It continues to amaze me that companies are willing to spend huge amounts on developing a product and then want to squeeze the marketing budget. Getting your message out is not the place to cut costs.

Why? We, as customers, are bombarded with marketing messages all the time, in all kinds of places, and the types of marketing just keep expanding. In the old days of the 80s, where media choices focused on radio, TV, newspaper, magazine and billboards, it used to be that the advertising world used the metric of 3 an ad must run at least three times in each media choice to break through the clutter. Now, with increasing kinds of media email, banner ads, websites, cell phone and PDA messages, ads on buildings, ads on taxi cabs, ads on grocery carts and on and onthe new metric is 7 impressions. A customer must see your message an average of 7 times for it to stand out from all the other messages they see each day. Thats right, 7 times. The first time or two, it may not be noticed. By the 4th, 5th , 6th or 7th time, the human brain starts realizing theyve been seeing a lot about this product or company!

When companies decide they can get by with only one direct mailing with no follow-up or a one-time ad, they are not getting the most bang for the buck. They are not ensuring they will rise above the noise and get their unique benefits noticed. People must see your message again and again, until it penetrates and makes your targets take the action you want generating leads and sales.

Are there some marketing communications that get attention in one fell swoopabsolutely. The Apple ad in SuperBowl 1984, for instance, was only run once. These type communications are usually backed by big budgets, however--producing an ad and buying Super Bowl space is not exactly inexpensive. In this case, you may be able to get your message across in one time. However, the amount spent will more than equal what can be done with integrated marketing activities. On the other side of the spectrum are viral marketing activitiesbut by the time you discover them, everyone else is using them too. Not that this is bad, just that they should be incorporated into the Once is Not Enough Plan)

Whats a business person to do? The good news is that you dont have to just do one marketing activity 7 times--there is a way to break through the clutter and stand out in a customers mindand that way is through integrated marketingusing a variety of methods to gain awareness, move the prospect to interest and demand and then to a sale. Next month we will be discussing Integrated Marketing and Doing It Right. Right now, you should be auditing what you are doing, making sure you are not doing one shot marketing, which just does not make effective use of your marketing resources.

Action Steps To Take Now:
1) Audit your current marketing efforts-identify what activities you are doing
2) Review what you are doingare you doing one-shot activities or following through and consistently touching your target audience with your messages and benefits
3) If you are doing one-shot activities, determine what you can do to expand. If you did a one-time ad, identify places to run it again. If you did a direct mail, mail to the audience again with a new offer. Just because they dont answer the first time, does not mean they are not interested. Remember, the average is 7 times to make an impact.