Eliminate "branded" advertising

You are not Coca-Cola, Unilever, HP, or BMW - so why are you copying these market titans? No one is interested in your half-page logos and advertising slogans - they don't sell. Your company's name on a half-screen in a TV commercial won't increase sales either - remove it.
In small and medium-sized businesses, the desire to "hit the ground running" and copy the giants is too expensive. You don't have eight-figure advertising budgets in dollar terms, you don't have the huge margin of safety that these companies have. And most importantly, you have no margin for error, which can cost you your business. So what kind of advertising should you use?

Build your advertising on the principle of direct response marketing

The response to each of your advertising messages, to each channel of delivery of this message to the target market, must be measured. The secret to success in marketing is measurement and control. You need to know what the ROI (return on investment) is for each of your messages. If you invest a dollar and get ten, this ad is working. If you invest ten dollars and get two, this ad should be excluded from your marketing arsenal. The big mistake many companies make is that they don't even know which ads work and which don't.

If your market is everything, then your market is nobody

Don't try to sell to everyone. The wider the network, the more holes there are in it. Instead, clearly define who your target audience is and focus your marketing efforts on them. The more niche you've already chosen, the easier it is for your potential buyer to identify themselves in your marketing message. The reaction your ad should evoke in the mind of the target consumer: "О! This is about me!" Then it will be much easier for you to sell. Did I say "sell"? I apologize. Then it will be much easier for your potential consumer to buy. After all, people don't like to be sold to, they like to buy.

Focus on your market, not the media

A big mistake many entrepreneurs make when they suddenly have a burning need to advertise is to focus on an advertising channel. "Where else can I advertise?" is a typical question of a typical businessman. If you don't know who exactly you are selling to (your target market) and if you don't have a convincing message for your market, you'd be better off spending your advertising dollars on lottery tickets or playing cards.

Use two-step advertising

Imagine that you see an ordinary advertisement in the newspaper for a regular dry cleaner. And your suit is clean. Would you remember the name and coordinates of this company? And what are the chances that when your suit gets dirty, you will go to this particular dry cleaner, and not to one of the dozens or hundreds of others in your city? The problem is that conventional advertising in 90 +% cases does not coincide in time with the client's need. Conventional advertising sells only to one or two percent of potential customers, namely those who, by a lucky chance, had a dirty suit at the exact moment you advertised.
Two-step advertising solves this problem. Advertise an information course rather than dry cleaning services. Then you will be the only company that is there for the client at the crucial moment when his suit needs cleaning.