Want To Sell Something? First, Tell Them About It

OVERHEARD RECENTLY:

“We told them about it, but they didn’t come.”

“We advertised, but got no good leads.”

“We tried that once, and it didn’t work.”

Any of these sound familiar? I’ve heard similar things about employee meetings,  planning efforts and marketing programs. No matter the setting, the main problem in each instance  is that basic communications practices aren't being used.

1. REPETITION  Foremost among these practices is repetition. You need to tell your audience and then repeat, repeat, repeat your message for it to get through. Once is definitely not enough!  It’s not that anyone’s stupid or slow. People have a lot going on in their lives so you have to work hard to get through. It can take up to 9(!) repetitions for a message to sink in.
2. USING A MIX  You can boost the effectiveness of repetition by using a variety of ways to deliver your message.Think about your business and your intended audience. What avenues of communication are open to you? Public relations, mailings, advertising, newsletters, trade shows and email are usually possibilities. Use all available means to spread your news. The more, the merrier. And repeat, repeat, repeat.
3. MAKE SURE IT'S MEANINGFUL  If you’re doing the above and STILL not getting a response, you may need to take a step or two back to make sure your message is meaningful to the audience. Some marketing campaigns produce disappointing results because they promote what the company wants to say rather than what the audience wants to hear

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