Now, Who Are You Again?

When you first learn a bit of information, your brain forms new connections between brain cells, called synapses, to store it. Most synapses are only used once; that knowledge is committed to short term memory, then quickly fades away. So, if you want to strengthen that connection and increase the odds the information can be accessed later, the answer is repeat, repeat, repeat. A study by Memorise.org found a person has a less than 50% chance of remembering a specific name or a number after just 10 minutes if only told to them once. But, that number skyrockets to over 80% recollection if the information is repeated 3 or 4 times.

Now, there’s nothing groundbreaking in that thought. We’ve all repeated a phone number back to ourselves continuously until finding a piece of paper to write it down. So, why am I talking about keys to memory? Because your livelihood as a business owner depends on your prospects noticing your marketing and remembering your name after they do. The trouble is, today’s consumer is hit with over 5,000 marketing messages every single day, with the vast majority never even being noticed. So, if you’re going to break through the noise, you better have a plan.

Three Ways to Make Your Marketing Memorable

1. Make Sure Your Message is Consistent
Start thinking of your marketing pieces as working together to reinforce a message rather than as standalone pieces. By the time your campaign runs its course, your target audience should have seen the offer several times and been given multiple chances to respond. One flash of media is easy to ignore, but seeing the same images, message and offer repeated not only demands attention but makes you look professional and organized as well.

2. Make Sure Your Message is Targeted
Develop an ideal target by looking at your current most profitable customers and mirroring that demographic as closely as possible. Once you have a very specific audience, you can get very specific with your offers, which generally leads to higher response. A well-crafted piece that contains a direct response call-to-action based on your highest value customers will always outperform a generic piece that lists every service you perform, sent to every available mailbox.

3. Stay Visible or Be Forgotten
Combat brain drain by finding ways to add value to your relationship with your customers. They’re more than just names in a database, and even though you can’t know them all personally, you can make them feel like you’re trying to. A customer retention program that integrates your online presence, newsletters, holiday cards and thank you messages all add to your customers’ experience while periodically whispering in their ear who their contractor is. Remember what I said about repetition? We all need reminders, and this goes a long way in establishing their loyalty to you.

The Bottom Line: Building a recognizable and memorable brand doesn’t have to cost a fortune, but if done wrong, you can spend a fortune and still have nothing to show for it. Put thought and strategy into the message you want your prospects to hear, focus on the right prospects to send it to, then commit to putting it in front of them over and over. Pretty soon your name will be rolling off their tongue and your competition will be slipping their mind.