Advertising: Why Don’t CLECs Get It?

Too many CLECs don’t really get advertising.

You see them promoting their services in the wrong places to the wrong people at the wrong time, with messages that are unclear, even misleading. Customers must wonder sometimes why they’d want to talk to these companies.

C’mon, folks. This shouldn’t be so difficult: it’s not rocket science.

On the other hand, it does need to be learned. Which is why CLEC-Planet convened a panel of experts (two to be exact) to offer some quick advice for the advertising-challenged.  CLEC-Planet contributor Tamra Burgwardt is president of Atlanta-based TJB Telecom Consultants Inc. Diane Weldin is director of CHR Marketing Solutions, the Dallas-based marketing services arm of telecom consultancy CHR Solutions Inc.

First Things First
Both started by saying virtually the same thing. “Back up. Before you can think about advertising, you have to do basic marketing.”  Too many CLECs, in their rush to get into a new market or get a new service offering out, begin advertising before they’ve laid the marketing groundwork, Weldin says. 

It’s partly that CLECs often feel desperate to accumulate as many customers as possible as quickly as possible, Burgwardt adds. So they’re disinclined to narrow their target market. The result is poorly directed advertising with little or no impact, and often the wrong message.

“Advertising,” says Weldin, “is part of the support system that comes after the marketing.”

First you have to do research to figure out which parts of which markets want or need which services, who if anyone is already offering competitive services and whether you have differentiators – superior technology, greater commitment to service, innovative pricing or packaging – to grab a share.  The answers to those questions will determine the services you offer and your target market or markets, such as, say, DSL for small business customers.

That will in part determine which media you’ll use to advertise, and what your message will be. For instance, if you’re targeting small business customers in half-a-dozen mid-size markets, advertising with a generic consumer-ish message on national TV really doesn’t make sense.

Be Effective
Once you’ve established some parameters for your advertising program, there are some general rules about how to advertise effectively – starting with message content. Burgwardt compares advertising to a formalized kind of sales pitch. Some of the same classic structural principles apply, such as, “tell ‘em what you’re going to tell ‘em, tell ‘em, then tell ‘em what you told ‘em.”

And advertising – like a good sales pitch – should begin with what Burgwardt refers to as an interest creating remark (ICR), often a question.  For example: “Could your company use faster Internet access?”

It should always end with a call to action, usually in the form of a special offer or promotion. Even something as simple as offering a free $10 prepaid calling card in return for filling out a questionnaire about their telecom needs can help establish a relationship.

Another key to effective advertising for CLECs is to leverage or create brand equity by prominently featuring a logo or wordmark – like the Kodak yellow square or the Nike swoosh.  A company’s brand is its banner, repeating its most fundamental message wherever it appears, Weldin explains.

“Your advertising should hinge on your brand equity,” she says. “And you should use that brand everywhere, not just in advertising – on all your consumer manuals, on trucks, shirts, letterhead, everywhere.”

Pick Your Place
Where you advertise, the media you use depends on a number of factors, including, as we’ve seen, which market segments you decide to target.  If it’s a new service offering and you already have customers, the place to start is usually with them.

“That’s a warm call,” Weldin notes. It’s also a cheap call, because you can start by including an advertising message on your customer invoices.

The sheer number of impressions you make – the number of different places target customers see your message – is also important. “The more impressions, the more likely it is a purchase will take place,” Weldin says.

She recommends aiming for a minimum of three media. A good mix for small-market CLECs often includes invoices – assuming you already have customers – local newspapers in target geographic markets, plus local radio or TV.  An advertising agency can help you refine the mix, Weldin suggests.

Who To Use
The question of advertising or marketing agencies and how and when to use them is where our experts diverge slightly. Weldin’s company offers many of the marketing and advertising services in question.

She recommends small-market CLECs look for a local graphics house with some experience and knowledge of branding to help create a logo and design an advertising campaign. Ask local printers for recommendations, Weldin suggests, and then ask two or three companies to sketch out ideas for you.

Burgwardt says choosing an agency will partly depend on your budget. If it’s $5,000, she points out, there is no point in approaching a big national agency. For Burgwardt, hiring an avertising agency is “probably the fourth” step in developing an effective ad campaign.

First, decide what you’re going to offer and who you’re going to sell it to, map out a geographic target or targets, then define the kind of message – the ICR.

“Then you can bring in an ad agency,” Burgwardt says. “Advertising agencies can do wonderful things but they need direction.”

At one company she helped manage, Burgwardt rejected ideas from agencies the company had approached and set employees to brainstorm concepts using crayons and flip charts. She hired an artist to do rough art for the best of the ideas, and then took the copy and art to an agency for polishing.

“It was very inexpensive and extremely effective,” she says. “So there are many ways to skin the advertising cat.”

How much does it cost to hire an advertising agency and mount a campaign? That’s a little like asking how long is a piece of string. It can range from $5,000 to handle a customer invoice campaign to millions for national TV advertising, Weldin suggests.  Or you can buy some pizza and a few six-packs and get your employees to do the creative work.