Advertising complacency will kill you.
“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.” -Winston Churchill
Are you running the same ads year in and year out? If you aren’t making adjustments based on your sales are coming from, you could be wasting thousands of dollars a year on ineffective ads. Or worse, you could have been making thousands more if only you’d used the money to try something new that might work even better.
The first time I tested a Facebook ad campaign for trips on the Dover Harbor Pullman car, I failed to restrict the ad distribution to the D.C. area. We spent $100 on all of Maryland and Virginia and got zero sales. I monitored the results, edited the ad, and ran a larger campaign, now targeting ads to a 50 mile radius from the departure point at Washington Union Station.
The result? Way more profitable. We got a 300% return on investment (ROI) the second time.
Do I always get it right as a marketing manager? Absolutely not. But I’m willing to test different options, and I learn from my mistakes. I help clients track their sales, analyze which ads are working, and recommend changes so they can spend their ad budget more effectively. Customers hear about your train rides and events, and everyone’s happy.
Are you taking risks and measuring the results? You’re losing out if you aren’t.
About the Author: Marketing manager Karl Sakas helps tourist railroads and private railcar operators use smart marketing to make more money, in order to preserve history and keep the trains running. Schedule a free telephone consultation — or hire him to help your business or non-profit organization — at www.HeritageRail.biz.
Photo credit: Statue of Winston Churchill, by Jose L. Marin, via Creative Commons
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