Surveys, focus groups identify market potential.

• Author: Smith, Marjie
• Position: Marketing Report

Choosing where to advertise and what size of budget to inject into an ad campaign is not a game of chance.

Each medium has its selling factors, and as Victor Fedeli, president of Fedeli Advertising Corporation in North Bay, points out, "Somebody's disadvantage could be someone else's advantage."

Before all else, a business must determine its advertising goals. Does the advertiser want to increase sales or improve the business profile?

Once goals are set, the next step is research, says Jim Thompson, account director with Henderson Delta Lakehill Marketing and Advertising, in Sudbury.

How else do you find out your target market?

This information, whether collected through market surveys, focus groups, or telephone surveys, is essential to developing a marketing strategy, says Thompson.

In-store surveys, through balloting or notations of customers' purchases, supply often surprising information, says Fedeli.

Making assumptions about one's market can lead to business loss because of failure to cater to a specific sector.

Some additional means Fedeli offers for sniffing out the market are common sense and industry association statistics.

"Once you identify your goal and target your audience, after that it's easy, because there are only so many ways to reach that audience," says Fedeli.

When developing an ad, says Thompson, the business needs to look at several factors.

"They are, with their product or service, trying to fill a need. They are trying to show the prospect, or market, they are indeed filling that need."

The "need" could be anything from saving money to a more efficient way of doing something.

Fedeli uses a hypothetical example to illustrate how businesses should think when developing an advertising campaign.

A tire company decides to purchase one of the advertising spots available on either the inside or outside of buses. But which is best, inside or out?

Most people riding a bus do not have a car. It is a waste of money trying to sell them tires.

However, the car following the bus may need tires, so exterior advertising would be beneficial.

HOW MUCH

While limited funds often determine the medium, it is important for businesses to know how much to spend. Fedeli says there are several incorrect formulas, such as a percentage of sales, in use.

"Spend what your competitor spends," and "Spend what you can afford," are popular theories, but not necessarily wise ones, adds Fedeli.

"If you're only spending when you have money, you're...