Best practices suggest that no matter what the message and target audience, without frequency in delivering those messages, you wouldn’t be able to develop the relationship or the Message/brand recall needed to have your customers take action.
How often you advertise and how consistently your target audience engages with your brand’s message is one of the keys to a successful campaign. The actual message is equally if not more important.
It all comes down to the buying cycle.
Research shows a consumer goes through a similar process every time they consider a purchase. The higher the ticket price or the more personal it is, the longer the buying cycle. A typical buying cycle an advertiser must take into account is:
#1 – Awareness – Before a potential customer even enters the buying cycle, they must know you exist. This means they will consider your company once they enter the cycle and also allows you the ability to bring potential customers into the purchase cycle for your product or service.
#2 – Interest – After your customer realizes you exist; you have the opportunity to then influence the buying cycle by creating interest in what you are selling.
#3 – Need – If you have done a good job of creating interest, it will push the customer to determine if they have a need for your product or service.
#4 – Comparison – This is the point at which knowing your competitor is crucial. The value of the product and buying risk for the customer will determine how thorough this stage will be.
#5 – Purchase – The customer has satisfied the previous four steps and makes the purchase.
#6 – Satisfaction – Once the purchase is made the customer then enters post-purchase mode, in which they determine whether the product lives up to their expectations.
#7 – Referrals – This is also a post-purchase activity, but extremely important with so many review site options (a recent study showed nearly 90% of customers are influenced by a positive review online). If everything is as “advertised” customers will gladly send their friends and family to you.
Momentum begins from this point.
So, what does frequency have to do with the buying cycle? Depending on budget and urgency there could be weeks, months or years between Step 1 and Step 5. Frequency in advertising is what pushes you through the steps and why the more you advertise consistently, the better your results become. Different studies have suggested the frequency of advertising should range from 4 to 7 times depending on the product, cost, target audience and medium.
Industry opinion can dictate up to eleven impressions before action is taken. After this, however, consistent advertising serves to reinforce your brand, and provide top of mind awareness among your current customers while simultaneously engaging new customers in the buying cycle.
