What? Seven Is Not the Magic Number?
Recently we talked about the limits of withholding and the magic number seven: on average, it takes 7 touches to get a prospect to remember you.
Remembering isn’t enough.
What is being in business for? Converting prospects to paying customers. Getting somebody to remember you is not enough. You need them to buy. You need to find many ways to reach out, and as many opportunities as possible to convey your message to potential clients.
So how long is this going to take?
Try catching my eye 20 times.
The first time a man looks at an ad, he does not see it.
The second time, he does not notice it.
The third time, he is conscious of its existence.
The fourth time, he faintly remembers having seen it before.
The fifth time, he reads the ad.
The sixth time, he turns up his nose at it.
The seventh time, he reads it through and says, “Oh brother!”
The eighth time, he says, “Here’s that confounded thing again!”
The ninth time, he wonders if it amounts to anything.
The tenth time, he asks his neighbor if he has tried it.
The eleventh time, he wonders how the advertiser makes it pay.
The twelfth time, he thinks it must be a good thing.
The thirteenth time, he thinks perhaps it might be worth something.
The fourteenth time, he remembers wanting such a thing a long time.
The fifteenth time, he is tantalized because he cannot afford to buy it.
The sixteenth time, he thinks he will buy it someday.
The seventeenth time, he makes a memorandum to buy it.
The eighteenth time, he swears at his poverty.
The nineteenth time, he counts his money carefully.
The twentieth time he sees the ad, he buys what it is offering.
— Thomas Smith, How Advertising Frequency Equates to Advertising Effectiveness, (1885)*
How will you catch your Ideal Customer’s attention 20 times?
Grow and be well,
Kelly Erickson
*I first read this wonderful maxim in C. J. Hayden’s book Get Clients Now! years ago. It’s an excellent read if you like your marketing advice broken down into do-able daily parcels—and who doesn’t love that?
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21 June 2008, 8:12 am
Hey Kelly,
I wonder what frequency Mr. Smith would suggest in our over-saturated advertising world 123 years later? Of course, the key to reducing the need for frequency is creating a message with greater impact that tells the story of a product or service that resonates with the needs of the customer.
21 June 2008, 9:07 am
Jay,
I don’t think he’s wrong. I did purposely leave off that we need to think about more than just advertising as a touchpoint (I discussed that in the Limits of Withholding post). Back then, beyond ads and your location itself, touchpoints were fairly limited.
I think 20 is about right, when you consider Internet site, blog, business card, other printed materials, packaging, signage, physical location, ads of various kinds, sponsoring a baseball team… you get the point. So many vehicles for the message today. Mr. Smith thought of newspaper print ads, which still have a place, but we can get to 20 touches more creatively and often more memorably now.
If I’m going to buy that’s about when. So the big IF is:
I agree that we are oversaturated. Obviously if we purchased everything that touched us 20 times we’d all be dead broke. The 20 touches will need to be relevant to me, touch my wants, fill my needs, and speak to me personally, IF you really want my dollars at number 20. Tall order!
Still, a well-done ad for an exciting new product that I see 20 times as I surf through my favorite channels will probably have me saying hmm around Mr. Smith’s #14. Wouldn’t you?
Regards,
Kelly
21 June 2008, 10:44 am
Love this post. I read a lot of sales, marketing and ad books from the late 1800′s to the 1950′s and they are full of advice that worked then, work today and will work in the future BECAUSE they are based on human nature, which never changes.
Great job Kelly.
21 June 2008, 11:39 am
Thanks, Mike.
The fifties, I think, was a fine time for sales and marketing books. People weren’t jaded yet, even in advertising. (Plus, I can still get some at my library, so I’m more familiar with them.) I’m a huge fan of old books, too.
I’ve re-read this advice many times over the years. The more I read it, the more I see the truth in it.
Jay again,
I haven’t commented yet (going in a second) but I wanted to say here that your Friday post about your personal experience with The Law of Focus is very powerful. I hope everyone reading these comments will take a moment to visit Jay’s blog. We’ve talked about commitment and focus here, but oh, did Jay say it perfectly Friday. Click on over, folks.
Regards,
Kelly
21 June 2008, 1:21 pm
Kelly
That makes sense.
Don’t know how many times this has happenned to me: I’m seeing a TV commercial for the umpteenth time, and I finally realize: “Oh..so THAT’s the company they’re advertising!”
It just goes to show how well we pay attention to average/mediocre ads. If they dont’ get our immediate attention, we just go on auto-pilot and tend to phase them out.
Friar’s last blog post…Now Popeye’s gone P.C. on us, too.
21 June 2008, 1:35 pm
Friar,
It costs so much to do a television ad these days. It’s a wonder that there are any average/mediocre ones being done at all, but you are right. I’m on auto-pilot most of the time. Every day ought to be like our Super Bowl Sunday here in the States. You paid good money for it. Blow my mind with your ad!
Watch that umpteenth time, though—it’s the doozy!
Until later,
Kelly
21 June 2008, 3:35 pm
Kelly
You know what ads really get my attention? Ron Popeil’s! That guy is a genius! I coudlnt’ help but watch his info-mercials with his Vega-matics and Baldness-covering Hair Spray Food Dehydrators.
I don’t really care for his products, but boy, did he have the knack for convincing you that you NEED to buy what he’s selling. He was entertainng to watch, even if you didn’t want to buy anything.
As for SuperBowl ads. I’m SO PISSED OFF!!! I keep hearing how good they are, but we NEVER get to see them.
Thanks to our Good Old Federal Regulator (CRTC). They’ll allow us to televise the game here in Canada, but the American commercials get blocked out…it has to be Canadian Content.
(even though we pretty much BUY the same stuff as you guys do!)
Friar’s last blog post…Now Popeye’s gone P.C. on us, too.
21 June 2008, 3:45 pm
Friar,
I suspected as much, though I haven’t spent a Super Bowl Sunday in Canada. There’s probably a boatload of regulations about that on both sides of the border.
Ron Popeil has an odd power over me, too. I don’t want to admit to it, but occasionally I get sucked in by an infomercial or two. I tell myself I’m tearing it apart looking for its power, then I’m wishing I owned a Pocket Fisherman a half-hour later! He is a genius, and he knows his target market like the back of his hand. That’s the odd power.
Until later,
Kelly
21 June 2008, 5:43 pm
Kelly,
I guess the number of touches I need will probably depend on how badly I want the product in relation to how much money I have to buy the product. But I agree, a well-done ad will help me decide on yes, a poorly designed ad may not help me get there.
And thanks for the link to my post and your comment.
Jay Ehret’s last blog post…Weekend Marketing Reading