What if You Got Rid of your Advertisting Budget?
I’m going to play with a few “what if” scenarios this week. I’m feeling cheeky.
First up…
What if you got rid (entirely) of your advertising budget?
ACK! The HORROR!
OK… just play along with me for a second.
Let’s say you spend $5000 a year on advertising. What if you woke up one day and thought… “I would like to have $5000 to invest in the future of my business. I’m going to cut my advertising budget and put it into another investment. I designed my website 5 years ago on $300 and it’s time to show people what I’m really about! My website does not reflect my brand, my company, or me.”
Interesting.
There are two things happening here:
You are setting priorities with your dollars
Even billion dollar corporations set goals for their finances. Even billion dollar corporations make choices about how they are going to spend their money every year. You can’t do everything. You must set priorities… what is the most important thing I need to do now for my business? And how am I going to finance it?
You are increasing the value of your market and advertising exposure
Your website is your virtual calling card, your virtual business card. In this day, people go to your website to learn about your company, your brand, your product, your service, your reputation, and YOU. Investing in your website gives you more bang for your buck when you advertise.
Think about it this way… let’s say you spend $5000 on advertising. These ads are very valuable in bringing people to your website. But, when someone comes to your website… Do they like what they see? Do they click through your pages and fall in love? Or, do they close up your site after a few seconds? Do they see the best YOU that you can be? You only have a few seconds to make an impression… what is the impression your website makes on potential clients?
If you lose potential clients because your website is not a good one, then what is the use of spending $5000 on advertising? You’ve put the cart before the horse. You’ve spent money on an ad to bring you traffic, but your company image is not aligned with the ad.
What makes sense? What makes “cents”?
Now… I’m just playing “what if”. Remember… I’m feeling cheeky this week. 😉 I’m not advocating that people slash their advertising budgets entirely. What I am asking you to consider is two things:
- MAKE CHOICES with your DOLLARS.
- INCREASE the VALUE of your BRAND and IMAGE before you invest in advertising.
What if you did those things? WHAT IF?