Reach vs. Frequency: Is it better to reach 25 People Four Times or 100 People Once

by: Nandang S Nugraha | Total views: 35 | Word Count: 449 | View PDF | Print View

 by: Julie Chance

Reach and frequency are terms generally used when
planning advertising campaigns. However, the concept of reach and
frequency applies to any promotional activity you undertake: direct
mail, direct selling, and even networking.

Reach is the number of people you touch with your
marketing message or the number of people that are exposed to your
message. Frequency is the number of times you touch each person with
your message. In a world of unlimited resources you would obviously
maximize both reach and frequency. However, since most of us live in
the world of limited resources we must often make decisions to
sacrifice reach for frequency or vice versa.

For example, an air conditioning repair service who has
decided to do a direct mail piece has to decide whether to mail the
entire Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex once or to mail a quarter of the
Metroplex four times. An attorney who receives many of her clients
through networking may have to decide whether to attend one weekly
networking meeting or four different monthly meetings.

When faced with decisions of reach vs. frequency remember this rule of thumb:

Reach without Frequency = Wasted Money

Marketing is the process of building a business
relationship with potential customers. Have you ever established a
lifelong friendship with someone you had contact with only once?
Probably not. Generally friendships (and all relationships for that
matter) grow as a result of frequent contact over time. Even when the
potential to form a great friendship is there at the first encounter,
it is unlikely it will grow without nurturing.

Seth Godin in his book Permission Marketing uses an
analogy of seeds and water to demonstrate the importance of assuring
adequate frequency in your promotional campaigns. If you were given 100
seeds with enough water to water each seed once would you plant all 100
seeds and water each one once or would you be more successful if you
planted 25 seeds and used all of the water on those 25 seeds?

While intuitively and even conceptually we understand
the importance of frequency to successful promotional and sales
campaigns, somehow when it comes to actually implementing the campaign,
we opt to sacrifice frequency for reach. And then we complain about the
ineffectiveness of our promotional efforts. Undoubtedly one of the
biggest wastes of marketing dollars is promotional activities that are
implemented without adequate frequency.

When faced with the decision of mailing one direct mail
piece to 10,000 people or mailing to 2,500 people four times think
about the fate of those 100 seeds you can water only once. Unless you
have water rights and can obtain additional water, opt for less reach
and more frequency.

About the Author

Julie Chance is president of Strategies-by-DESIGN, a Dallas based firm that helps small businesses and service professionals Map A Path to Success by providing consulting, training and skills based coaching in the area of marketing strategy development. For more information or to sign up for our free marketing tips e-newsletter go to www.strategies-by-design.com or call 972-701-9311

© 2003 Strategies-by-DESIGN. May be reprinted with credits and contact information.

jchance@strategies-by-design.com

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