Patience is a Virtue

Marketing is a lot like farming: seed potential customers with an idea, watch as it takes root in their minds, and wait for it to grow and fruit into a sale. It’s not said enough enough, but successful marketing takes time. Too often, campaigns fail because marketers are impatient and unwilling to let their ideas develop among their customers.

Many professional marketers, most notably Jay Levinson, remark that patience is the secret key to successful marketing. After laying down a strategy, give it time to work; it’s highly unlikely anyone will be convinced immediately. Rather, repitition of the marketing message will slowly change the potential customer’s perception and ultimately lead to sales. Customer behaivor is such that it takes several exposures to a message before 1) the idea is recognized, 2) it is accepted and 3) it is acted upon. It takes time to expose a message enough times to get to the third stage. Campaigns that pull the plug too soon may shoot themselves in the foot as they’ve invested resources to get customers to stage 2 and then reinvent their message, forcing a complete restart.

How long should one wait? Unfortunately, it depends. A few months if you’re lucky, but frequently a year is needed to see a message turn into sales. In the case of the Marlboro Man, it took over a year to shift the perception of that company’s cigarettes from a very effeminant brand into an icon of testosterone, a process that ultimately skyrocketed sales. It took time, but patience for that company paid off as it became one of the longest running and most successful marketing messages.

So think twice before folding a hand. It’s understandable to get frustrated and have doubt, but just remember, patience and commitment can grow and idea into a wonderful harvest of sales.

June 2, 2008 |

Patience is a Virtue

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