Sometimes it's not one thing

Sometimes it’s not one thing

There’s a business near my house that I’ve passed multiple times.

Not too long ago, after talking to someone about the business, I looked at their website. But I still didn’t go inside or buy anything from them.

I heard an ad for the same business this weekend on the radio. Still, I haven’t spent any money there.

But, someday, I will buy something there, and it won’t be one piece of marketing that drives me to do it.

It will be a combination of things that turn me into a customer: the signage outside the business, word-of-mouth, their website, the radio ad, and whatever else comes across my view until I eventually buy something.

Keep this in mind as you measure conversions for your own business. A sale might be attributed to one thing, such as a link in an email or an online ad. But sometimes, it took a lot more to get that sale.

-Mike

Your campaigns can come in stages

Remember a few months back when Solo Stoves ran a campaign with Snoop Dogg about going smokeless?

The posts by Snoop went viral and the campaign definitely had some buzz. But, it failed to generate much revenue for Solo.

Fast forward to this week and Snoop is back, with a new ad you can view in the tweet below. See if you can spot what’s different about this one.

The difference between this new ad and the initial smokeless campaign is that Snoop and Solo are going right after the sale. They playfully have a call to action in the ad.

I was surprised to see Snoop back in another ad for Solo after their disappointment in the first one. But maybe the company realized something…

The first smokeless campaign was really about brand awareness. The company gained social media followers and sparked lots of chatter.

Now, they’ve come back and doubled down, looking specifically for immediate revenue. (Editor’s note: As a guy who bought a small amount of stock in their parent company this week, it would be cool if it works.)

What does this look like for your brand?

You might not be hiring Snoop anytime soon. But that doesn’t mean you can’t leverage something Solo Stoves is doing here.

Think about your campaigns in stages or as each campaign having its own objective. You can use ads or low-budget tactics that go right for the sale, but you can also do things that put your company on people’s radar, knowing there might be multiple steps to getting people to buy.

Just like with the example I gave that starts this newsletter, sometimes the very first thing you do (or even several things you do), won’t be what brings in the sale.

Marketing can take multiple impressions before someone buys. Keep this in mind not only when you measure your results but also as you map out your campaigns. Several strategies or marketing activities can each play their part and lead to the sale you’re looking for.

For more on this and something called “The Rule of 7,” check out the free Medium article I wrote below.