If you’ve read many marketing books you know the huge number of times a potential prospect needs to be exposed to a marketing message before actually purchasing the advertised product or service. I was reading one of Jay Levinson’s books recently and he said that it takes 9 impressions before someone takes action. Furthermore he says only one in three attempts at making an impression are successful. This means you need to put your message in front of your prospect 27 times.
This got me thinking. Why does it seem like some people just instantly buy? Here’s my BFO (Blinding Flash of the Obvious). The repetition has already taken place before you get there. In other words, through various sources that prospect has already heard many times how much they need what you’re offering.
The trick is tapping into an internal dialog that someone is having. Let me give you a totally self-serving example:
Fred the business owner knows he needs a website. His clients keep asking him if he has one, and everywhere he turns he sees evidence that this is a must. At the same time, he keeps having the same discussion in his head, “Yeah I know I need a website, but I can’t afford it.” Now I come along with a simple marketing message, “Basic Websites Under $500” This instantly presents a potential solution (a scratch for an itch) that he has had for a long time.
If you can craft the right marketing message, the repetition has already been done. You only need to delve into what your customers really need and want, and tap into that inner dialog.