Bloggy Business Today

Many of the most successful businesses in the world start with a simple idea. If you’re an entepreneur, it’s important to look at the world around you for ideas and inspiration. There’s always room for innovation in any business, and sometimes a novel approach is closer than you think.

For example, if you’ve driven on a major highway recently, you’ve probably seen hundreds of billboards on the sides of the roadway. Every 500 yards or so, in between signs for exit ramps, speed limits and mile markers are ads for any number of businesses. Some advertise food, gas and lodging while others advertise local and national businesses. Or they promote the morning news team on your local NBC station or the local radio show.

These ads are within the visual range of hundreds of thousands of people a day, and are processed quickly and subsconsciosly by the people who see them. Without other competing sources of information to weigh, a driver may decide where to fill up his car or his stomach based on that business’ advertising on a highway billboard. This type of marketing is brilliant because it catches people in a captive location (in this case, along the roadway), and in a position where they are likely to make a purchasing decision quickly and effectively.

The companies that purchase these billboards know this. You wouldn’t see a gas station that purchases billboard space 150 miles away from their service station. They know instead that their advertisement will be much more effective the closer it is to their place of business. Not only does this make a decision immediately actionable for a consumer, but it also creates a sense of urgency for the consumer. If the person waits too long to make a decision, the window of opportunity has passed and he may have to wait another 50 miles for the next opportunity to eat at the Waffle House or to pump gas at the Texaco.

A billboard approach is not exclusive to drivers and roads. Go onto any major website and you’ll find several ads for a variety of products. They’re strategically displayed and usually well-placed based on the demographics of the website.

Now, if you’re reading this article, chances are you’re not on bloggybiz.com just for the advertisements. You’re here for the content, for the business advice, for useful information about the world you live in. Or maybe our owner told you about this site. Or maybe you’ve heard really good things about this young writer who works for the site, and you just can’t wait to read his next entry.

Now what does all this have to do with your job or business? A lot, actually. It demonstrates the power of ideas and innovation — even a simple idea like a billboard can be truly impactful for your business.

So the next time you’re driving down the interstate, take a conscious look at all the advertising efforts that zoom by you at 65 miles per hour. If you’re driving more than 200 miles, you’ll probably see hundreds of billboards during the course of your journey. And similar ones on the way back. Which ads catch your eye and capture your imagination? Why are some better than others?

And while you’re eating a pecan nougat log at a Cracker Barrel off the interstate, you can wonder why you got there in the first place. You were hungry, you wanted something to eat and the sign on the side of the highway told you could stop at the next exit. You’re there thanks to a combination of necessity (you have to eat, after all) and good old-fashioned advertising.

[tags]highway_billboard, billboard_space, entepreneur, business_advertising, billboards, national_businesses, morning_news[/tags]