Taking Care of Business: Persistence hallmark of profitable marketing plan

Ruth Schwartz is the author of Taking Care of Business.

Marketers believe that it takes an average of seven marketing touches for someone to put your name, your company and your product together in their mind. And it takes an average of 29 touches before someone will remember to consider you when they are ready to buy.

I was honored to be in attendance at a Nevada City Advocate brown bag lunch in December when Suzie Daggett asked “Can you tell me, as a business owner, where to advertise?”

 Even the editor of a magazine is challenged by the world of marketing and advertising choices.

How do we decide what works when marketing dollars are scarce?

We have to spend a little time answering the following questions:

1.                             Who precisely is the customer I want?

2.                             Where does this person hang out?

3.                             What do they pay attention to?

4.                             What do they value and how do I bring them value?

5.                             How will I measure results?

Marketers believe that it takes an average of seven marketing touches for someone to put your name, your company and your product together in their mind. And it takes an average of 29 touches before someone will remember to consider you when they are ready to buy.

Therefore, touches need to be consistent, repetitive, build value from your prospect’s point of view and be where your prospects are.

For example:
 

·                                 Ask any local video company and it will tell you that their customers will be at the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) conference.

·                                 Ask See Jane Do organizers how they attracted over 200 women to their conference and they will tell you their prospects are on Facebook.

·                                 Ask plumbing contractors and they will tell you the yellow pages.

·                                 Ask me. If we don’t make an appointment to meet one on one, you will NEVER understand the value of what I am selling.

Companies that understand their customer, their value to them, and where to find them can create effective marketing strategies. Companies that don’t consistently go where their customers are and create value on their customers’ terms struggle with inconsistent results.  
 

One carpet company told me that home shows are a waste of time. Another one created a home-show experience based on value as perceived by their prospect. Guess who got a serious amount of business?

If you find that your marketing isn’t bringing the results you want, you either have not correctly articulated one or more of the answers to the above five questions or you just weren’t persistent with the mix.

 Be sure to measure each touch. Then measure the cumulative effect. You will start to see quickly what works or doesn’t work for your customer.

While this is the short answer Suzie, there is no shortcut to effective marketing.

Ruth Schwartz is the author of Taking Care of Business. She can be reached by calling 530-288-0180 or visiting www.TABGoldCountyNorth.com.