Making Your Ads Work for You
by Dera DeRoche-Jolet

Your investment in advertising is a major part of your budget, often amounting to thousands of dollars. At that amount, you want to be sure you are getting your dollars worth and not wasting your money. Yet, many ads, and certainly not only those in the alarm industry, just don’t work.

If you don’t believe it, take a little test yourself. Look through magazines or your local newspaper and look at some of the ads. Pay special attention to the ones where you know little about the business or ones where you would not normally be "shopping" for a supplier or service. Are they getting your attention or are you a little confused? If there is more than one ad for the same type of business, can you zero in on which one you’d rather call?

Now change roles and put yourself in your prospect's shoes. Are they going to have the same problems you did? Remember, they don’t know as much as you do about the security industry. What they think they know might be wrong.

That’s why it's so important to carefully plan out your ads. While there is something to be said about running ads on an ongoing basis for name recognition, your success will ultimately depend on whether your ads work.

Your opportunity is greater, because others have the same problems. Make a difference using creative approaches that will cause your ad to outshine the others and generate the response you’re looking for. Here are some suggestions and ideas that will dramatically improve your ads and the response.

A catchy, powerful headline will definitely improve the pulling power of your ads. I’m not talking about putting your logo or company name in big letters at the top of your ad. Think about it. Does that grab your attention when you look at other ads? If it doesn’t work for you, it won’t work for your prospective customers. Use a message that will grab your prospect's attention enough that they will read your ad and call you.

Now think about what your prospects really want when deciding whether they should call your company. People are predictable to some extent. There are basic things that they respond to, and turn them on. Mention the things that turn them on such as: more leisure time, more convenience, saving time, less effort, security and feeling important. When you tap into one or more of these motivating factors, you’ll gain more business. A simple list of your products or services is rarely good enough.

Now ask yourself another question: Are you excited about what you do and what you sell? If you’re not, how can you expect your prospective customers to get excited? Your ads also have to communicate strongly and believably that your security systems and services are pretty impressive. That will turn prospective customers away from your competitor and towards your company. It’s also going to sway those people who may not have even thought of purchasing a security system before they saw your ad.

When you write copy for your ad, think like a salesperson. Learn to use words and phrases that will make your ads come alive for prospects. People are more interested in the benefits and advantages for them rather than a list of features.

Another suggestion I have, is to incorporate an offer in your ad. This will give you a big advantage and a chance to either visit with a prospect or at least put them on a mailing list. Some suggestions for free offers are a booklet on safety or a home security survey.

Have you noticed a trend here? Talk to your customers in their language and show them what’s in it for them. To really make your ad work, tell your prospects what your security system and services can do for them. People really care about what you can do for them compared to what someone else can do.

Now that you’ve gotten their attention, don’t leave them hanging. Ask for them to take action. If the rest of the ad has worked and the customer is feeling good about your company, products and services, ask them to do something. How often do you send a salesperson out and tell them not to ask for an order? Don’t assume the sale. Don’t leave anything to chance…ask for a response.