Marketing = Parenting

My daughter is 3 years old. She is quite playful and energetic which makes meal time difficult. While she generally stays in her seat, she is easily distracted from her food. I tend to be a bit firm in my discipline and I find myself repeating the same messages: finish your veggies, no elbows on the table, no dessert if you don’t finish your meal, etc. It’s pretty much the same one-sided dialogue night after night.

But you know what? The repetition is working. We are seeing her focus a bit more on the meal. She is not perfect, but she is beginning to understand the importance of eating everything on her plate. She even repeats our instructions to her when she sees us with elbows on the table. Our parenting success in this realm has come from the consistent repetition of the same message over and over.

Marketing is no different. Successful marketing comes from the consistent repetition of the same message. There is really no secret to the whole thing. Just repeat, repeat and repeat. In time, the consistent message will be heard by the end user. Over more time, those end users that hear the consistent message will take action. And in the long run, end users will spread the message themselves.

The “Marketing = Parenting” analogy is further understood when we talk about using different marketing channels. Let’s imagine that Peter is a high school student. Peter’s mom, Suzie, wants to make sure that Peter doesn’t forget his doctor’s appointment next week. To remind him, she makes a sign for Peter and hangs it in the bathroom. On the day of the appointment, Suzie calls Peter’s cell phone and leaves a message. She also texts him to remind him several hours before the appointment.

Did it work? Of course! The consistent repetition of the same message across a number of channels (signage, cell phone, text) forced Peter to remember his appointment. Not only did he remember the appointment, he took action and got himself to the appointment on time. This is parental marketing success!

Perhaps I am oversimplifying things by saying marketing is the same as parenting. Of course there are other elements to parenting and marketing that don’t equate. However, my point is that in parenting we need to repeat the same consistent message over and over again to achieve the desired result. In marketing, we need to do the same thing: repeat the same message—perhaps in a variety of venues—over a long period of time to accomplish the desired return.

Similar to parenting, think long term for your marketing. Think about repeating the same message over and over across a number of marketing channels. The more you repeat, the more it will stick, the more action will be taken and the more referrals you will get. It may take time, but neither children nor consumers will understand your message if you just say it once.