Tuesday

Recency Marketing

We often talk about reach and frequency of our advertising, but here's a new term for you: Recency.

The thought is that a single message may indeed be enough to move someone to purchase your product, if it is seen/heard/read close enough to the buying decision. It turns "I'm hungry" into "let's eat here."

So we have to decide where to advertise and how often to advertise and the resulting matrix can be overwhelming, expensive, and still completely miss the mark (do you carry magazines around all day, just waiting until you're hungry to look up a restaurant? No, but the customer was probably exposed to 15 different food messages since they read the magazine).

Below are ways you can utilize frequency in order to achieve recency (and get customers to come in):

1. Coupons. Pizza places have given them a bad name and, certainly, the majority of couponing is not just bad but conditions consumers to take advantage of you. But a good coupon strategy (trial, frequency, or ticket average) that modifies behavior in your favor can make the consumer clip the coupon so that the message remains on their 'fridge. They'll see it more often.

2. 7 Core Competencies. By using all 7 Core Competencies within an 8 week period, you're likely to be in front of your target audience at least once at the time of a purchase decision.

3. Word of Mouth. When was the last time you sat around with your buddies talking about a great ad you heard on the radio or anywhere else? "Hey, Jim. You ever see that magazine ad with the duck? You know, the one for that one company that sells tires or something?" It rarely happens to anyone with smaller budgets than Geico or Aflac. Frequency of message to a closed group (school, church, office) in the form of something personal (catering, VIP offer) creates word of mouth (and further increases your frequency of message).

4. Sting like a bee. Heavyweight boxers stand toe to toe and duke it out. If you want to do that with your competition (think fast food chains and their budgets) you're welcome to it, but it's often better to "stick and move". A lot of little punches can wear down your opponent, instead of looking to knock him out.

5. More personal. Personal touches can decrease the effective frequency of your message (the number of times someone is exposed to your message before purchase) simply because they feel a connection to you, the owner. A free sample in-store or out, a complimentary beverage, or dessert can move someone to be more loyal. "Love me, love my product."

Your marketing needs to be where your customers are at the time they're ready to buy. Do your local store marketing at the times when people are in the mood for your product, be everywhere, and encourage customers to take control of your message (in a good way) and your frequency of message will go up.

So will your chances of Recency.