Is the Rule of Seven in Marketing Outdated in the Digital Age?
One of marketing’s oldest concepts is the rule of seven. It states that a prospective buyer needs to hear or see the marketing message at least seven times before they buy it from you.
Brad and Robert explore that rule today.
Transcript
Brad: Yeah. I don’t know if there’s anything wrong with it. But there has been a lot of talk recently. A Forbes article really highlighted what’s really critical in today’s kind of marketing world, if you will, with the consumers.
You know, and one of the key things they said was is that only about three percent of your clientele or your particular audience, that we always like to say, is ready to buy. So why are we hounding and hounding and hounding and hounding all these people? I mean I think at some point, you do have to reach a large audience. So you have to have reach and impressions. But how much benefits are you actually getting?
We always get told ROI, ROI, ROI. So you have to think about that. One of the things the article highlighted, which is what we’ve been saying for a while, is with product or your brand, you have to kind of create a journey through that sales funnel, right?
Robert: Yes.
Brad: Old school sales funnel and that experience and that journey with your product or your service, by basically just becoming a resource for them, information on how to use the product, things that are associated with your product or service, it doesn’t necessarily – it’s about your product or service.
Robert: Well, give your current customers and your prospects helpful, useful information to solve the simple pain points in their life and then –
Brad: Everyday things.
Robert: If you build their trust, then you might get that call. They might become –
Brad: Yeah. I think the key is, is that building that trust will eventually – you have to – the bottom line is you have to connect at a different level and just come buy my product and we can solve the problem A, right? You have to also be B, C, D, E and F nowadays because the consumer is education, you know.
Me and you were talking earlier about a headset. You know, Robert bought a headset. He didn’t just go buy a headset anymore because somebody says, “Hey, this is a good headset.” He goes and reads reviews. He goes on price checks. He goes and checks on products, service.
Robert: Yes.
Brad: Maybe even a warranty or whatever. So it’s an educated customer. So you have to play a different role.
Robert: And then after I had it, one of my friends called me and said, “You know, I really need a headset like yours. I drive a lot and all. What do you have? Will you send me a link?”
Brad: Link. Yeah.
Robert: Send a link to Amazon. And you know what? He bought it. He looked at comparisons. His friend had suggested it. That’s how digital has done the paradigm shift.
Brad: Yeah, it’s all in the palm of your hands that we’ve always talked about. It’s mobile, mobile, mobile. It’s right here now.
Robert: But talk to them about the – well, first off, I like what you say. You talked about you got to make the connection where.
Brad: Yeah. It has got –
Robert: In the heart.
Brad: It can’t just be in the pocketbook anymore. You can’t just sell on features and benefits and say, “Well, this is a great product and this is a great price.”
It has got to be – you’ve got to hit them here. I recently bought a new set of golf clubs. Not new. They were used. But one of the things that always comes up with golfers and any kind – anybody that has a hobby, whether it’s bike riding, mountain bike riding, golfing, camping, appearance is important, right?
Robert: Oh, yeah. You like the look of the club. When you hold the club in your hand, it sits on the ground. It looks good on the ground. It feels good in your hand. You swing it. You hit the ball. Same thing with everything. I sit on the bike. It feels good. It rides good. I go to the next brand. Maybe it doesn’t feel the same or whatever.
So it’s making that connection at different levels amongst the whole experience around that product. So sure, I may be on a mountain bike that’s $4000. But I might have had a better experience from a product standpoint on one that was $800 because it fit better.
Robert: Yeah.
Brad: And I liked it more or whatever. I’m still in the same place, right? I’m still in the same environment. I’m still in the same mountain. But because the product made a different connection with me, in my heart if you will, then I bought that product and I had a better experience.
Robert: So I think you’ve said the most important thing here to close the zone and it’s that people don’t buy features and benefits. That comes into it later. They buy experience.
Brad: You’re buying an experience. So if you’re not creating experiences in social and your website and information and content – it’s always about content – then you’re losing audience.
Robert: That’s the Clarity Clip of the week. Focus on experiences.
Brad: Have a good one, guys.
[End of transcript]