Marketers like to talk about "The Rule of Seven": the idea that
people need to see your marketing message seven times before they
take action. Actually, research has shown that the number ranges
from five to twelve, but seven is a good rule of thumb.
It works like this: your potential customer sees your ad, and is
slightly intrigued, but not enough to stop and do something about
it. The next time he sees it, he looks more closely, thinking, "Oh,
yeah... I saw that the other day."
The third time he sees your ad, Mr. Potential Customer might say
to a friend, "You know, I think I might need that." The fourth
time, he jots down your name or number. The fifth time, he thinks,
"I really need to call those guys." The sixth time, he makes a note
in his planner to call you. The seventh time, he actually does call
you.
It doesn't have to be an ad. Maybe Ms. Potential Customer calls
you after seeing your ad twice, and then sees your ad again and
visits the store, and then comes back to see the item once more
before actually buying.
With an online presence, it's a whole new ball game.
Your potential customers may still see an ad, but then they
visit your website. They may visit your site repeatedly. They may
see you on Facebook or Linked In or Twitter, with links to your
website. They may come to your blog several times, and sometimes
they click through from the blog to the homepage or your
catalog.
What's new about that? The cost. We're not talking about paying
for an ad seven times. We're not talking about paying staff to
interact with that customer seven times. We're just talking about
being there, 24/7, available to visitors. There is no additional
cost for those additional contacts.
Something else that's different is that you might not know those
contacts are going on. Since you don't pay for each visit to your
website, or each time someone reads your blog, or all the people
who link to you on MySpace just because they thought your product
was cool, you don't know that the person who walks into your
shop has already had six contacts and is now ready to buy because
of that.
It's very easy to underestimate what your web site is doing for
you. It's even easier to underestimate what your web site
could be doing for you. Because a web site that doesn't
show up on the search engine results page, a web site that doesn't
intrigue the customer, a web site that doesn't make visitors want
to come back for those repeated contacts -- that web site isn't
getting you closer to the magic Number Seven.
Contact Onsharp to
discuss your online marketing needs, strategies, and
opportunities.