5 Reasons Your Advertising Isn’t Working for Your Local Business 👎

When advertising isn’t working to bring new customers through your door as a local business, it’s often due to a combination of AVOIDABLE pitfalls. Here’s why you’re probably not seeing a return on your ad spend and some tips to fix it:

1. Unclear Goals

Let’s face it—if you don’t know what you’re aiming for, you’re wasting time and money. Saying "I want better brand awareness" is vague and unmeasurable. Its a good start, don’t get me wrong, but die deeper.

Do you want 50 new customers? 10% increase in revenue? 100 more reservations? A specific return on ad spend (ROAS)? Advertising without clear, actionable objectives is the equivalent of running with a blindfold on. You must set objectives that actually mean something and to know what you’re working towards.

How to fix it: Set specific, measurable, time-bound goals and share the specifics of your current numbers and desired growth with your advertising partner. This helps them tailor strategies to meet your specific objectives. Goal example: “I want to grow my revenue by X% in the next X months.” Your advertising partner can help you figure out the best goal for you and should be able to give you guidance as to a realistic goal and timeframe.

2. Wrong Platform or Channel

Advertising on the wrong platform is a surefire way to set money on fire. If your service doesn’t align with your audience—like trying to sell tickets to a local music festival via a print newspaper ad—then no one will care. Ads need to meet people where they are, period.

How to fix it: First and foremost, do some research to figure out where your target customers spend their time and get there. Pro tip - just because YOU or someone you know prefers one platform over another, does not mean that everyone feels that way. Trust data and statistics over your gut here.

Separately, if you’re one of those people who sticks to more traditional advertising platforms like TV commercials, radio ads or print media because that’s what has worked in the past, you must understand how times have shifted to a digital landscape and the return on your investment will be significantly better online. For a lot of reasons - visual, native, trackable to name a few.

3. Inconsistency

An ad here, an ad there—it doesn’t work. Say it with me, advertising needs consistency to create momentum. Running one Instagram promo and expecting long-term results? Frankly, that’s laughable. Disjointed, one-off efforts will never keep your audience engaged.

How to fix it: Commit to consistency. Rather than one-off promotions, invest in sustained efforts like ongoing campaigns with a trusted advertising partner who can help you maintain your presence to keep your business top-of-mind.

4. Budget Mismanagement

Blowing your entire budget in one week or spreading it too thin to get noticed are equally bad approaches. You need smart, sustained spending to generate a return. Blowing your budget in one week may create a brief spike in visibility but fails to build long-term engagement, while underfunded campaigns lack the reach to make an impact.

How to fix it: Focus on sustained, strategic spending that aligns with your audience and goals - allocate your budget to platforms, strategies and content that match the specific needs of your target customer and the objectives you’ve set. Ensure quality over quantity by prioritizing the effectiveness of your campaigns over stretching your budget too thin to see an impact just for the sake of being everywhere.

5. Poor Creative Execution

PSA - Nobody (and I mean nobody!) wants to read an ad crammed with wall-to-wall text or look at ugly designs. This is a BIG one that local businesses seem to get wrong a lot. Word vomit on your ad is just not a good look.

How to fix it: You stop people from scrolling with organic visuals that make you FEEL something (like… excitement!) and emotional copy. Visuals are especially important if your business or product is an experiential one (ie. restaurants, boutique shops, attractions and things to do, nightlife and entertainment) - not only is a picture or video worth a thousand words, but people want to see what they’re in for. They want to be able to envision the experience they will have. And for crying out loud, include a clear CTA! Otherwise, it’s all wasted effort.

If you’re a local restaurant, cool thing to do, or boutique shop or hotel experience in WNY and want help leveling up your advertising to the point where it actually helps you get new customers, fill out this form to see if you qualify to advertise on Step Out. Helping local businesses attract, warm and convert new customers through the power of consistent, targeted, influential campaigns is what we do best.

-Emily

Co-founder of Step Out Media