Basics of television marketing

Since it's advent television has been a great way to introduce a new product. The features and benefits of a product or service can be quickly communicated to a large audience.Studies show that retail buyers are more likely to say "yes" if a new product has TV support.And most importantly when a TV product has wide retail distribution sales volume grows exponentially.Most business owners need to know that if it is possible to sell your product on TV you should do it.Yet there are some things that you need to be aware of.Here are just some of the basics of television marketing:

• But be prepared to have knockoffs of your product or service. There is nothing that gets the attention of knock-off artists like TV success.The best way to thwart this is to have your TV campaign begin after your patents have issued.That way you will have a loaded weapon to fire when the knockoffs appear.A pending patent can be like a gun without bullets it has potential to protect you in the future, but is of little use today.


• There are different types of television marketing.Certain shopping channels have a different set of parameters.Viewers of these programs often feel a relationship with the hosts and the businesses being shown.They trust implicitly what they are seeing and being told is true.In addition home shopping products typically sell at 1 ½-3 times the cost.This is not traditional television marketing. Traditional television marketing applies to commercial spots (anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes) and infomercials.


• It is important to keep in mind that in TV marketing the true quality of a product has virtually no impact on its success or failure on TV. It is also crucial to know that often the wonderful aspects of genuinely great products do not immediately communicate to a mass audience and likewise sometimes inferior junk is a great success the first time out. The lesson learned here is that television marketing is separate from the quality or lack of quality of any given product.Knowing this fact can help business owners plan appropriately on how to best advertise their product.


• It is also important to realize that most people watching television spots believe they are being lied to. Studies show that television watchers tend to discount at least 50% of what they see. Thus, in order to communicate the true benefits of a legitimate product, a marketer needs to exaggerate by 100%. While some products will lend themselves to easy exaggeration while remaining within the bounds of law others simply do not.A television marketing rule is to make the product look like it does all the hard work while you are having all the fun.Ideally any product can be exaggerated 100% on TV but also be legitimate and really useful.Keep in mind that exaggeration comes not just from claims but from implications.


• The costs of television marketing can be prohibitive. Any business owner considering television marketing should know that typically the products you see on TV sell for 4-5 times the cost.Thus, a $20 item will typically cost the TV marketer between $4 and $5.If the seller of the product is making a typical markup of 50% the actual product cost is something like $3.Savvy business owners will have to plan carefully to get the television marketing they need and the profit they want.Keep in mind that much of the costs of television marketing go toward the purchase of TV time.The remainder will go to product cost, the TV marketing company and the producer of the TV commercial itself.Also note that the television marketer typically will get a cut of around 5% of sales made to retailers during the time when the TV spot is running and for up to a year or more after the spot terminates.