DIRECTIVE vs. Image & Awareness Advertising

DIRECTIVE vs. Image & Awareness Advertising
Discussion on Physical Directories, Paid and Toll-Free 411, Internet Yellow Pages and Ramblings About Local

One of the first questions I ask any client before I start doing marketing for them is whether their product or service is already in demand or whether they need to create the demand. The significance of this question lies in the DIRECTIVE vs. image and awareness advertising. Business marketing today is different than business advertising in 2005. Business is organic, meaning it changes all the time. DIRECTIVE advertising allows your enterprise to gain the competitive advantage in today’s world of crisscrossing search engine databases and metamorphosing semantic search technologies.

DIRECTIVE ADVERTISING is where the buyer is seeking out the seller. Most common DIRECTIVE media has been printed Yellow Pages, however, with the advent of the Internet, online directories, online Yellow Pages, and search engines like Google, these have taken center stage. But now, paid and toll-free directory assistance search engines have become GREAT directive tools! There is literally no difference between the following 4 DIRECTIVE approaches:

1. User picks up a printed Yellow Pages book, flips through to the automotive section, finds a automotive dealer, then visits (OR CALLS) their retail location.
2. User visits, YELLOWPAGES.com, types in automotive dealer in Seattle, finds a automotive dealer, visits their online web site, then visits (OR CALLS) their retail location.
3. Users visits, Google.com , types in Seattle automotive dealers, finds a automotive dealer, visits their online web site, then visits (OR CALLS) their retail location.
4. Users call a paid or toll-free 411 directory assistance search engine database service, request a business by city and by “key words” (product or service needed, like “plumber”), then visits (OR CALLS) their retail location.

Notice the exact same buying pattern above. The DIRECTIVE approach to advertising is where your products and services already have a built in demand, all your business is trying to do is capture that demand. Another way of looking at this, people are buying your products and services all day long, the only question is, are they buying from you?

I have discussed numerous times before that we don’t get to control how people use the directive mediums to find us, the only thing we control is whether we position our business in all the available places (INCLUDING 411 DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE DATABASE SEARCH ENGINES) to capture this demand via computer or landline/cellular/PDA phones.

Image and awareness advertising is where the seller is seeking out the buyer. Typically, television, newspaper, radio, banner campaigns on web sites etc. are all image and awareness mediums. The goal is that you use this mediums to build brand and to capture immediate sales by reaching a portion of “in the market” consumers. People tend to use image and awareness advertising mediums on a regular basis, for news, weather, sports, and entertainment, which makes this type of advertising effective in capturing the “in the market” crowd of prospects who are planning to purchase your products or services, within a timeframe, dependent on product or service.

Image and awareness advertising is also the ultimate brand building tool. Where you continue to promote your message on a regular basis through the various mediums you are trying to position yourself as the top of mind choice when a person enters the market for your products and services.

Image and awareness advertising, when used in conjunction with DIRECTIVE ADVERTISING, CAN DELIVER A STRONG ONE-TWO PUNCH. Example: Let’s take a furniture store that advertises in TV, newspaper, a little radio, and some banner campaigns on the Internet. As a prospect I have seen the advertising on many occasions but was never ready to buy. Now I am in the market, and I want to find the furniture stores phone number, web site, or physical address. If I happened to see your ad that day in the newspaper, I have the information handy, if I did not, there is a good chance I am going to go to a DIRECTIVE source (paid or toll-free 411 directory assistance search engines) to find your information.

As I scroll through the printed Yellow Pages, look online at YellowPages.com or Google.com, am I seeing the same message that you have branded to me through all your image and awareness advertising? If so, then your sales are probably rocking, if not, then… your business is probably missing sales that your image and awareness advertising campaign worked hard to build.

BOTTOM LINE: When planning your marketing, ask yourself these questions:
1. Do my prospects already search for the products and services I sell? In other words, there is already a built-in demand, the only question is… are they buying from me or from my competitors?
2. If image and awareness advertising is your lead way of marketing, have you fully protected your business’s interest by ensuring that you can be found in all DIRECTIVE advertising mediums to exploit your image & awareness campaign?

411 Directory Assistance Services
FEATURING TOLL-FREE VOICE ACTIVATED “BUSINESS CATEGORY SEARCH”

1. Jingle Networks: 1-800-FREE411 / 1-800-373-3411
(Serves over 6% of 411 calls) Jingle boasts 15 million active users and 100 million calls per year and growing. Business, residential and government listings. You must listen to two 10 second advertisements before you can get all the information you need.

2. Microsoft: TellMe Corporation:
    1-800-555TELL / 1-800-555-8355
    Microsoft: Live Search:
    1-800-CALL411 / 1-800-225-5411
    Microsoft: June 2009, New Bing search engine:
    1-800-BING411 / 1-800-246-4411
Search areas: Business category searches, news center, sport scores, weather, addresses including directions, movie times, travel & stock prices.

All 3 800# services, Ford’s SYNC (voice activated information & directions service) & Windows Mobile 6.5 on cell phones (in Fall 2009) utilize TellMe speech recognition technology.
 
3. Google: 1-800-GOOG411 / 1-800-466-4411
Speech recognition search ability that will understand
the meaning of a “question.” SMS text messaging replies via 466453.

4. ChaCha.com: 1-800-2CHACHA / 1-800-224-2242,
or text any question to 242242
Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com was the key investor of $6.5 Million Service includes LIVE GUIDES who search the internet for you!

Search areas: Business category searches, news center, sport scores, weather, addresses including directions, movie times, travel, stock prices and jokes.

Effective 6-09 ChaCha Answers 150 Million Questions in 18 Months.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chacha-answers-150-million-questions-in-18-months

5. Yahoo: OneSearch: http://mobile.yahoo.com/onesearch
Text questions to 92466 (Yahoo) Also has speech recognition search ability. Type this URL into your phone’s browser: (m.yahoo.com/voice)

6. AT&T: 1-800YELLOWPAGES / 1-800-935-5697
You must listen to an advertisement before you can get all the information you need.

411Maximizer.com
PO Box 2257
Woodinville, WA 98072
Phone: 206.793.0000