Have you ever heard of the marketing rule of seven? The rule states that a potential customer must see a brand’s message at least seven times before they’re ready to take action. Keep in mind this rule was formed in the 1930s, before we had the internet and social media, and television and radio stations were limited. Today, there’s much more “noise.” Every company wants your attention for their product or service. In fact, marketing experts predict that the average person is exposed to 4,000+ advertisements a day!
With how many messages every person is exposed to every day via social media, YouTube, etc., the rule of seven is almost certainly outdated now. Instead, today’s businesses need to be more concerned about their messages being in front of the right audience at the right time (consistently and persistently) in order to make their brand memorable.
This is especially true in the B2B world. As you know, products or services offered in this way are almost always high involvement purchases. They’re complicated and expensive, and the buyer needs time and multiple contacts before making a decision Every touchpoint counts, and that’s why successful B2B branding is so dependent on strategy, planning and understanding the target audience. “Throw it out there, and see if it works” is just too expensive.
Some companies, for example, feel the need to have a presence on every single social media platform: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, SnapChat, etc. Companies like Microsoft and Nike have the resources for that, but most businesses don’t. Their time and money are limited. As a result, it’s most effective to only focus on messaging channels that are a “target rich” environment for your brand.
For example, it can be easy for a B2B company to be lured in by the volume numbers of a hot platform like TikTok, even though they’re not certain whether their primary target is using the service or not. It’s always better to reach fewer qualified prospects than a larger number of prospects who can’t purchase your product even if they want to (because they’re not a B2B decision maker). That kind of thinking takes discipline, patience and a commitment to brand integrity, but in the end it pays off.
When considering whether a marketing tactic is right for your company, concentrate on quality first, then quantity. Ask yourself the following questions, and then back your answers up with research.
- Does this tactic align with my strategy?
- Is this where my customer goes for information?
- Is my message effective for this audience?
Here at Anchor Marketing we do all our work with a strategy-first mindset. Contact us and find out for yourself how much of a difference that can make.
