There are several basic things to bear in mind about retail advertising. First, as with all advertising, you need to view it as an investment rather than an expense. If an advertising initiative does not earn you several times what it costs, then you need to rethink your advertising strategy.

Testing will help you keep your advertising well targeted. For example, if you get a very poor response from a series of magazine advertisements, you will need to reassess both the form of your advertising and the extent to which your customers read the particular magazines that you have advertised in.

You may run an effective print ad campaign, for example, while adding radio advertisements to ensure you reach customers who rarely read newspapers or magazines. You can spread your advertising dollar over a range of media such as local television, radio, newspapers, magazines, websites, emails, events and outdoor advertising facilities.

It will be easier to advertise across a range of different media if you adopt some measures to cut costs and to maximize the return you get for your advertising. For example, you may think that television advertising is too expensive. However, local or cable TV stations are often willing to negotiate lower rates if you sign on for long-term deals of 6 months or so. They will be more likely to favor such concessions in economic downturns, when they may be having trouble finding sponsors.

You may also be able to cut costs by entering into barter agreements with media outlets. If you sell office supplies, for example, you may be able to pay for part of your bill with stock. If you run a travel agency, you could offer tickets as a prize in local TV or radio competitions.

You can get a better result from TV or radio advertisements if you pay close attention to how the ads are scheduled. Basically, you want your message to be repeated to the same group of people; you want it to be absorbed through repetition. With this in mind, you might sponsor a particular time slot, such as the weather report. That way, you know that you’ll get through to a regular audience.

You may also be able to maximize your advertising investment by running ads that are shorter but more frequent. Rather than going for 30-second radio spots, for example, you might find that frequent 15-seconds ads are more effective.

You can also cut costs on the advertisements themselves. We’ve all seen low-cost ads—such as those featuring local identities, a store owner, a basic backdrop, some photographs of goods and some prices. This type of advertising can be effective if you are a discount operator, though low production values might look out of place if you are running a business that sells luxury goods.

You can also find ways to save money on magazine and newspaper advertising. For example, some of your suppliers may be willing to subsidize advertising that heavily features their products. You may also find that it’s possible to get discounts if you approach magazines nearer the time they go to print - they may have unsold advertising space.

There are other options for inexpensive and well-targeted advertising. You can have slides projected before features at your local cinema complex. If the cinema is part of your local shopping mall, you can be sure that you are targeting potential customers. Strategically placed billboard advertising is another way of homing in on a particular area. You can link it in with special events such as sports days, parades or fairs, where you have a high visibility through stalls, banners, sponsorships or where you can sponsor contests and gain recognition by offering products as prizes.

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