International Trade Blog

I am sure that I am not the only one who has received various ‘’excellent’’ offers via email or generally the internet. Lately I have started to wonder what is the point ofd all this. I really do not believe that you can curb your enterprise using such tactics, but maybe I am wrong.

First of all lets start with and excellent example. Apparently at least a half of world population needs some sort of a dildo. I won’t elaborate on what this is if you are interested then use google.com and find out. But really has anyone bought this item due to the fact that it was advertised in an email. Lately I do not even bother to read these so called spam mails. Of course they are not all attempts of fraud there might be some real bargains, but simply I get to angry to react properly to them and basically delete them on sight. But someone actually made them, used their time and perhaps invested some money into them. So is it worth? Yes a simple homepage might look too boring so to add some color why not use cheerful and interesting banners. It livens up the place and maybe perhaps someone even buys something. For someone it may work, but I really not sure that it is worth all the money and time invested.

Maybe its is me, but I will probably never believe online advertisement. I accept it, but in most cases do not agree with it. In my opinion a good product does not need an extensive advertising campaign. Quality should speak for itself. But everyone must choose what is right for them.

I have always been somewhat skeptical towards advertising. Does it really work and if yes how effective it is? I have never been fully convinced that consumers buy goods due to advertisements and that investing money into advertising is foolish and ineffective. A waste of money so to say!

Let’s face it most consumers only buy what they really need and only a small percentage buy just for fun. This of course depends of the wealth of an individual. If the product is good then the quality will speak for itself and the need for advertising is only required in the initial phase when a new product enters a market. When the product has established itself in the market and aggressive advertising campaign can do more harm than good. People get bored or even offended with too aggressive advertising campaigns and may not buy the product in spite. At least that is how I react to overaggressive advertisements. If a product has established a solid consumer base in a market more advertising will not drastically expand the consumer base. Granted it may grow, but the growth might be quite slow and will not cover the extra costs of advertising. Generally more important than advertising is reputation. If a product acquires a positive reputation it is probable that it will establish itself as the market leader because most consumers still mostly rely on mouth to mouth propaganda. The most excellent advertising campaign cannot rival with an excellent reputation. While it may experience temporary success in the ling term the consumers will return to the product with the best reputation.

Of course the role of advertising is important in international trade, but it is somewhat over hyped in my opinion. A good advertising campaign will not save a bad product no matter how much money you spend. None the less advertising can be used as a tool to establish the needed reputation of a product.

What do I mean with this? It is advertising. Sometimes it my drive you mad, but sometimes it might be quite helpful. Every enterprise needs some sort of advertisement; it just has to be in a healthy amount otherwise it may turn to the dreaded spam advertising.

Today we see advertisements everywhere; on the street, on TV, in newspapers and the internet. I believe that as soon as someone discovers the necessary technology advertisements will be infused also in our dreams. While I sometimes almost have a nervous breakdown because of the advertisements during my favorite TV show, I do understand that the advertisements pay for my show. Yeah, the entrepreneurs need to advertise their product, but I do not think that massive advertising campaigns are necessary the right way to achieve profit. Actually how many times after watching an advertisement you have gone to your local supermarket and bought the advertised item? The more frequently advertised the more I hate the item, but that is just me. I really do not think that TV ads are the most effective means of advertising.

I view internet and newspaper ads somehow different. In a good way I might add. These advertisements have one significant difference from TV ads; they provide the opportunity to ignore them. Of course I am speaking only about the legitimate internet advertisements and not about the pop-up ads, that’s just spam, but I think that I already have covered them in a previous post. All the advertising banners and offers do not bother me, but if I see something that provokes an interest in me I often click them just to see the offer and then on occasion I even buy the product. The same applies to newspapers because sometimes I read the ads sections just for fun, but actually find something interesting and valuable. And I do not care how many advertisements are there because I simply can chose not to read them.

Advertisements are a necessary tool in business, there is no denying that, but be smart sometimes less is more. You will not be able to force people to buy your product with insane amount of advertisements. All you can do is provide an option and hope for the best.