I have a budget, and I cannot do it all. What media do I spend my money on? Consider the strengths and weaknesses of each type of media, and match them to your product and your communications task or goal.
This article addresses your use of traditional media, usually with the goal of attracting people to learn more at your website. It assumes you have a good website, and you are updating it with special offers, pictures of events, videos showing customers enjoying product benefits, success stories and endorsements. The first thing you should spend your money on is a great website. Then you can spend money on attracting people to view it. Using social media will be addressed in a future article.
Media Strengths and Weaknesses
In this table on media strengths and weaknesses, L (low) is a weakness and H (high) is a strength.
| Media/S&W | Local | Targeted* | Aud-Vis / Graphics | Cheap/Fast | Complex Msg# |
| Network TV |
L |
L |
H/H |
L |
L |
| Cable TV |
M |
M |
H/H |
M |
L |
| Radio |
M |
M |
M/L |
H |
L |
| Metro Newsp |
M |
L |
L/L |
H |
M |
| Local Newsp |
H |
L |
L/L |
H |
M |
| Magazines |
L |
H |
L/H |
L |
H |
| Yellow Pages |
H |
L |
L/L |
L |
M |
| Coupons |
H |
L |
L/H |
H |
M |
| Outdoor |
H |
L |
L/L |
M |
L |
| Direct Mail |
H |
H |
L/H |
M |
H |
*By Income and/or Interest or hobby
# Complex messages require space to tell your story, and media that can be saved for later reference
Network television offers visual presentation, but it costs too much for small businesses, both for the media time and for the production cost of the ad. Cable TV is cheaper, more local, and offers the option of a streaming print for those who wish to avoid ad production costs. However, if you want to choose print, cheaper media are available. Some targeting by type of channel is also possible on CATV. Neither has the space or permanence for complex messages.
Radio is local and can be targeted by type of station, but not by income or interest. It is cheap and fast, but t lacks the space and permanence needed for complex messages. Alternative mobile entertainment seems to be making radio less useful to reach customers.
Newspaper ads can be targeted geographically if local newspapers are used. They offer the space for complex messages, but not the permanence for reference unless your customer clips the ad. They are cheap and fast, but look elsewhere if you need quality graphics.
Magazines can be highly targeted by interest and income. They offer high quality graphics, and space and permanence for complex messages. Magazine ads take longer to produce and cost more than newspapers and radio, and their publication schedule cannot handle fast-changing offers.
Yellow Pages are the pre-internet search option. They are quite expensive, and involve lead times of a year or more due to annual publication. Their graphics are poor compared to internet search.
Coupons can be printed in other media, or mailed as part of packages to selected geographic areas. They are now available on internet coupon sites as well. Cost is low for production, but can be high when the cost of the discount is considered. This media makes sense if your objective is to attract interest and “tryouts,” in the hopes of more profitable sales later.
Outdoor includes billboards and various types of signage. It is suitable for reminders for impulse purchases of well-known products for a mass market customer base. It does not fit complex messages or targeted markets. Cost and lead time for production and placement are moderate depending on the location.
Direct mail is very targeted and offers excellent graphics as well as permanence. Its success depends on accuracy of the data in the list used. The most targeted lists can be rented from magazines and associations for one-time use. Direct mail is costly, perhaps $2 per piece, and a 2% response rate is good, so the cost of a response is really $100. Once you have the list, lead time to implement is moderate. Due to the cost of direct mail, different campaigns are tested for success using different response numbers for tracking. This means that rolling out a full campaign takes several weeks.
Matching Media to Product and Communications Goal
If you have a mass market, you need mass media. However, most small businesses have more targeted markets, at least in terms of locality, especially if you spent a little time defining your target market as previously recommended!
For a goal of inform/persuade, this means that many small businesses will find the best fit with local newspapers, magazines for special interests, coupons, good signage if they have a retail location, and direct mail for high margin products if tests prove it can be effective.
For a goal of reminding customers to buy again, if you have the customer’s contact information then internet contact is best. Inexpensive direct mail (postcards) is also a possibility. If you lack that contact information, then local print, coupons, and good retail signage are the best places to spend money on traditional media.
Tom Gray helps owners save and grow their companies. He is a management consultant focused on small business and telecom, a Certified Turnaround Professional (CTP), a Certified Business Development Advisor, and a Certified SCORE Mentor. He can be reached at 630-512-0406 or tgray@tom-gray.com. See www.tom-gray.com
