I was snowed in at Virginia Beach. The truck I drove is on the left.
I made a quick trip to CVS to pick up some supplies; I noticed this table by the front door. Right up front there were snow shovels, scrapers, and other supplies people may need during the type of weather I was experiencing. I asked the clerk if this table was always there; he told me they just put the table up the day before.
Good for them. They made a quick decision based on the timing of an event.
The timing of your marketing (product placement in this case) is as important as anything else. Your customers’ needs come at a time that they need something, NOT when you need to sell. Understanding various timing mechanisms that may lead people to purchase your product or service will lead to more effective and efficient marketing.
Tax season is a timing mechanism that most dealers understand but requires more thought during the rest of the year. There are mass timing mechanisms (like tax season) which affect nearly everyone, and then there are individual timing mechanisms such as:
- Someone getting married
- A new child
- Just moved to town
- Birthday
There are ways to target individuals during these times. Some are simple. Some are complicated.
Another idea is to run mass marketing ads such as television, ALL the time. However, that is costly.
A methodical way you can boost your timing is to send a newsletter to your customer base every month. This puts you in front of your customers every 30 days, thereby increasing your chances of your timing to be right on time.
Facebook offers some pretty good marketing based on the timing of life events.
Google Adwords (if used properly) can work well because buyers have new needs based on life events. They go searching on Google – and hopefully see your ad. If you’re stingy and savvy with your targeting, your goal is to have only interested parties clicking your ad – which means you only pay when someone is interested and they click.
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