9 IMPORTANT FACTORS TO USE IN THE TIMING IN YOUR MARKETING EFFORTS
When you are a small business coach, your sales process is different than most businesses. You invest more of your time creating and developing relationships and the timing in your marketing efforts revolves around your prospects finally deciding to blast off their businesses.
The marketing rule of thumb that ties into the timing in your marketing efforts is that it takes 5 to 12 touches (and that number has gone way up since the Pandemic of 2020) in order for your prospect to decide to move your conversation from the marketing side of the equation to the sales side. More on that later.
One of the touches we use is a monthly greeting card , segmented to different parts of our prospect list. The cards carry a positive mental attitude message or a sales and marketing tip to help them move their business forward. Our lists combined have roughly 1,200 addresses on it. In September, when we were going on vacation, we created a card that was designed to go along with vacations and how to get your mind to ‘chill.’ The card was timed to arrive while we were on vacation.
On the day we arrived home, we received a #10 envelope with a letter and our September card folded in half inside. The letter said:
To Whom it concerns (sic)
Please remove me from your mailing list.
I DO NOT want to receive any more of your mailings.
(Name of service firm)
Here’s the most interesting and ironic part of this story. While we were on vacation we decided to change one of the services we use on a monthly basis. That service? Exactly the same as the industry we received that letter from.
That person, being in our data base, would have gotten a call from us. They might have picked us up as a new client. And, by the way, the current service we use has picked up over a dozen customer prospects sent from us in the past year.
So why didn’t the person who received the cards continue to just toss them? Or call us and say WHY they didn’t like to get the cards? What we would have told her was that the timing in your marketing efforts – in this case telling us that us sending her our marketing message was not acceptable to her – YES, that IS a marketing message – cost her a client.
Effective timing in your marketing message helps maximize impact, reach the right audience, and ultimately boost your business’s success.
Timing plays a pivotal role in the marketing process, influencing everything from strategy development to execution.
Let’s talk about different ways to use TIMING in your Marketing
Here are some key aspects of its importance:
1. Launching Your New Product or Service
• Optimal Timing: Launching your product (or service) at the right moment can significantly impact its reception. This means considering seasonal demand, market conditions, and consumer readiness.
• Market Readiness: Timing your launch when consumers are actively seeking solutions or when competitors are less active can enhance visibility and success.
• IMPORTANT NOTE: If you forever wait for the exact right moment before you launch, it is quite possible you will get terminally stuck in “getting ready to get ready” and never launch. If this has been you, then TAKE THE LEAP ALREADY!
2. Scheduling your Advertising Campaigns
• Consumer Engagement: Campaigns aligned with events or seasons (like holidays or back-to-school) can resonate better with audiences, tapping into their current mindset and needs.
• Frequency and Duration: Knowing when to ramp up or scale back marketing efforts can prevent audience fatigue and maintain interest over time.
• IMPORTANT NOTE: We have a client who has been thinking of using radio to promote their insurance agency. At the moment, one of the stations she has been considering is running a great special. For $1,400 we will be able to “own” the station for a week to 10 days and that will give us a great test of this method and this station.
3. Crisis Management
• Responsive Marketing: In times of crisis or negative publicity, timely and thoughtful responses can help manage brand reputation and maintain consumer trust.
Version 1.0.0
• IMPORTANT NOTE: We have written about this extensively in Chapter 37 of our book, The Marketing Checklist, 80 Simple Ways to Master Your Marketing. You have to preemptively think of ways in your business that things can go wrong, and have a plan.
4. Creating Efficiency in Your Budgeting
• Cost Considerations: Timing can affect the cost of advertising. During high-demand periods, prices for ad space may surge. This is why we see the same article each year telling us how expensive an ad in the Super Bowl ™ costs. Planning campaigns during off-peak times can help optimize budgets.
• VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: So many small business owners think that all their marketing can be done ‘on the cheap.’ That is a horrible myth you’ve been told by other broke, failing entrepreneurs. Yes, there are some things that can be done affordably – we have a webinar called 20 Inexpensive Ways to Market Your Business. But you can’t zero out the Marketing line in your budget and think you will succeed. It is not possible beause marketing is an investment in your business’ growth!
5. Utilization of Your Data
• Analytics and Insights: Using data to determine the best times to reach your audience—based on engagement rates, purchasing patterns, and online behavior—can enhance campaign effectiveness.
• IMPORTANT NOTE: This is one of the great uses of Artificial Intelligence IF IF IF you have lots of data on past sales and your audience so that patterns can be found by the AI tool.
6. Awareness of Your Competition
• Strategic Positioning: Being aware of competitor activities and timing your marketing efforts to either differentiate or capitalize on their weaknesses can provide a competitive edge.
• IMPORTANT NOTE: It is always good to keep track of what is happening in your industry. It is very possible to have friendly relationships with some of them as well.
7. Is Your Consumer Ready to Buy? From YOU?
• Lifecycle Stage: Understanding where your target audience is in their decision-making process allows you to time your communications and offers effectively.
• IMPORTANT NOTE: One of the most important things we teach in our Small Business Breakthrough Bootcamp is where we discuss the concept of not one funnel, but TWO. There is a Marketing Funnel which LEADS to a Sales Funnel. We teach that to our coaching clients and it works.
8. Messaging Resonance:
• The right message delivered to your correct audience at the right time will resonate more deeply. For instance, promoting personal training at the start of a year aligns with many people’s resolutions. Or promoting jewelry and flowers just before Valentine’s day and Mother’s day aligns with two times of the year those products sell the most. Why do we use (and sell) a greeting card service that mails cards to our audience? Because we know that our clients love this type of positive marketing message. Yes – an email would be FAR less of a money investment, but we know that this kind of message delivered in a greeting card strikes a positive chord with our target audience. Would you like to get these cards, too? It’s free. Send us an email at Info@YuloffCreative.com and tell us you read this blog and want the cards! We’ll send you a few right away and add you to our list so that you, too, can receive one each month.
• IMPORTANT NOTE: Your timing and messaging will continue to evolve as your business and its needs develop.
9. Trends in Social Media
• Real-Time Marketing: Engaging with current events or trending topics on social media requires quick responses to leverage the moment effectively.
• IMPORTANT NOTE: Social media is an important marketing tactic but it is not generally your fastest path to cash. Know what is going on, and use the platforms to reach out to your clients and prospects.
Now that we’ve learned a little bit about timing in your marketing efforts, let’s read one more story where a client puts these rules into play (names changed to protect their privacy):
Once upon a time in a town of 40,000 inhabitants called Salesville, there was a small custom tailor shop known as WE MAKE IT FIT YOU. The owner, Janice, poured her heart into her creations, sewing everything from decadent dresses to stylish shirts. However, despite her passion and talent, sales at WE MAKE IT FIT YOU were sluggish.
One day, as Janice prepared for the upcoming holiday season, she had an idea. She remembered how last year, people flocked to stores like hers for festive frocks from dresses to jackets. Inspired, she decided to launch a special holiday collection, but this time, she was determined to get the timing right.
Janice started her planning in early October. She researched seasonal trends and discovered that many local families began their holiday preparations right after Halloween. Realizing that launching her collection too close to Christmas would mean competing with larger chain stores, she set her launch date for mid-November.
As the days passed, she crafted her holiday treats. She took beautiful photos, shared behind-the-scenes glimpses on social media, and even created a countdown clock on her website and social media pages to build anticipation. By mid-November, she was ready.
On launch day, she decorated her shop and sent out a newsletter to her loyal customers, reminding them that the holiday collection was now available. She also timed a social media post to coincide with a popular local event—the annual tree lighting ceremony in downtown Salesville.
The response was overwhelming. Families came to WE MAKE IT FIT YOU after the ceremony, drawn in by the festive atmosphere and the models Janice had hired who were parading around in the new clothes line. They eagerly bought the holiday frocks, and, encouraged by Janice, shared their experiences online. “It’s amazing,” thought Janice, “how people are willing to share our message just because we offered them free gift wrapping!” The timing was perfect; people were in the holiday spirit, ready to indulge in a new holiday outfit. Or two.
As the weeks went by, Janice continued to engage her customers, offering classes in how to match clothes with jewelry and shoes and holiday-themed events, all carefully timed to maintain interest and excitement. By the end of the season, WE MAKE IT FIT YOU had not only sold out of her holiday collection but had also gained a loyal following that continued to support her long after the end of that year. The real hit was a Valentines Day collection where customers could set up a private time for their loved ones to have private time in the shop.
Reflecting on her success, Janice realized that her careful planning and understanding of timing had made all the difference. In the world of marketing, she learned, timing wasn’t just about when to sell; it was about knowing her customers, seizing opportunities, and creating memorable experiences.
From that point on, WE MAKE IT FIT YOU flourished, becoming a beloved part of Salesville, all thanks to the power of timing in her marketing strategy. And Janice continued to whip up new clothing creations, always mindful of the clock and the seasons.
The next time you are planning on using a specific marketing tactic remember that the timing in your marketing efforts is very important. Here’s one last bonus point. This is a quote by Gary W. Keller that Sharyn and I remember constantly: “What’s the ONE thing you can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”
Whether it is follow up skills or any others, we would like to offer you something that will make everything else you do during the sales cycle easier:
We are offering you a Free Marketing Consultation. Most small business owners, just like you, that take advantage of this conversation, report back that their 30-minute Success Call with us was worth at least $10,000 in increased sales and savings to their bottom line.
Let’s begin our conversation by increasing your profits. Go now to www.FreeMarketingConsultation.com
