The Grapevine Autumn 2019 Grapevine Oct-Nov 2019 v2 | Page 33

It’s also important to be realistic about how much to spend on advertising. It's pointless spending £1000 a month on advertising unless you're confident that you'll get at least that much back in business. At the same time, you don’t want to cut corners and save on things like advert design. Spending a couple of hundred pounds having a really good, eye- catching advert designed will pay dividends in the long run. Don’t try to create your own advert unless you know what you are doing - graphic design is a skilled art form, let the experts do what they are good at. After all, if you broke your leg you wouldn’t try to set it yourself … would you? If you're still undecided about advertising, here's something to consider: in 2018 Morrisons made £633 million profit, Tesco made £1.3 billion, and most impressively, Aldi went from a loss of £56 million in 2012 to a profit just six years later of £266 million. And yet all of these companies continue to advertise on television and in the national dailies. Why? Why do they continue to advertise in the most expensive media possible when they’re making so much money? Perhaps the question we should be asking is: are they making so much money because they advertise? There’s an maxim worth remember- ing: if you want to succeed, copy someone successful ... and there can be no doubt that the likes of Tesco, Aldi and Morrisons are extremely successful. As I said before, advertising is not an exact science and there are no guarantees, but one thing is certain: if you don’t advertise, you definitely won’t get a response! It’s like the lottery: you’ve got to be in it to win it! Editor The main thing about advertising is that it is essential to the success of any business. Whether it's word of mouth, radio, TV, internet or paper advertising, if you don’t advertise, you won’t get customers; no customers, no business … it’s that simple. And no, there’s no guarantee that you will be inundated with enquiries the first time you advertise … it can take several months. That’s the nature of advertising. It’s a bit like planting an apple tree: it takes time for it to grow and produce fruit. The Grapevine 33