PPC : Why advertising doesn’t work ?

Remember also that most advertising doesn’t make money. “I know half the
money I spend on advertising is wasted,” said Chicago department store

owner John Wanamaker more than 100 years ago, “but I can never find out
which half.”

There’s an adage in the advertising — wait, no, not in the advertising business,
because the adage is not exactly good for the business — that goes,
“most advertising doesn’t work.” I don’t remember who said it . . . oh, wait, it
was me.


Anyway, it’s true, and it’s worth understanding up front if you’ve never purchased
advertising before. If you have purchased advertising for a large business,
you may not believe this; many large business spend a fortune on
advertising that doesn’t work, because nobody has actually proven that it
doesn’t work. But having worked with small-business people over the last 15
years, I’ve learned that many small-biz people do understand this concept.
Here’s how we know most advertising doesn’t work . . . because if it did, business
would be easy! Need customers? Just advertise for them! Need some
more? Advertise some more. Most of the money you spend will make you
money, and the longer you do it, the better you do, as you eliminate the
minority of advertising that doesn’t work.
Reality is very different. Most advertising doesn’t work, so business is a battle,
and most businesses, business experts tell us, fail in the first few years.