To build an effective marketing program, you need to attain critical mass of positive impressions. Great marketing is about using multiple touch points to reach the largest audience — and the right audience. Do that and the momentum in gaining new customers will become self-sustaining and likely grow.
However, when determining how to divide your marketing time and resources, remember that putting your effort and resources into one marketing avenue will limit your success. For example, putting all your resources into one advertising medium or even just networking creates limitations on your ability to reach your customers.
For some small businesses, this might be acceptable if your business is only focused on targeting business-to-business sales. But if you have a business that is generally selling to consumers, you need more marketing touch points that are wide and diverse.
One needs to think of both earned media and paid media when devising a plan with multiple touch points:
Earned media
Publicity touch points are what we call “earned media.” They not only will reach lots of people, but they will do so at no cost to you and, most importantly, are more credible than placing paid advertisements.
That credibility is important. By getting your company’s name and products in the news, you position yourself as an expert in your field and product lines. Portraying a professional image and showing your expertise then creates confidence in your potential customers. Those potential customers will turn to you when it is time for them to become an actual customer.
You can build that credibility by providing ongoing press releases that talk to your audiences about what your business is doing and what it is offering. Put yourself out there in the news. Stay on top of trends and be available to reporters and editors.
Also build relationships with the media by having regular communication with them. Get to know them well and know what their needs are, so they will come to you when they have a story on a company or product that relates to your business.
Paid media
Whether you are PepsiCo or a Main Street business, no one has an unlimited advertising budget. The key is to leverage your resources with what you determine to be the most efficient use of those resources, or as they say on the street, “getting the most bang for the buck.” Through research, you will find what is most effective and efficient.
You also need to utilize a wide number of marketing and advertising vehicles (print, radio, TV, search-engine marketing such as pay-per-click advertising) to reach a larger audience and to enhance the potential of someone seeing your message multiple times from different sources.
Not everyone’s formula should be the same. All businesses, however, should have multiple marketing touch points to reach their customers. And, for business-to-consumer companies especially, that means creating as many impressions across as many media as possible to create that critical mass and awareness.
Josh Sommers is president and CEO of Focus Media, a leading Hudson Valley advertising and public relations agency. He can be reached at josh@advertisingandpr.com or 294-3342, ext. 303. Read his blog at www.advertisingandpr.com. His column appears Fridays.
