Marketing Best Practices – Understanding The Power of Three
We all know that repetition is the basis for any learning experience. This holds true for people who are first learning about a product or service.
Back in the 1960’s and 1970’s, advertising guru, Herbert Krugman studied consumer behavior. He was working to figure out the most efficient media plan for buying TV advertising. His research focused on how many times a person needed to see an ad for the same product before they would take action to purchase. It is through this research that he came up with his famous Theory of Effective Frequency for advertising.
Krugmn concluded that the magic number of times a person most often needed to hear or see about a product or service before they would take action is three. He explained it this way:
“The first time someone is exposed to your ad, you attract their attention, but nothing is really taken in, thus “What is it?”
The second time is when the consumer begins to engage with the relevance of the ad, and asks “So what?”
And the third exposure to the ad is when the viewer decides whether “This is for me”, or whether they will choose to forget it.”
Never assume your marketing campaign failed after one communication – especially with a new prospect. Continued communications are most often necessary in order to produce a sale.
So, on average a person should see your advertising three times in order to remember your product or service and to understand how it will benefit their life. Communicating at least three times helps to ensure that your target market remembers who you are and understands your product or service enough to make an educated buying choice. If someone does not fully understand and accept your primary benefits and sales proposition, you will not gain them as a customer. It’s that simple. The number of times the same audience sees your message is called frequency and Krugman’s research shows that three is a good number to start with while testing your own results with frequency.
Beyond frequency, when following up with a new prospect, or contacting an existing client, make sure that your correspondence is compelling. Provide value to your audience. Multiple communications with no “reason” will be seen as nuisance and possibly lose you a customer rather than gaining you one.
Smart ongoing communication is the key to transforming actions into sales. Here are the best practices you can engage in to play up the Power of Three:
- Take the time to research your best prospect so you can develop your best list.
- Understand your best prospect so you can create compelling creative.
- Make sure your message is understandable and concise.
- Have a call to action to motivate your audience
- Contact. Communicate again. Reinforce.
Call 1-800-DUNHILL (386-4455) today to speak with one of our experienced data professionals. We’ll help you secure your custom compiled list and direct marketing services that will match your unique requirements.
