If you’ve had some good results from a particular marketing campaign, it can be tempting to stick to the same activity or medium and make that your entire marketing strategy.
You can also get trapped into thinking one thing works and another doesn’t.
But mixing up your marketing and choosing a number of different mediums and activities to target different customers will give you optimal results that are essential for your business to grow.
Here’s why.
One-off campaigns don’t tell the full story
Let’s say you create an Instagram campaign and promote an ad which brings you a good number of hot leads for the dollars spent.
Perhaps you only want to stick with Instagram now because you don’t want to risk wasting your money on a campaign that targets a different demographic or is done via a different medium.
The problem with isolated campaigns is that you don’t get enough marketing data about your business (and your clients) as a whole.
Was it the timing that worked? Was it the medium? What if you could get even better results for less dollars on Facebook or by doing a print promotion? You’ll never be able to answer these questions by doing an isolated campaign.
Your marketing campaign should aim to gather effective data about your customers, just as much as reaching them.
When you run a few different activities at the same time – incorporating digital, print to TV as an example, you can glean a lot more information about what works for your marketing campaigns, such as timing and messaging.
It’s largely about frequency
Fun fact: Frequency makes your marketing more effective.
The more people hear a certain phrase or product name or brand, the more likely they are to remember it (and keep it in mind for their next purchase).
Familiarity with a brand builds trust, and there’s even some research that shows people need to see a message at least seven times before it sinks in.
By including a mix of activities in your marketing campaigns, you’re targeting your customers from all angles, and ensuring that they’ll see your message repeatedly, until it feels familiar and like they can trust it.
Reach people at different stages of the buying cycle
By using a variety of marketing mediums at the same time, you’re reaching customers at different stages of the buying cycle, so you’re not just getting a one-off client here and there, but building trust with them over the long term or reaching them in the moment they really need your product or service.
The different phases of the buying cycle include awareness, research, consideration, purchase and retention.
By applying a mix of marketing activities, you’re more likely to reach a wider range of prospective clients at different stages of their purchasing journey.
Perhaps some of your clients are the older demographic? They may not be on social media but their children or grandchildren may be, and by using print or radio to reach the older crowd (and digital for the younger) you’re widening your reach.
A mix is always more effective
Different clients take different amounts of time to move from one stage of the buying cycle to the next, and by keeping your marketing frequent and mixed, you’re more likely to see ideal clients shifting from one phase to the next until they’re ready to make the purchase.
By having a mix of marketing activities, you broaden your net by having multiple touch points to share your message and reach your target market.
Ultimately, an assortment of activity will allow you to gather important data to inform future marketing campaigns, giving your business the insight and edge it needs to grow.