The One-and-Done advertising mistake

Have you heard of the “Rule of 7”? If you own a local business, it’s a marketing principle worth knowing.

The Rule of 7 is the long-standing idea that a prospective customer needs to see or hear your message seven times before taking action. Seven isn’t a magic number, and there is no universal number of exposures that guarantees a response. But the lesson behind it is Marketing 101: repetition matters.

Think about that the next time you run one ad and wait for the phone to ring. Your potential customer may see your business today, notice your name and move on. They may not need you today. But when they do need what you offer, will they remember you?

That is why one of the most common advertising mistakes we see small businesses make is what we call “one-and-done.”

A business runs an ad once, waits for the phone to ring and then decides whether advertising “worked.”
The problem is that most consumers don’t work that way. Someone may notice your ad today but have absolutely no need for your service. Three months later, when the basement floods, the roof leaks, they need an attorney or they finally decide to renovate the kitchen, which business comes to mind?
Usually, it is one they recognize.
That recognition is built over time.
Why one-and-done advertising puts you at a disadvantage:

• It doesn’t give people enough time to remember you. Seeing a business once and remembering it weeks or months later are very different things.

• It catches only the customers ready to buy at that exact moment. Everyone else may simply move on.

• It makes ROI difficult to measure. It is hard for us as an advertising partner, and for the business owner, to determine the true return on a single placement. There simply isn’t enough information to establish a pattern.

• It gives your competitors the advantage. If they continue showing up and you disappear, their name has more opportunities to become familiar.

This does not mean a small business needs an enormous advertising budget. In fact, I would rather see a business take a reasonable budget and spread it strategically across several months than spend the entire amount on one big ad and vanish.
Marketing 101 is repetition. Your message can evolve. Promote a service one month, expertise the next, a seasonal need later. The important thing is that your business continues to show up.

Vim Wilkinson is a former television producer who created programs built around sponsored content, working closely with businesses to integrate their brands into highly rated shows. A Broadcast and Cable Production major with a minor in Journalism, she created Hudson Valley Living after joining Halston Media and now serves as Associate Publisher for Halston Media Group. Wilkinson, a Somers resident, is passionate about helping local businesses succeed and sees advertising as a valuable tool for growth. In her current role, she leads the company’s sales and advertising team, developing strategies and guiding the team in creating effective advertising campaigns for local businesses. To learn more about Halston Media’s print and digital advertising opportunities and customized packages, call 914-202-2392 or email ads@halstonmedia.com.