When Ads Don't Work

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Advertising should ultimately increase sales.  And, advertising expense should be considered an investment with a substantial return expected.  It may be hard to measure this ROI, but it's increasingly more possible.

Successful ads must be crafted with the customer in mind.  Unfortunately, a lot of ads are designed to please the boss, whether that would be the owner, the board, the CMO -- rather than the customer.  And oftentimes the ad creator is more interested in winning an Addy or a Clio award than booming sales.

You're A Different Breed

With small businesses, the owner often will think that everyone pretty much thinks like she does, so if she likes the ad then most consumers will as well.  This is rarely true.  The part about most other people thinking like you.  You started a business.  Most people don't.  You work long and hard hours.  Most people don't.  

It really doesn't matter if you like your ads or not.  It certainly doesn't matter if they win awards or not.  It doesn't really even matter if consumers "like" your ads or not.  What matters is whether the consumer finds your messages relevant and persuasive so that the next time they are in the market for your product or service, the first company they think of is yours.