It takes 5 Attempts

                                      

to make a sale!

     Some of the most effective prompts I’ve seen that get me to check out websites or blogs come from the world of traditional advertising (remember that?) 

     Selected billboards, targeted ads and pinpoint direct mail are some of the best ways to get your online presence noticed.  They are not always the best ways.  And they are seldom the most economical.  They do however serve an important purpose when you have more money than time available.  They also serve an important purpose when your goal is to create and/or support a meaningful branding image, because repetition sells!

Eh?  What’s that?  Repetition sells.  Repetition sells? 

Yup!  Repetition sells! 

     Not just repeating the same message over and over, but also repeating it in as many different ways and contexts and media forms as possible.  Why do you think the monster corporate entities strive to register multiple impressions? 

     Sophisticated marketers recognize that –on the average– it takes five attempts to close a sale.  That means your message or branding theme usually needs to be seen/heard/experienced at least five times before someone will consider making a buying decision. 

     Sophisticated marketersalso understand the value and finer points of using public relations vehicles (events and news releases) to support online sales efforts.  These are especially valuable tools because they don’t cost anything (compared to broadcast air time and print space, for example) except for preparation and follow through, which needs to be tenacious, can be extensive, and is almost always very time-consuming. 

     And PR does also present a myriad of unspoken rules and regulations that must be adhered to, to be truly effective . . . from how news releases are prepared and distributed to when events should be scheduled and how much planning should be involved.  It’s best to find a professional who can do this for you

     Your odds of increasing online business are much increased when you spread out the media you’re using.  An online sales pitch will have greater impact on someone who has already been exposed to the message on a postcard, in a magazine or newspaper ad, in a radio commercial, on a billboard, on a trade show banner, or in a local or trade paper feature story. 

     Don’t think that once your site is up and running, the story it tells will send business flocking to you.  Online presence is just part of the story.  What you do to support that presence is the other part that will drive the sales.