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Lessons
From Your Competitors
Other Elements
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Here are some other things to look at in your successful competitors
ads when developing your own strategy.
Type
What typefaces and font families are your competitors using? As we
pointed out before, Home Depot, for example, uses a typeface that has
a
handwritten appearance. They've found it's most appealing to
their target customers. Also, pay attention to the type size, case,
and alignment
of your competitors' ads, including the headlines and body copy.
Logo
An easy way to let your target customers know you're as professional
as the larger chains is by having a professionally-designed logo. Again,
use your successful competitors' logos as a guide. While some publications
will design a basic logo for you at little or no charge, don't hesitate
to spend a little money to get it done right. It's a small investment
that will pay off for years. Just don't make the mistake of putting your new logo at the top of the ad in place of a headline. See more on logos in the section about Image Ads.
Prices
Is your competition including prices in their ads? If so, then they've discovered that it's necessary to include them to get a
strong response. Don't make the mistake of leaving them out because
your prices
aren't as low as your competitors.
Chances are, your prices are very
close and your other benefits--like exceptional service--should be enough to
compensate for slightly higher prices. If you leave prices out altogether
and only
focus on what your own strengths are, your target customers may
think that it's an either/or scenario, where they must choose between
getting
low prices and poor service at your competitors or great service
and high prices at yours. Instead, let them know that you offer
everything your chain-store competitors do and offer
great service as well.
Ad size
Sometimes, your ad size
is mainly determined by your competitors. If you own a furniture
store competing with the larger furniture store chains, for example,
and
they're running
full pages, running significantly smaller might lead your target
customers
to believe that your selection is significantly lower as well.
Which might also lead them to believe that your volume is lower and,
as
a result, your prices are higher.
In categories like this where major competitors have set the standard
with large ads, we recommend getting as close to them in
ad size as possible. You want your business to be considered a serious contender (and not a waste of their limited
time)
when
your target customers are planning their shopping trip. Certainly,
ad size alone won't bring customers to you, but it can drive response if properly
combined with our other ad strategizing techniques.
Read our in-depth article on determining ad size found within the Planning Your Ad section of our web site.
Run dates
We're often asked what's the best day of the week to run (in a daily newspaper,
of course). It's different for every industry, but your competition may have
the answer. Make
sure to
pay
attention to what day, or days, of the week your successful competitors
are
running. Most likely they're tuned into the days that their target customers
are most likely to be shopping, or at least planning to shop.
Although we believe you should never stop advertising except with highly seasonal
items, watching what your competitors do throughout the year might give you
a better idea of when your target customers are buying.
Coupons
Are your successful competitors using coupons? Some ads do well
with coupons while others don't. For example, fast food restaurants
almost
always include coupons, while jewelry stores hardly ever do.
It all depends on the target customers. If your competitors are,
then perhaps
their
research has shown that your target customers are coupon driven.
Overall feel
Apart from all the things we've discussed already, think about
the overall feel of your chain-store counterpart's ad. As with
the
individual
components of the ad, most likely, its look is part of a strategy
based on research
and analysis. At the very least, the ad was created by a top
designer, so it should provide you with some guidelines
when designing
your own ad.
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