Pitching to business owners takes research, thought and a team of people to get it right. You want to hook your listener to ensure that they get the take away of your message. The latest attempt that we’ve noticed that hasn’t worked is from BC Hydro. “How many lightbulbs does it take to change your bottom line?” With a million things already running in business owner’s heads, this doesn’t make us stop and think or listen.
The radio advertisement has predominantly run on music radio. Most business owners spend their time immersed in many other things besides music radio. This wasn’t the best avenue to go. If spending money on radio advertisement was a necessity, we would recommend, for the audience, to pick a talk radio station such as CKNW or News1130. Business owners are already listening here for business news, and to stay up to date on current events.
Our suggestion would be to put your advertising budget into advertorials. Placing an advertorial in BC Business, Entrepreneur’s Organization, or Business in Vancouver, Daily Hive’s new Business News section, Venture would have been way more beneficial to you. If you’re looking for a more daily, accessible platform, the business section of The Globe and Mail or National Post would have also worked. You could have catered an informative, quirky piece that would have spoken to business owners. Instead of being background noise on the radio, you could have connected with them on a different level.
Another great option would have been sponsoring Chamber of Commerce e-mails. You then reach out to your target demographic and connect with a coveted e-mail list. You know your ad spend is going directly to businesses and business owners, and it comes across more professional. Through sponsored content, especially through emails, you are already gaining the trust of the readers.
Lastly, take a look at Linkedin. This is advertisement gold. If you have ads running on LinkedIn, you will be able to target people who call themselves business owners. Unlike Facebook, where you have a mixed demographic, Linkedin is set up for all business professionals. Whether they are looking for jobs, looking to become business owners or entrepreneurs, the target audience is there for you.
Advertising is an investment and, like every investment, you want to see it bring you in a return. To do this, you need to put in a lot of research and find out which advertising avenues are going to work the best for your audience. When you’re pitching to business owners or anyone of that matter, research is key. Where does your demographic spend their time? Is it watching tv? Reading the paper? Listening to music? Once you break that down, you can work out where your advertising dollars should go. When buying advertising, you want the most bang for your buck.
With all advertising, it is understood that good intentions were there. You’ve spent the money, tried with the messaging, but it wasn’t executed as well as it could have been. Our biggest tip is to know your audience. What is going to give you the biggest return on investment?
