Tactful Approach to Advertising

There are many factors that need to be considered when creating an advertising plan. Consideration must be given as to the type of message that should be delivered, the audience to be targeted, how they should be targeted, budget constraints, etc. all of which depends upon the nature of the advertisement.

Determine the type of message to be delivered by thinking from the viewpoint of the customer. Visualize what will impress him and catch his fancy. Take note of the points that the customer expects from the company and what advantage will he have when dealing with the company. Effort should be made to retain viewer or listener�s or reader�s interest in the advertisement until the end. This procedure is known as message selection.  

Create an outline of the advertisement and then pick lines that will actually attract the customer. The message should not be long enough to bore the customer. Some advertisers are under the illusion that more that is written, the better the message. Usually their fear is that they do not leave out any information. This does nothing but decreases the effectiveness of the ad and customer is left unsatisfied.

For example, the heading of the advertisement should not just be �We Sell Clothes�, which is too precise. The interest of the people should be studied and the headline should be designed where the customer feels that his needs are met. It should also take into consideration seasonal changes like if the season at that time is summer and there are lots of beaches around that area, the heading of the ad should be something like �Summer Clothes for Sale� or �Get the heat off � Buy Swimwear�. The body of the advertisement should talk of the necessities to switch to summer clothes like cotton clothing. It should discuss the health point of view too, like cotton cannot be used as swimwear as it will cause contamination, therefore the swimwear is made of synthetic material. Also include lines about swimwear for overweight people.  

Ads are either traffic builders or relationship builders or reputation builders. Suppose there is a limited budget availability, the target should be a relationship builder. Because once the customers are established, they will start trusting the company and won�t switch to other companies. According to a research it takes ten percent less resources to retain existing customers than attracting new customers. If the focus is on brand recognition, the advertisement should be traffic building.

The next point is whether the advertiser wants quick results or long lasting results. If quick results are desired, then a time limit should be levied. Like in case of seasonal sales, the customer hurries to get advantage before the offer is over. Quick results are then expected in this case. But the disadvantage with advertisement with time limit is that customers are bound to forget about the product or the company within a short period and it does not create a deep impact on the minds of the customer.

Competing against rival company�s ad also contributes to a successful advertising plan. The power of the message should be compared to that of the competitors�. It does not mean that the advertiser should use the same plan as his competitor, imitation and effectiveness will be decreased. The advertisement should be planned smartly using a different and effective path that would out-do the competitor�s advertisement.

The description of the product is also very vital like suppose an advertisement is made for a restaurant, it will get customers immediately, if it is attractive. But if the advertisement is for a computer, it would not yield immediate results, as it is not every day that someone buys a computer. This is called analysis of the purchase cycle.