This is a blog by Mark Verzijl, Consultant at Sciential.
Information recall is something everyone struggles with. This applies to remembering new names at a party, but also to marketing. As a life science marketer, it is native to think that your audience actually can recall your message after being exposed to it once. Or twice.
As a purely psychological function, familiarity breeds trust in a consumer – even if it is just knowing the name of the product. Repetition is also how we learn that a brand is “ out there”, and forms a ‘top-of-mind awareness’ among consumers. Such familiarity with a brand develops a level of trust – the more familiar people are with a brand, the more likely they are to purchase from that brand. So, don’t be so quick to mix up your marketing message or start a new campaign. Focus on repetition and frequency for results.
So, back to the number of touchpoints prospects need to recall your message. Studies have shown that people need to see a message at least seven times before it sinks in. It supports the notion that people learn, and therefore remember, by repetition. This same principle can be applied to marketing activity – the more messages that are out there, the more people are likely to recognise your brand’s presence, leading to trust and sales. This is not a new piece of information – we often talk about the importance of having a marketing mix. And in today’s digital environment, where multiple channels like your website, social media, video and online advertising can all work together to share the same message, makes it is even easier for repetition to be part of your marketing strategy.
I think it is key to remember that delivering a message to your audience just once will not cut it. Use different touchpoints to keep addressing your life science audience or be visible always on to get your key message across.
