"From 2 customers a fortnight ...
to 13 in one week!"
Hi Brett,
We took your
advice from your tutorial and I think I applied it right when we
came up with this ad. We ran it for two weeks in a local paper
around Wendy's hairdressing business.
The first week we
had 10 new customers and the following we had 13. the
ad cost us $108 per week so even if we only did haircuts, no
colours etc we would still be making $250+ a week out of it for
the week alone.
It was
in the vicinity of an extra $400.
People love
your headline. We changed the background around the WARNING bit
the second week making it easier to see. We were getting
only 1 or 2 responses a fortnight when we first got into
business 7 months ago writing rubbish that other people told us
to. It's not to say this ad doesn't need improving, but
we're on the right track, the numbers don't lie.
You're right
(about most things, mainly) that ad sales people are there to
fill space and don't give two figs about your business. How
naive we were. At least we were approached about how good things
could be at an early junction and we now have the confidence to
plan for the future. Who knows, maybe we'll get another salon,
we'll be able to get people to come in the door with the right
ads.
I check the
local papers and mailers and most of our local competitors don't
advertise, or conversely the ads are about them, not the
customers.
We're going to
do what you said with this ad next month, make it bigger and see
if it does more or less for us. Test and measure as you say, and
the results will become more meaningful.
Your idea about making
the loyalty card the USP has been telling, with people asking
for it at the counter.
We now know
that our ads can only be judged as successful if they get
the most important thing, customers. If it ain't working it gets
the chop, no room for nostalgia, or thinking your ads great, the
only opinion that matters is the folks who dial the number or
come in the door. After that it's up to us to convince them to
keep coming back.
Love your
work, and thanks again for your guidance.
Martin and
Wendy Jackson
P.S. Here's our new winning advert!
