Is it Time to Resuscitate Your Marketing Message?

Have you ever gotten to work, sat down at your desk, taken a sip of coffee and then wondered how you got there?  Have you ever arrived home from running a bunch of errands and not remembered any specific details of the afternoon?  While my kids would think this is yet another sign of my old age, I’m guessing we are all guilty of this in at least one aspect of our lives.   In fact, even my 19 year old daughter admitted this weekend that she sometimes sits in class and can’t recall how she got across campus (and no, she claims this doesn’t only happen after late nights in downtown Athens…).  

It wasn’t a magic carpet that got us from Point A to Point B.  We got into a bus, car or subway, travelled many miles, changed lanes, changed speeds, stopped at red lights and even navigated a parking lot and elevator.  And yet, we seemingly have no real recollection of even leaving our own kitchen.  Scary…..  But basically it’s simply a sign of Routine.  Boredom.   Habitual behavior.  We go through the motions of life, relationships, chores, jobs and commutes, without taking a second glance at the many things we have seen over and over.  And most times, we don’t really even notice things that are “new” if they are offered in the same cluttered, everyday setting.  (C’mon, how long did it really take you to notice your mate’s recent haircut?)

So now, this makes me wonder….Is your business marketing program plodding along this same mundane path?  If it isn’t “broken”, do you not see any reason to “fix” it?  And, perhaps most importantly, are you still only relying on traditional media to reach your prospective customers?   If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then we need to talk….

I’ve done media and messaging research for many clients over the years.  It’s actually where I got my start in market research.  I find that it’s one of the more actionable and rewarding types of research that can be done.  So many research projects are conducted by lower management because upper management tells them to do it.  The reports get written and then sit on a shelf somewhere in the company while business remains unchanged.  But I have found, for most media research projects, you can usually see immediate changes and positive impact to one’s business bottom line.  I love sitting in my living room when one of the commercials comes to life on TV.   I enjoy being able to tell my kids that the person used to say “this”, but my research told them to say “that” instead.  Or, the storyboard showed “this” in its original form, but testing indicated it needed to show “that” instead.   Sometimes such testing requires major overhaul to a communications plan, but more often than not, it’s a simple tweaking that makes a significant difference in how prospective customers respond to your message. You would never know unless you asked….

Getting that outside opinion on the front end can often identify other potential flaws in your communications plan.  For example, a recent study I did found that, although the market-at-large watched certain TV shows and subscribed to certain print media, customers that considered themselves “loyal” to my client tended to watch entirely different shows and read entirely different magazines and newspapers.  And perhaps most surprising to my client, I found that their customer base was a real leader in the world of social media.  They “tweeted”, “googled” and “friended” on a much more frequent basis than the rest of their geographic neighbors.  This finding helped my client rework, not only the placement of their ads, but in updating the message itself to “speak” to a more cutting-edge, forward thinking audience.  They “popped” up in places they had never been seen before, and suddenly the existing customer base “woke up” and took notice, as did a whole new group of potential customers that were “asleep at the wheel”.

If you are wondering just how many of your existing and potential customers need resuscitation, I can very quickly, easily and surprisingly inexpensively help you find out.  Let’s rely on a little science and a little input from your strongest critics to breathe a little new life into your marketing and messaging plan…  Hey — that’s even what my company motto means –  “Don’t stand still while your market’s in motion” — even if they appear to be sleeping!