Occasionally, we talk to a business owner or marketing manager who is dealing with an unusual situation: a previously profitable advertising campaign that suddenly falls flat.

Their biggest question is usually a simple one: what suddenly went wrong?

The answer depends quite a bit on your individual situation, of course, but here are four reasons that some ads can lose their effectiveness, either suddenly or over time:

1. The market (or your product) has changed. Sometimes, what you sell just isn’t as relevant as it used to be. Occasionally, business owners and executives are too close to their own products and services to recognize a shift in the market.

2. Customers have heard the same message too many times. Even the very best advertising campaigns can become “white noise” over time, if customers are starting to tune you out.

3. The format (or market) has gotten too crowded. Sometimes, it isn’t that there’s anything wrong with your ads, just that your competitors’ offers have gotten better, and you need to adjust to catch up.

4. You’re already dominant in the market. The converse can also be true: you can already own so much of the market that there simply aren’t many more people left to respond.

If you’re struggling to understand why the response rates to your ads have suddenly fallen flat, why not schedule a free consultation with a member of the Marcy Design team and see what we can do to help?

Call Marcy Design, a Columbus Ohio website design company to help with your web, marketing and advertising campaigns.