The Six Laws of Advertising
Based on the story the Parable of the Sower from the Bible
"A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a cropâ€"a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
Law #One
A farmer went out to sow his seed
We must go out into the marketplace in order to sow our seeds. Whether that is on the internet, person to person, in the strip mall, in downtown, near the freeway, by direct mail, classified ads, in the newspaper, on radio or TV, we have to be there in order to sow.
Law #Two
As he was scattering the seed
We must scatter the seeds, because we do not know which seeds are going to produce the right results.
Law #Three
Some fell along the path and the birds came and ate it up
Your competition is after your customer. If you do not take care of them and keep bringing them back with an incentive plan, guess what your competition is going to do? Take them!
Law #Four
Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
Spend your money where your customers will be. Don't waste money advertising or marketing your business in the wrong places. Someone may read or heard about you somewhere, but if they do not visit or call you, that advertising is a waste of money. Did you forget to include a call to action?
Law #Five
Other seed fell among thorns
Not all who walk through your doors, call on the phone or visit your website are the type of customers you want. They are not easy to please and they can bad mouth you for the silliest reasons.
Law #Six
Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a cropâ€"a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
I think that advertising is the most important investment you can make in your business. Consider how you advertise your business will determine what your return on investment will be. As you reap the results of your work find out how your new customers found out about you. If they were a referral from another customer, reward that customer for their efforts.
