SMART MARKETING: Patience — The Most Difficult Virtue Of All

A client of mine recently brought it to my attention that he’s been using our services for three months and nothing much is happening. He’s nervous because it’s costing him money and he’s not yet seeing a significant return on his investment. Three whole months! Imagine.

This is one of the most familiar refrains marketers hear. Try as we may to set realistic and measurable expectations, people are often guilty of a stimulus-re-sponse type of thinking. “I did this, so I should get that!” It seldom works that way.

This is a most familiar refrain among folks who haven’t been marketing for any meaningful length of time. “I ran some radio ads! Why isn’t the phone ringing?”
Sometimes it’s because the wrong radio station was airing the commercials. Sometimes it’s because the creative wasn’t compelling or the offer was insufficient.

More often than not, it’s because the marketplace typically is not tuned into the expectations of the advertiser. And vice versa!

That’s why we counsel patience. And persistence. I know. Patience and persistence cost money. This is the dirty little secret about how market stimulation works.

LONG-TERM INVESTMENT. Any of you who have attended a seminar of mine, or have been reading these columns these past couple of years, know that I’m a believer in advertising as an investment made for the purpose of growing your business. If you think of advertising in these strategic terms, and if you execute it correctly, it usually works. If you think of it in tactical “I run an ad, I get so many calls” terms, you’re typically setting yourself up for disappointment.

In our industry, I don’t necessarily buy into the idea that transactional “stimulus-response” advertising works. I think that constantly reminding consumers of who you are, what you’re offering and why you’re different builds a factor of awareness that, over time, helps measurably grow your business.

This philosophy means you have to ignore the momentary discomfort that comes with spending hard-earned dollars and not seeing incremental return.
Think of it this way: When you decide to get into shape and you first go to the gym, you hurt after a day of weights, machines and spinning. But you don’t see a change immediately. By going back, day after day, you start to hurt less and you start to see and feel positive changes.

When you advertise in a strategic manner, putting your business out on a consistent basis, getting your message right, placing it correctly, then over time you’re going to see changes.

Each market is different. Some have almost clocklike biological “seasons” during which you should be out there communicating with consumers. Others have relatively short windows of time during which demand for services is higher. Again, be out there, communicating with consumers.

Don’t fall into the “I turned my lights on, where are the customers?” trap. Business isn’t that way anymore. People are inundated with messages and competitors are going after the same customers you are. It takes patience, persistence and a strong stomach to win in the marketing arena.

The author is senior vice president of Massey-Persons-Brinati Communications, a subsidiary of Massey Services, Maitland, Fla. He can be reached at bbrewer@pctonline.com.