Mixed Media

If there is one common misconception about marketing and advertising that I hear from locally-focused small business owners in Crystal Lake it is that internet advertising will improve sales and help them to build their brand. In actuality, neither of these are true. Here I will explain why.

Internet advertising targets those who already know what it is they are looking for. By participating in internet advertising, as, say, a florist, a business is trying to reach a customer who already knows that they want to send flowers. In so doing, this local Crystal Lake florist is setting itself up to compete with the likes of FTD and 1-800 flowers, a competition they will never win because when it comes to online shopping, price is king. Internet advertising creates no desire for the product or service your business sells. It only gets your name out there. As a result, your name will be “getting out” to people who have no interest in paying for the specialized service you offer because they can get the same thing from larger competitors. Thus, internet advertising fails at acquiring customers for local businesses of any kind. (Plumbers will lose to roto-rooter, lawfirms to law referral services, etc etc.)

This is fundamentally because internet advertising does nothing to build a brand that customers desire. For businesses looking to dip their toes into Crystal Lake advertising it makes no sense to pursue an internet-only campaign because it will elicit no demand. Instead, those looking to build business locally should focus on creating aspiration for their business’s product or service in the form of billboards which are historically cheaper and offer the perfect format in which to create a customer ‘need’ for what you are selling. Outdoor advertising especially makes it possible for the advertiser to make multiple impressions in the Crystal Lake community setting, engraining their brand into the local fabric of the city. For more information about Crystal Lake Advertising please call Denny Orsinger at 847-462-8433.