Marketing is a Patience Game
by: Darrin F. Coe
ขGet your positioning and your programs implemented properly, and the numbers will come. But you’ve got to have some patience.ข
– Jack Trout with Steve Rivkin
ขThe New Positioning. The Latest on the World’s #1 Business Strategyข
One of the biggest derailers of successful marketing is the process of continually changing your marketing strategy. According to Jay Levinson, author of the Guerilla Marketing series of books, says in the book ขGuerilla Advertisingข, that many great advertising campaigns are abandoned much to early before they have a chance to produce great results.
Understand that because consumers are bombarded by advertising images and messages constantly, they will perceive those messages and images that are consistent. You need to slowly work your way into the brain of the consumer. Bullying your way in may produce some short term results but given the way consumers think, a bullying approach will soon be dismissed and filtered out.
The key to great marketing is simplicity, focus, and patience. Continually being in the consumer’s awareness with a simply message and a strong focus will yield better long term results than a complicated, bullying message that slaps the consumer alongside their frontal cortex.
Again, referencing Jay Levinson, you should consider your marketing and advertising as a conservative investment that you expect to yield big payoff over time. Marketing and advertising is not a speculative investment, in which you win or lose big.
As you develop your marketing plan, build in patience and consistency. Consumers like stability in a business and one way to build stability is a consistent marketing message that they are able to get used to seeing and processing. This type of campaign is comforting to the consumer who is used to in your face advertising being blasted at them over multiple media channels. You may not see the numbers change immediately but they will come with patience.
About The Author
Darrin F. Coe, MA holds a master’s degree in psychology and is the operator of ขThe Center For Understanding Consumer Thinkingข at www.consumerthinking.com. His most recent special report, ขThe Internet Consumer Exposedข is available at http://www.consumerthinking.com/exposed1. Contact him for consulting at [email protected] or 17192755907 after 5:00 PM mountain standard time.
This article was posted on December 18, 2004
by Darrin F. Coe