Most marketing books say it takes 7 to 12 impressions or touches for a marketing message to be remembered. I'm looking for current resources as I believe it takes more impressions in our highly connected world. Ideas for resources?
Several years ago, I remember reading an article that indicated that a large company (Microsoft?) had done research that showed it was more like 17 to 23 touches or impressions for a marketing message to gain Top of Mind awareness. However, I cannot find any research or articles now that support this. I have Googled just about every key word phrase that I can think of and have only found the same info of 7 impressions. If you have info on this topic, I would appreciate being pointed in the right direction.
Good Answers (5)
Greg L.
Business development, strategy, technology, marketing and sales veteran
Best Answers in: Guerrilla Marketing (1)
I can speak from a lot of personal experience, and only wish I could cite references - the numbers I hear range from 6-7 impressions.
First of all, a series of impressions must be made within a repeatable time frame. In fact, the more predictable the frequency, the more the impression creates impact. Time between impressions should not exceed approximately one month, unless the impression is a powerful one.
In one business, we could very reliably predict when a customer would buy based on a point system for impressions. The goal was to get to 36 points.
A warm email counted as 1 point.
A personal card counted as two points.
A highly targeted direct mail piece with lots of valuable information (not a direct sales piece) was worth 3-6, depending on the value of the information.
An item of value might have a range - but typically we used 6 points.
A face to face meeting at a gathering is 6 points, and a face to face 10.
There is nothing wrong with going for one big impression, win or lose, in some cases. I sent a prospect on a vacation once - that left an impression, let me tell ya.
The exact points don't really matter. If you'r playing a numbers game, one simply needs to understand that you can make either many small impressions, several moderate impressions, or one gigantic impression and achieve success.
Don't believe the research as it doesn't take into account the modality of the touch. All to often people use the wrong consideration set to figure out how to measure a campaign. There are various modes that I have built for various verticals, but there isn't any very good research that I trust. Call me cynical, but everything is on a case by case basis. When i say that i mean its very different for a financial services client as opposed to a CPG client
cheer
Erik
http://www.experientialforum.com
Jonathan R.
Tired of chasing after customers? I'll have them chasing after you. Call 407-479-8591 to see how I can help you.
Best Answers in: Internet Marketing (5), Guerrilla Marketing (1), Business Development (1), Personal Investing (1), Personal Real Estate (1)
I'm going to answer this based on my gut feeling only Zita.
17-23 "touches" seems outlandish to me. In the connected world we're living in it's got to be a measure of impact.
....how well did your solution match their problem.
You've got to get in the mind of your target market. the tools we have available to listen via social media make that easier than it has ever been in history.
Take time to get to know your prospect (target market) and craft a message that answers their questions totally. If you're able to do the leg work in the beginning to craft a great message, the internets can (and in some cases WILL) take care of the rest.
When they go to Google with their burning question and you pop up at the top of the results with the exact answer (the one you got from listening and studying) it may only take one touch to turn them into customers.
How do I know this? Because it's happening more frequently in my business each day.
Hope this helps, and good luck.
Hi Zita,
The quantity of "touch-points to conversion" varies by factors that make general rules tough to believe (i.e. 7 touch points). Conversion rates per impression vary by brand trust, product type (consumable product like toothpaste versus a considered purchase like a diesel generator), company (Rolex versus Amway), advertising media (Superbowl ads versus Dan Kennedy inspired email auto-responders) and more.
A company with ad budgets like MSFT has a multi-channel advertising strategy that can generate massive impressions. Many small companies can only touch prospects via email, which makes the 17-23 impressions an unrealistic benchmark for conversion.
The fun of marketing is asking many questions about a business objective to understand the issue/company/product, then combine wisdom from running many campaigns before a perfect answer starts to materialize.
Happy converting!
Bryan Heathman
Links:
Leon E.
Helping Small Business Generate New Business Through Digital Marketing - Web, Video, Mobile, SEO, SEM, Social Media
Best Answers in: Using LinkedIn (1)
Zita,
It looks like you've gotten some great responses to you question. The only thing that I think I would add is that you're probably going to need to do your own experimenting. Like Erik said, it's more of a case-by-case basis type of thing.
Your business and prospective customers are most likely going to be different from mine, thus what I do would not necessarily be the optimal way for you to market to your customers.
Jonathan made an excellent point about being in multiple locations with your content so that when a prospective customer does a search for their specific problem, they find your content...their answers!
Good luck!
More Answers (4)
Merrill C.
Web, SEO & Direct Response Copywriter at Crestview Marketing Services LLC
Best Answers in: Internet Marketing (2), Nonprofit Management (1), Blogging (1)
Hi Zita,
I've read the same things,but...
I've also read articles from firect marketing experts like Dan Kennedy, and other successful marketers that use this phrase after they get propsects on their radar. (Sorry I can't put my finger on a specific article or book, but I've heard it more than a few times)
Instead of following up or touching 7-12 times --
You touch 'em till they "buy or die"!
Meaning - email, postcards, emails, print newsletters, whatever sequences you have.
And you definitely could be right. Variables such as type of business, price of service or products, and cost of the "touches" can certainly affect how many times is the optimum number of touches you send.
Testing is the only way to find the best answer about how many times.
Respectfully...
Merrill
Links:
Timothy N.
Operations Training Administrator at Utah Transit Authority
Best Answers in: Certification and Licenses (1), Event Marketing and Promotions (1), Business Development (1)
Zita,
I think that research done on and by firms as large as Microsoft have no efficacy when projected upon firms that are smaller, in other industries, and sell unrelated products.
I think, like most thinks in business, people tend to gravitate towards generic and over simplified answers. I do not think there is a "touch" rule -- I think it's crap.
For example, we helped a salon client achieve significantly high revenue after sending out TWO rounds of direct mail pieces to the right target market. We also helped them with store signage and some operational issues, but it was the direct mail piece that helped drive people.
With an endodontist client we got a 60% response rate on ONE round of direct mail. He went from 0 to 80% capacity within 2 months of opening.
I think that a lot of factors contribute to top of mind positioning -- impressions are one part of it, but I would never assign some magic number. It is absurd to think that I will magically like your product after you tell me about it 12 times.
Links:
Timothy N. also suggests this expert on this topic:
Brad H.
Vice President, Marketing and Creative Services at Elite Marketing Group
Best Answers in: Guerrilla Marketing (2), Business Development (2), Advertising (1), Direct Marketing (1), Events Marketing (1)
This type of research leads clients into making bad decisions such as choosing one agency over another because they claim their respective campaign can deliver more touches or impressions than the other guy. Refer to Erik's message as touches and impressions are completely different depending on the product or service being marketed, the medium of marketing and the interaction or experience. As far as I am concerned, if you try to maximize touches or impressions you might push away a potential customer from your brand or leave a negative impression.
Jodi B.
Helping people and organizations communicate effectively with purposeful, creative graphic design and social media.
I just heard something on this.. I can't for the life of me remember where unfortunately. But they quoted something quite a bit higher than that, like 10x higher... Hopefully I can't remember where I saw it later.
