Would you spend your entire annual marketing budget on a single Superbowl-themed advertisement?
You wouldn't, of course. You are aware that a single viewing of your message would not be sufficient.
So, why do we prefer to spend our time and money on one-time advertisements rather than recurring messages?
The majority of people simply do not know better, is the response. Or, you might find that repeatedly repeating your message bores you.
Yet, actually, your fortune is in the development!
I attended a conference in Los Angeles this past weekend to hear Bill Glazer, my marketing mentor who runs Glazer-Kennedy Inner Circle with Dan Kennedy, speak. He talked to the audience about how he and his late father ran Gage Menswear, Baltimore's top men's retail store, for the last few decades of his life.
Bill shared a story about one of his first direct mail campaigns, in which he told his father that they were going to mail a special promotional offer to the same list not once, not twice, but three times during the planning stages. Bill's father was shocked and yelled at him, calling him crazy and wasting their money!
Bill didn't give up and sent all three pieces of the campaign by mail. According to their findings, sending the same offer three times not only increased but also doubled their response! Pop was shocked, and the flurry of sales that came in made him happy. He also trusted Bill with their marketing funds from that point on.
Why does it work to repeat your message? Writing online newsletters It's easy: people get a lot of messages every day. I recently heard that each of us receives more than 3,700 distinct messages each day. This means that if you want to break through the clutter, actually get their attention, get them to read or listen, and get them to respond, you need to keep repeating yourself.
Your task now is to examine all aspects of your company's marketing and advertising to determine where additional follow-up is required.
A few quick points of interest:
Your ezines: Do you publish your ezines sufficiently?Every month is no longer sufficient. You should be contacting and "touching" your customers and prospects at least once per week. My ezine system takes care of that for you if you're out of ideas or don't know how to do this without annoying people!!)
Teleseminars and live events – If you want to promote events, you will need to send many more announcements or mailings than just one or two. When I really wanted to fill a teleseminar (phone seminar), I usually send at least three emails about the promotion. You need dozens of messages well in advance for live events. The majority of trainers I know begin marketing at least six months before any live events they host!
One-on-One Marketing: How often do you follow up with prospects after making cold calls or sending letters to them? Never hesitate to call or write again. After being contacted multiple times, I have finally accepted an offer and appreciated the vendor's initiative to follow up.
Advertising: Try running a much smaller ad much more frequently rather than spending your money on a few large ads per year! Additionally, if you buy more than one ad at a time, the majority of publications, both online and offline, will typically offer substantial discounts. Ads in my own ezine, Straight Shooter Marketing, are how I accomplish this.)
Keep in mind that many marketing professionals who test all of these strategies agree that the key is repetition. Don't even think you have to be creative with your marketing; it's better to say or send the same thing over and over than not to say or send it at all.
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