One thing I have trained myself to do is observe the different types of marketing that I come into contact with every day. Although a lot of it would never pertain to my business, I can still learn from what I see, hear and read. Consciously observing marketing around you gives you insight into good and bad marketing. Watch TV commercials, study magazine advertisements, read direct marketing pieces you receive, subscribe to a competitor’s mailing list, look at advertisements in the business journals, listen to radio commercials, and learn from the good, the bad and the ugly.

Here are a few lessons learned from some of my recent observations:

• Being a sports enthusiast, I watch a lot of Red Sox baseball and cable TV runs mostly local business TV spots. The quality of TV ads on local cable is really bad. I’m sure this statement comes as no surprise to you, however, one of the most annoying commercials is a car dealer whose ad is impossible to understand. The ad leaves me with the feeling that I wouldn’t trust them.The lesson: If your business warrants using cable TV as an advertising medium, hire the expertise of an agency who knows how to develop a quality finished product to make sure you always put your best image in front of your prospect.
• Music and images can become associated with another company if they are used within their advertising. Recently, Amstel Light has been using music within its commercial that was previously used in a Viagra commercial. As the commercial started, I thought I was about to see the latter, but boy was I fooled. So unless you want to intentionally associate yourself with another product, do some research.The lesson: I’m sure most of our us are not going to advertise on national TV, but when choosing web, brochure or local print advertisement images, check to see what others are using before you make your selections.
• Your eyes can see things differently than intended. In a TV advertisement, Dodge listed their 800 number as 800-FOR-DODGE. The way it was presented in the commercial, my eyes saw “800-FORD-ODGE”. Hm, not sure if I was the only one that saw that, but it certainly didn’t send the message their marketing agency intended to send.

  The lesson: Review your marketing materials with an eye for anything that could reduce the impact of your marketing message.

The moral of the story is study what others have done to become aware of the small things that can hurt you in your marketing. Not marketing your business hurts your chance of success since your prospects don’t know about you, but bad marketing can send prospects to your competitors.