HOW VISIBILITY PAYS OFF

Copyright 1995 by Marcia Yudkin. All rights reserved.

Not long ago I received a call from a producer at Dateline NBC. "We're thinking of doing a story on procrastination," she said, "and your name came up everywhere. Can we talk?"

The minute I got off the phone, I packed up a copy of my "Procrastinator's Penpal" postcard seminar and "Procrastination: Creative Solutions" audiotape to send her. Then I reflected: Yet another ripple from an article about me that appeared in Entrepreneur Magazine in July 1994. That inspired an editor at the Chicago Tribune to commission a separate story that was syndicated and inspired another story in the Los Angeles Daily News that was syndicated too, reaching dozens of newspapers throughout the country. Obviously the producer had looked up "procrastination" in a database and saw "Yudkin Yudkin Yudkin" all over the place.

All this came about from 80 press releases I sent out. Total cost: about $30.

Dateline NBC is far from alone in assuming that someone whose name crops up all over the place must have something valuable to offer. Everyday prospects respond after repeated encounters with your name as well.

The following formula describes the role of visibility in building a profitable business reputation: VISIBILITY + COMPETENCE + WORD OF MOUTH=REPUTATION.

Advertisers and marketers of all sorts have proven that the more times someone runs across your name, the more predisposed they are to buy. The effect grows when your name appears in contexts that imply that you are highly competent. If you speak before a group or publish articles in your area of expertise, you have a direct opportunity to demonstrate your competence. Because of media publicity's indirect indication of ability, someone who hears about my work in the Dallas Morning News and then on Dateline NBC is more greatly influenced than by encountering my own advertisement or sales letter twice. The impact grows again if uninvolved third parties praise you, whether that's at a cocktail party where someone asks if anyone can recommend a good veterinarian, or in your brochure where named customers give your cleaning service rave reviews.

Thus, familiarity is important, but it performs the most magic when linked with demonstrations of competence and recommendations that can be trusted.

The impact of visibility cannot, however, be quantified and judged the way you can compare the circulation of a publication in which you've placed a classified ad, the number of readers who responded and those who ultimately bought. But don't be fooled by hardnosed marketers who say that therefore it's not worth your time. Just be patient while the impressions add up. Maybe the prospect needs to read about me in Entrepreneur Magazine, hear me on Dateline NBC and spot my book in his favorite bookstore before calling me up. Patience and faith help. The drops of influence slowly raise the level of contents in the prospect's cup and finally tip it over. Remember too that a large number of small mentions tend to produce a greater memorability than a small number of big "hits."

Whether you're just launching a business, or have a lengthy track record, you can take advantage of this marketing dynamic.

• Inventory your preferences: Do you enjoy speaking in front of groups? Writing? Talking head to head with prospects? Basking in the media spotlight? Pursue your most comfortable opportunities first, and stretch a bit with an option that feels like a challenge.
  
  
• Consider ways to ensure that prospects will not only have heard your name but know you're good at what you do. If you're a designer, make your business card a knockout sample of your work; if you're a consultant, create a newsletter that highlights your strategic thinking.
  
  
• Invest time and energy in integrity and smooth customer relations so that your word of mouth is positive. Unfortunately, dissatisfied customers tell many more people how they feel about you than do the happy ones.
  
  
• Resolve to keep at it whether or not the strategy feels like it's working. Go to another networking dinner and another even if you didn't appear to turn up a hot prospect; send out another press release even if not one person called after your media appearance. You're only getting close to the critical level of visibility when people say, "Gee, you really get around, don't you?" or "I see your name everywhere!"

Marcia Yudkin coaches small business owners internationally on getting media publicity and effective marketing outreach. She also publishes the bimonthly newsletter, The Creative Glow: How to Be More Original, Inspired & Productive in Your Work. Get autographed copies of her books Marketing Online and Six Steps to Free Publicity (Plume Books) for $26.90 (combined, postpaid) by calling her 24-hour message line at 617-266-1613 or sending a check or money order to her at Creative Ways, P.O. Box 1310, Boston, MA 02117. You can receive her electronic brochure in a matter of minutes by sending any E-mail message to yudkinfo@world.std.com; for a personal reply contact marcia@yudkin.com.

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