The quantity of your advertising response rate is not what matters, folks

In advertising and direct mail, most people get hung up on calculating the response rate of a particular campaign. I always enjoy meeting with new clients when they share their real life examples that illustrate these marketing concepts so well.

This potential client owns a high-end consignment store. She had been running ads in some area publications, and had great results in terms of traffic in the door. Unfortunately, the ads weren't targeted and were attracting everyone instead of the very select group she wanted to reach. She found she was burning eight hours of staff time to inspect/analyze hundreds of items, only to accept a handful of items for her high-end consignment store. She would have been better off with one quality person responding, rather than dozens of people her staff was turning away.

She called me to meet with her to develop a postcard campaign that would only hit 2-3 neighborhoods -- where she feel her best targets live. Instead of mass advertising in newspapers and magazines reaching tens of thousands each month, this business owner will be far better off narrowing her focus down to 2,000-3,000, resulting in quality responses for her business.

This same logic applies to a number of industries. If you're a landscaper, you know the bulk of your revenue comes from large landscaping installation projects and not the occasional mowing or treatment jobs. If you are advertising to the masses, instead of the smaller demographic where those large installation projects typically live, you're likely wasting money that could be better spent elsewhere.

To determine what targets are best for your business, sometimes it means taking a step back and "redefining" who you want to be. Are you a high-end, luxury painter who specializes in faux finishes? Then you should only target markets where quality trumps cost. If you are a high-end painter advertising in every neighborhood, you're likely getting calls from people you know will never hire you because the second painter they call for an estimate will give them a better price. Think of the time and energy spent driving to certain neighborhoods to provide people with estimates, when you know the conversion rate to an actual sale is low. Conversely, if you're a painter who offers affordable pricing, then you should target those markets where people care more about the value than quality. You might land some jobs for people with luxury homes, but you'll find that their expectations are likely beyond what your crew typically delivers. You could find yourself losing money in the long run with the amount of excessive touch up work required.

While we all like to see high response rates when we advertise, what really matters is the quality of those responses. Learning to focus and "let go" of the targets that are not generating quality leads will save your business considerable time and money.