In today’s hyperconnected and hypelinked world, the information flow is mind boggling. The ability to communicate effectively has never been more important. And sticking to a system that enables your message to be heard becomes a must.
I recently listened to Patrick Lencioni speaking about the four disciplines of healthy organizations at the forum put on by the World of Business Ideas. Not surprising, after a company gets this whole leadership team and purpose figured out, the need to communicate becomes paramount. More specifically, the need to over-communicate critical messages becomes essential.
And why does he need to stress this emphatically to a room full of executives?
Because employees, like people, are awash with messages. The skill of ignoring messages is something that they have gotten really good at. And the typical story goes something like:
Management says:
‘Employees are our greatest asset”
“Quality is job 1”
“Customers are always right” wah wah wah wah…
And the employees say:
“…whatever, the last company that I worked at said that. The next one will to. This will all come to pass.”
But from the executives perspective, the ironic thing is that many executives don’t want to be redundant in their messaging. They see it as inefficient. An insult to their listeners.
Yet, research shows that employees in an organization need to hear things 7 times before they believe it. And that is how communication gets lost. The amplification of repetition does not make it to 7 times.
Well, guess what?
In the world of getting customers, it takes an average of 7 touches to get through. We might as well start calling it Super 7. I find it ironic that we actually have a lottery by this name.
Patrick Lencioni might as well put on a marketing hat and fill the room with marketing folks. All of the same things apply. Buyers and customers are bombarded with messages. They are completely jaded in the fact that they have heard it all before. And the natural reaction is to ignore the message, and keep dismissing it. Until perhaps, it has taken on some level of permanence and has some semblance of being real.
The only way to break through is with repetition. Within companies, executives must repeat critical messages. Within the marketplace, your critical marketing messages must be repeated. It must be repeated in different ways, and through different channels. This is where the real challenge lies. Finding ways to tell your story such that the core marketing message is carried along with it.
Just like executives with their employees, companies cannot fear being redundant in their marketing message. They cannot fear being redundant, overbearing, or annoying. If they believe in what they have to offer, they must continually seek out different ways to get the message out. There will be pushback in different forms, no doubt. But that is not the most important measure. The true measure of your core marketing message is in how many people are hearing it and listening to it. Eventually.
“Repetition is the mother of learning”. In the marketing context, it means that your message must be repeated in order to be learned by your target market. And so it become that “Repetition is the mother of marketing”.