I have long been an advocate for small businesses not ruling out television advertising. Cable ads, which can connect a small business with a very targeted audience, can run for as little as $100-200 per spot.
One local business here in Nashville, Evans Glass, doubled their sales over about three years. The owner attributes most of this gain to adding television advertising to his budget. Mind you, this was a major commitment for a small business like his. He committed about 10% of sales to the television advertising campaign. In effect, this advertising strategy paid off almost ten fold in increased sales. We wrote a case study about this business, which is quite popular with our MBA students.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the production cost for television ads can now be cut even further with some new on-line tools.
Once considered prohibitively expensive, advertising on television is fast becoming a viable option for small businesses, thanks to new online services that provide everything from customizable templates for commercials to commercial-placement services.
There are several on-line services to assist small businesses in their advertising. The Journal article highlights these:
There are some things to remember when developing a television ad campaign. First, make sure that is where your customers are and make sure that this type of ad works for your business. Keep your ads clear, visual, and memorable. Quality matters in your ads, but quality does not always mean a high cost. Your ad should call them to act. And experts tell us that content sells products.