Evaluation of Advertising Effectiveness

In the world of cut-throat competition, merely having an appealing and professional advertisement is not enough to penetrate into the market and reach to the right target audience. Most of the advertising budget is spent on pre-testing the ads, and much less on measuring their effectiveness. The success of any advertisement depends on good planning, implementation and control, which itself is dependent on advertising effectiveness. In simple words, an advertisement campaign is incomplete without evaluating its effectiveness. Measuring advertising effectiveness is the only way of determining how well the advertisement is performing in the market, is it reaching the right set of audience, and is the goals achieved.

However, it is not possible to accurately evaluate the effectiveness of marketing strategy advertising. There are several factors that affect effectiveness measurement like building brand image, launching a new product, increasing sales, brand awareness, etc, which makes it an intricate process to accurately and precisely evaluate the effectiveness of advertisements. Despite of this fact, there are several companies, who advertise very rarely, yet their brand is a hit in the market; while there are companies who indulge into implementing extensive advertising and marketing strategies, yet cannot generate the desired results. Why it is so??

In simple words, this is because the companies invested more effort and time in evaluating advertising effectiveness rather than unnecessarily exaggerating the promotional content. Having evaluated the effectiveness of an advertisement, it becomes easier to pin-point where the ad is lagging behind and how to improve its reach and effectiveness better. Today, there are several traditional and modern methods of evaluating advertising effectiveness, which help the marketing advertising company to analyze how the ad or the brand is performing in the market.

Methods of Evaluating Advertising Effectiveness

Communication Effect Research and Sales Effect Research are two major traditional methods of evaluating advertising effectiveness. On the other hand, modern approaches include Analysis Tool and Integrated Direct Marketing.

1. Communication Effect Research

• Portfolio Tests – The customers see and listen carefully to the ads, and then they are asked to recall the content of the advertisement. Calculations are done based on such data
• Direct Rating Method – The customers are asked directly to rate the advertisement, and these ratings are calculated
• Laboratory Tests – To measure the physiological reactions of customers after seeing an ad, an apparatus is used to measure blood pressure, heart rate, perspiration, etc.

2. Sales Effect Research

The effectiveness of the ad is evaluated on the basis of the sales figure of the company, through questionnaires, product surveys, recognition tests, toll free numbers, and response rates.

3. Analysis Tool

For online advertisements, analysis tool is used to measure customer visits, how many pages are viewed, who are buying online, etc which helps the marketers to determine its effectiveness.

4. Integrated Direct Marketing

This is a modern web-based tool, which provides a response corner on the websites, where the customers can leave their feedback.

Whether it is television, brochures, radio, business cards, or online advertising, evaluating its effectiveness is intrinsically important to determine its performance and reach.

Identifying your Target Audience for Advertising

Attracting customers is critical to the success of your small business. To achieve this goal, you can either throw together a makeshift marketing plan and hope for the best — or you can take time to determine who is most likely to want or need what you have to sell. The analytical approach will always tip the odds in your favor.

Identifying your target audience enables you to: assess just how much demand is out there for your product or service; modify that product or service to better meet customers’ specific needs; and design a marketing campaign that “speaks to” the right people, using the tone and language most likely to appeal to them.

Here’s how to identify your target customers.

1. Create a customer profile. The people who are most likely to buy your products or services share certain characteristics. The first step toward identifying these prospects is putting together a customer profile. This is essentially a detailed description of your target demographic that includes:

• Age — Do your potential customers mostly fit in a Millennial age bracket? Or are they more often middle-aged or seniors? This is important, because customers in different age groups will respond differently to how your product is designed and marketed.
• Gender — Remember how men are from Mars and women are from Venus? Generally speaking, their needs and goals are often strikingly different. If you promote your business in a way that fails to address these differences, you could end up attracting few people of either gender.

• Income level — Knowing how much disposable income your customers possess should directly influence your marketing strategies. Low-income families may be drawn to products or services that help save them money. Customers in higher-income brackets may respond more favorably to marketing that stresses luxury and exclusivity.
• Location — The United States is a big country (let’s set aside world domination for now). Broadly speaking, the buying habits of urban residents often differ from those of people living in rural areas. Where people reside and the types of communities they live in influence their purchasing preferences.
• Other key characteristics include marital status, occupation or industry, families with (or without) children, ethnic groups, and hobbies and interests.
  2. Conduct market research. You can learn about your target audience through primary and secondary market research. Primary research involves learning about customer buying habits through direct contact, such as:
• Surveys — Distribute surveys to existing and potential customers via paper, email, or a web-based service like Zoomerang or SurveyMonkey.
• Interviews — Talk to people you trust and whose purchasing habits dovetail with your small business. At trade shows, for example, stand in a high-traffic area and ask people to answer a few short questions.
• Focus groups — Get feedback from a small group of consumers who fit your customer profile through Q&A sessions and group discussions.
• As part of your primary research, do you ever ask customers to fill out any forms when they purchase your product or service? If so, they may be open to answering questions about their age, where they live and specific purchasing preferences. Invite them to share information on a voluntary basis.
  From there, you can assemble an initial customer profile. There are also numerous mobile apps to help you collect important demographic data.
  3. Reassess your offering and profile. With a comprehensive customer profile in place, the next step is to look at your products or services in a fresh light.
  Given what you know about the target audience, ask yourself: Which features and benefits are most likely to attract new business? Which may be of less interest or even actively discourage new customers? This analysis can lead to valuable modifications to your offering and yield new business.
  You’ll also want to reassess your target audience periodically. Every six months or once a year, do some additional primary research and refine your customer profile accordingly. As the marketplace shifts and evolves, your ideal clientele may change with it. Get ahead of the curve, and you’ll also be one step ahead of your competition.