It's About Time

The right marketing target date could give your product theattention it deserves.

By Jay Conrad Levinson

Sometimes a company markets the right product or service to theright people using the right media, but the marketing effort turnsout to be a flop. Why? Poor timing. To get the most mileage fromyour marketing efforts, you have to be keenly attuned to the rightand wrong times. To gain a bit of insight, consider these 10examples:

1. You've created the perfect mailing package, but itarrives too early in the week, when your prospects are thinking ofthe busy week ahead--or too late, when your prospects are thinkingof the upcoming weekend. See to it that your mailing arrives on aTuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.

2. You have a fine product but a limited budget and a lotof competition. What to do? Do your marketing when your competitorshave eased up. This way, you gain the largest share of yourcustomer's mind with the smallest marketing investment. Thatmay mean marketing during your target company's slow months,but it's also when you can attract the most attention thefastest.

3. Everybody receives Christmas catalogs in September andOctober. If you sent yours in July or August, you'd get peoplethinking of your company then--and later on as well.

4. You keep abreast of current events by watching thetube, reading the paper, accessing online news services, perusingnews weeklies, and subscribing to industry and communitypublications. Put that information to work by tying your marketingmessage in with what's happening at that moment in history.

5. Be careful not to launch your marketing efforts toosoon. One of the most common errors in marketing is to promotebefore all the bugs have been worked out, before the salespeopleknow all the facts, and before you're ready to fill the floodof orders and engage in guerrilla follow-up. Remember that patienceis a guerrilla virtue.

6. One marketing move that will get you nowhere is anewspaper story or TV report about products or services thataren't yet available. You may be so enthralled at the thoughtof free publicity that you release the news before people can buywhat you offer. Beware: They won't come back another time, andthe media won't give you another splash. Restraint isnecessary, even with free news coverage.

7. Savvy retailers wait at least one month before havinggrand openings. If they don't wait, customers will arrive onlyto find untrained salespeople, poorly stocked shelves, slowdelivery times and messy surroundings. Polish these items toperfection before your grand opening, or it won't be sogrand.

8. Telemarketing calls that don't get through or thatreach answering devices are a waste of time and money. Find outwhen your prospects are most likely to be available, and do yourtelemarketing then.

9. Use speed in dealing with customer requests, orders,questions and complaints. People value their time more than ever.Never waste one minute of it, or they may not be back.

10. Never be in a rush to create your marketingmaterials. Keep in mind that when developing them, you are facedwith three variables--speed, quality and economy. You may selectany two but not all three. Guerrillas opt for quality and economyevery time.

Timing also refers to tying in with current news, withwhat's on your prospects' minds, and with what yourcompetitors are doing. Guerrilla timing can make the differencebetween a campaign that fizzles or flourishes.

Jay Conrad Levinson is author of the internationallyacclaimed Guerrilla Marketing series of books and co-founder ofGuerrilla Marketing International. For information on the GuerrillaMarketing Newsletter and other products and services, write to P.O.Box 1336, Mill Valley, CA 94942; call (800) 748-6444; or visit theWeb site at http://www.gmarketing.com