This article was first published May 7, 2007 on the Tatum Marketing blog
Simply put, persistence is a critical component of successful marketing.
My two previous posts have covered a loose connection I discovered between Mark Joyner’s “simple-ology: the science of getting what you want” and marketing. It’s a simple, three-step process to hit a target. The first two steps, which I wrote about earlier, are 1) identify the target and 2) focus on it. This post covers the third step – persistence. Keep trying until you hit your target.
Much to the dismay of business owners who wait until the last minute to launch a marketing program, marketing is a complex process and it takes time to work. Persistence is a key part of making marketing pay off.
1.First, experience and plenty of 3rd party research indicates that most prospects need to be exposed to your message 5 to 7 times – or more – before they begin to recognize you. When I was studying marketing in college the magic number was 3 but it keeps going up due to a never-ending increase in the sheer volume of other messages your prospects receive. The important point is, you can’t just run a single ad and declare it a failure. Give it some time. The same is true of all but the most direct of direct marketing methods. (More about that in other posts).
2.The second reason persistence is so important is that many – actually most – of your best prospects won’t be ready to buy the moment they begin to show interest in you. You’ve probably heard the old dating analogy – you don’t just meet someone and ask them to marry you. You’ve got to date a little first. Marketing is dating.
3.Third, there’s a lot of competition out there. Even if your product or service is absolutely unique, plenty of other things are competing for your prospects’ time and money. If you make a connection and just walk away, they will forget you quickly – no matter how fabulous you are.
So there you have it. 1) identify your potential targets. 2) Pick the best one. 3) Keep at it. These three steps should be part of your marketing strategy and your marketing system.
Simple as it seems, I am constantly surprised at how many companies don’t get this. I’m hopeful you won’t be one of them.
Technorati Tags: marketing, marketing strategy, marketing system, susan tatum, tatum marketing
My two previous posts have covered a loose connection I discovered between Mark Joyner’s “simple-ology: the science of getting what you want” and marketing. It’s a simple, three-step process to hit a target. The first two steps, which I wrote about earlier, are 1) identify the target and 2) focus on it. This post covers the third step – persistence. Keep trying until you hit your target.
Much to the dismay of business owners who wait until the last minute to launch a marketing program, marketing is a complex process and it takes time to work. Persistence is a key part of making marketing pay off.
- First, experience and plenty of 3rd party research indicates that most prospects need to be exposed to your message 5 to 7 times – or more – before they begin to recognize you. When I was studying marketing in college the magic number was 3 but it keeps going up due to a never-ending increase in the sheer volume of other messages your prospects receive. The important point is, you can’t just run a single ad and declare it a failure. Give it some time. The same is true of all but the most direct of direct marketing methods. (More about that in other posts).
- The second reason persistence is so important is that many – actually most – of your best prospects won’t be ready to buy the moment they begin to show interest in you. You’ve probably heard the old dating analogy – you don’t just meet someone and ask them to marry you. You’ve got to date a little first. Marketing is dating.
- Third, there’s a lot of competition out there. Even if your product or service is absolutely unique, plenty of other things are competing for your prospects’ time and money. If you make a connection and just walk away, they will forget you quickly – no matter how fabulous you are.
So there you have it. 1) identify your potential targets. 2) Pick the best one. 3) Keep at it. These three steps should be part of your marketing strategy and your marketing system.
Simple as it seems, I am constantly surprised at how many companies don’t get this. I’m hopeful you won’t be one of them.
Tue, Nov 3, 2009
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Written by: Susan Tatum