Edited on Canva
There is no doubt that in this modern age of highly competitive market
businesses need to seriously incorporate advertisement into their marketing campaign. This is because advertisement plays a major role in making the market know about a business, product, service, idea or offering.
Every business, whether big or small need some form of advertising to be known. I would say that it is compulsory.
What Advertisement Is
Advertisement can be said to be a public communication, message or notice which is used to promote a product, services, ideas, brands, or event etc to a target audience.
Every business whether big or small need some form of advertisement to be known. I would say that it is compulsory.
I remember vividly this ads message that I usually hear on one of the local radio stations in my city when I was a kid;
Advertise your business, you said no, and you are here complaining that someone has tied your business that is why it is not moving, yet you have refused to advertise. No one has tied your business, come and advertise your business and let the world know you. Remember, if you do not tell people where you are and what you do, nobody will know to patronize you.
Till date, each time I remember this ads message, I just smile, but in reality, this is exactly how it is.
No matter how high the quality of a product is, or top notch services your business renders, if there are no awareness about them in the marketplace, patronage wouldn't really be forthcoming.
Types of Advertisement
There are various types of advertisement that businesses, depending on its nature, can employ to be able to reach their target audience. Such as
Word of mouth advertisement
This involves telling friends, family members, acquittance, just anyone about your business by yourself. This is one of the traditional ways of advertisingPrint advertisement:
This is one of traditional types of advertisement and it is still very much used till date especially for some corporate bodies during job listings, offer for contract biddings, sale of shares
Here the advertisement is placed on newspapers, magazines, flyers, and brochures.Broadcast advertisement:
Broadcast advertisement has evolved and businesses have incorporated it into their marketing campaigns. This type of ads include television and radio.Digital advertisement:
The invent of internet gave rise to businesses advertising on the online spaces. Ads here can come in the form of banner, pop-up, video etc.
A perfect example is Coinzilla ads and Google ads on the Leofinance UI.Outdoor advertisement:
These are the public type of advertisement like display on billboards, buses, taxis, and other public spaces.Influencer advertisements:
This type of advertisement uses social media influencers to promote company's products, services or ideas. Here actors, actresses, comedians, footballers, are contracted by companies, businesses to be brand ambassadors and also do their adverts.
This is a sort of emotional based advertising, which tends to make prospects, customers identify with the business which the influencer advertises solely because they are his or her fans.
An example is the advert that Daniel Amokachi, one of the greatest footballers in Nigeria, does for Bet Bonanza, a betting company in Nigeria too.
That business was able to get a good share of the market due to this strategy.
A lot of businesses have adopted this type of advertisement because they have found out how useful it is to increasing customer base and sales too.
Business should choose the type of advertisement that will best communicate their business to the target audience. A combination of two or three will also go a long way in creating more awareness about the business.
Why Then Do Businesses Need Advertisement?
As stated earlier, advertisement plays a vital role in businesses as it helps them connect to potential and would be customers and even retain old customers, build brand awareness and push sales.
Here's some of the reasons businesses need advertisement in the competitive market place
It increases visibility:
Through advertisement, businesses are able to remain visible to the target audience / market, reach more potential customers, increase brand awareness and exposure.
Constant repetition of the ads message will make it register in the minds of customers so that they can always patronize them.It helps build business brand:
To build a strong brand image, businesses design solid ads messages that can create a positive long lasting impression on the minds of customers.
This can equally make customers trust and become loyalists which are vital for a business ong-term success.
Personally, I have become a loyalist of Cool Water (For Men) Anti perspirant, a brand of Smart Collection for about five years now. I saw the product's ad and it appealed to me so I decided to give it a try and since then I got hooked.
It helps businesses in target marketing:
With advertisement, businesses can target specific demographics, interests, or geographical areas so as to be able to create ads message that will meet each of their needs.
Most businesses also use this type of advertisement because it helps them to effectively and efficiently manage the available ads campaign resources to reach the specific target audience which will in turn lead to increase in patronage and higher profits.
Manufacturers of consumer goods usually adopt this ads type. Example is Dufil Prima Foods, makers of one of the popular Indomie noodles brand here in my country. They have indomie size packs for each of their market segments like Hungry man size for consumers with big appetite, super pack, mini pack for those with low appetite.
Also Coca-Cola has Zero Sugar Coke for consumers who stay away from sugar like diabetic patients, and Original taste Coca-Cola for all.Competitive Advantage:
This is one of the major benefits of advertisement. There is stiff competition in the market place and it is only through advertisements that a business will be able to have an edge over other competitors.
In this type of advertisement, the business positions itself in the market place as having superior quality products than the competitors. By adequately conveying its unique and main ads campaign messages to the audience , the business stands a better chance of the customer's patronizing them instead of the competitors.
Example of this is a business that offer discount sales, free deliveries, and after sales services. Customers will always like to patronize such a business because they have the opportunity of saving extra money from such extra services.
These are some of the benefits which advertisements offer businesses.
Conclusion
Any business that wants to remain in business in the competitive market environment, maintain its customers and gain new ones, increase sales and gain return on investment must constantly advertise.
It builds brand awareness, evoke emotions lead customers into purchase and eventually remaining loyal to such business brand.