Bizsuccess

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

By: Susan Gunelius

We’ve all seen them — those half-hour commercials where an enthusiastic host and satisfied customers tell you why you have to call now for this amazing product.  When infomercials first debuted, many people laughed and thought consumers wouldn’t respond.  Guess what?  Consumers did respond, and today, infomercials have become a reluctantly accepted part of late night television.  Products that seem completely useless such as the Snuggie and Sham-Wow became overnight sensations, and the people behind those products undoubtedly made a lot of money from them.

But should you create an infomercial for your business?  Is it worth the time and money?

The answer is — it depends.

Following are the considerations you need to analyze before you dive into creating an infomercial for your small business:

First, the type of product or service that you want to promote might or might not work well in the infomercial format.  Infomercials are most effective for products that require a demonstration for consumers to truly understand and appreciate them.  The trick is to be honest in your demonstration, so consumers believe your claims.

Second, your budget can affect your ability to create an infomercial.  This is a marketing tactic that you should not try to do alone.  Hire an experienced ad agency to help you write the script, obtain talent, and produce the commercial.  An agency can also help you negotiate placement rates with television sales people.  While the cost for producing an infomercial could range in the tens of thousands of dollars to the hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on the scope and talent, placement costs typically run in the hundreds of dollars to thousands of dollars range.  That’s because they typically air during the night and in off-peak time slots that television ad sales representatives are thrilled to sell.  If you’re comfortable negotiating placement rates with the ad sales rep directly, this could be an area where you can save some money.  Furthermore, you also need to obtain a toll-free telephone number to accept customer calls and hire staff (or outsource through a third-party) to handle those calls.  For online orders, you need to make sure your Web site is set to handle a spike in traffic when your infomercial airs.  Of course, you also need to have appropriate shipping procedures and return procedures in place to ensure orders are processed quickly.

Third, timing should be a consideration.  Creating an infomercial from start to finish is not an overnight task.  It’s a big investment, so you need to take the time to find the best resources and develop the best piece possible or you’ll waste your time and money.  In other words, an infomercial is not a marketing initiative where you should try to cut costs and save money.  Remember that quality is essential to ensuring your infomercial is successful.