You have probably heard the marketing axiom ‘the right message to the right people at the right time’.
I’ve added my own little caveat (via the right channel).
Thomas Plummer recently posted a blog (Why most of your marketing fails!!) decrying the industry’s ability to connect with the broader population. He makes some critical points… most industry marketing efforts (consciously or not) focus on the already active market… marketing materials are generic, untargeted, and unsophisticated… most marketing continues to sell features and not benefits… testimonials are a powerful tool… there is a lack of emotion driven content to connect with the exercise adverse market…
All great advice… and it all fits with getting the right message (via the right channel) to the right people at the right time.
I’ll give you an example…
The Friday night before last Father’s day I saw on a lifestyle program a short review of an ingenious new wrench that did away with the need for an entire socket set. It retailed for $30… perfect.
The next day I went into my local hardware store just before lunch to pick up one of these wrenches for my dad. After searching for a few minutes I asked the store clerk where I might locate one. The clerk replied that they had sold out hours ago. He went on to say that they had around 60 in stock but he could have easily sold hundreds if he had them. I asked if they were a hot new item and to my surprise he told me that they had them in stock for months and that they appeared regularly in their own advertising materials (print and TV) without much interest.
Here’s what happened…
They got the right message… an enthusiastic third party endorsement (no vested interest in promoting sales) and demonstration on a popular television program promoted specifically as an item dad would love and for a reasonable price.
Via the right channel… the TV spot on a popular lifestyle program reached a mass market (Australia wide).
To the right people… the television program was promoted all week as a father’s day special so those of us who hadn’t yet purchased a gift could get some last minute inspiration.
At the right time… right before father’s day when people were ready to spend on a gift for dad.
All the elements came together and made the wrench irresistible for that weekend… even though they had been on the shelves for months prior to that without generating much interest.
Rethink your advertising in terms of ‘the right message (via the right channel) to the right people at the right time’ and watch your sales explode.
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