Rosie was standing on the curb with her cellphone to her ear. Ten feet away, her Toyota sat in the right traffic lane, steam rising out of its crumpled hood.
She’d been rear-ended by that guy in the work truck behind her, and pushed into the rear end of that blue SUV in front of her.
The lawyer’s office answered and she told the guy who picked up that she’d been in an accident.
After he collected some information, he asked how she’d heard about them. She chuckled. “Those radio ads I’ve been hearing! ‘If you’ve been in an accident, call 1-800-I-BE-HURT!’” she told him.
The Real Reason
Some slick radio advertising exec will show you the law firm’s new clients stat, correlate it to their radio campaign, and say, “See? That’s the power of radio.”
And…it’s persuasive. Kind of compelling, right?
But before you start shelling out six figures for airtime and production costs for a lot of corny radio commercials, absorb this simple rule:
The effectiveness of any advertising comes from the repetition, not the medium.
This was first recognized by English businessman Thomas Smith, in his book, Successful Advertising, which was published in 1885—decades before people radios were readily available to the public.
Y’see, your prospects recognize your name when they’ve been exposed to it (via any medium) three times. When they’ve been exposed to it seven times, they begin to associate it with your business. By the time they’ve been exposed to your name 27 times, you’ve risen in their mind to the level of a brand in your particular market. “Oh, that’s Bob Jones,” they say. “He’s that web designer.”
So who are they likely to call when they need the kind of service you provide?
Prospects Will Go with Who They Know
You probably hear similar commercials on your local radio station, right? For lawyers, plumbers, mattress showrooms—whatever. The same kinds of messages over and over, day after day.
And you rarely give them a second thought until, like Rosie, you absolutely need a lawyer (or a plumber, or a mattress, etc.).
The Direct Mail Advantage
Advertising effectiveness comes from repetition but with direct mail, you can get even more power. That’s because it’s targeted—so it only goes to the kinds of people who are likely to need and can pay for your products or services.
Unlike radio’s “shotgun” approach, direct mail is a laser. It’s efficient, with an impressive ROI—$27 for every dollar spent.
You can create a targeted prospect list and design and mail your postcard in minutes—right now, from where you’re sitting.
If you know what you’re doing and you’re ready to mail, you can start at www.prospectsplus.com. If you’re still unsure about how targeted demographics can dramatically impact your response, log onto Opportunity Knocks Custom Campaigns or just give us a call at 877-222-6010. We’re ready to help.