communications is a management concept designed to create synergy between advertising, sales promotion, public relations, and direct marketing rather than permitting each to work in isolation and be less effective.  Here is a simple list of things you can do:

1.  Make sure you have a website
2.  Make sure your website is listed on all your print advertising
3.  Make sure that each type of advertising media has its own phone number for tracking & measuring R.O.I

   There are many pitfalls when creating an advertising program.  As a business owner, you may be better off requesting a marketing firm to handle all your business' marketing decisions, since they are better equipped to intergrate, track & measure all forms of marketing.  Feel free to contact Kip@ursalesguru.com if you are interested in intergrating your marketing communications to get greater returns on your investment and increase revenues.