A better understanding of the nuances of print advertising has allowed local small and medium businesses to experience faster growth and provide their customers with greater options.
According to a number of business owners present at The Hindu group’s week-long advertising expo on Tuesday, consistent communication with consumers has been the key to seeing spurts of growth beyond the usual festival and holiday discount bonanzas.
Pressense 2013, which is an annual platform conducted by The Hindu , allows businesses to understand the challenges that advertising and marketing throw up on the road to higher growth.
“For local businesses in Chennai and Tamil Nadu, much of advertising was very regional and usually done around festival time. When we signed up for Pressense last year, we ran a consistent campaign over the whole year, which saw us achieve nearly 30 per cent growth,” said N. Ananthapadmanabhan, Managing Director of NAC Jewellers, a leading jewellery retailer.
“Customers also love to know, on a regular basis, what jewellery items we have on offer and so on,” Mr. Ananthapadmanabhan added.
Other businesses like the salon chain Naturals have seen a 35 per cent store-level growth in Tamil Nadu, with the help of ‘announcement advertising’— a consistent form of consumer communication.
“Over the last year we’ve seen great results, with the number of salons going up to over a 100 from 65, mainly due to consistency we got through Pressense’s packages,” said Naturals co-founder C K Kumaravel.
According to Mr. Kumaravel, by having a consistent advertising deal, the salon chain was able to inform its customers during the launch of a new service or store.
“Nearly 80 per cent of our Tamil Nadu advertising budget goes to Pressense over the normal print advertising,” he said.
