Q2 • 2021


INSIGHTS DIRECT MARKETING »


TOUCHPOINTS: What’s Your Magic Number?


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ou may have heard of the marketing rule of seven, the long-held idea that


it takes an average of seven interactions or exposures to a brand to convert a potential customer. However, we all experience an


information overload these days—from radio, television, print, digital publications, social media, etc.—which means that the average consumer now encounters thousands of brand messages each day. Breaking through the noise is more difficult than ever, and many marketing experts now agree that it takes as many as 13 touchpoints to convert a lead. So how many touchpoints does it really


take for you? What are the most important touchpoints for you to focus on? How do you determine what messaging makes the most sense for each touchpoint? You’ll find no shortage of advice if you turn to the internet or your marketing colleagues, but before you make any decisions about what will work best for your brand or business, we suggest you take a step back and inventory your marketing assets and how you use them as touchpoints.


Your Customer’s Journey A study by Aberdeen Group revealed the importance of placing customer touchpoints into a customer journey map. The study found that companies that have a formal customer journey


management program have a 54 percent greater return on marketing investment. When developing your marketing assets to be used as part of the customer journey, remember that each one should be strong enough to deliver your brand’s message on its own. Understanding where on the journey map the customer has touched your brand will help you plan the next step toward conversion. Did they download something from your blog or website? Ideally, you could collect their email address and send them an offer for a related asset (promoting another touchpoint). Did they follow your brand on social media? The next step might be a targeted post that would lead them to your website.


Typical Customer Journey Map and Points of Engagement


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Voluntary vs. Delivered Touchpoints


Generally, there are two distinct types of touchpoints: voluntary touchpoints, which are those that your customer comes across and engages with, and delivered touchpoints, which are those that you plan, deliver, and track. A voluntary touchpoint could be a customer seeing your logo on signage as a sponsor for an event or seeing a post you’ve boosted on social media; a delivered touchpoint could be a direct mail catalog or an email blast. During the ideal customer journey,


there is movement from voluntary to delivered touchpoints. It’s that journey that turns an individual into a lead and a prospect into a customer. To help consumers on that journey, you need to develop points of engagement at every stage. It’s imperative to remember that if your content doesn’t engage the consumer, what you call a touchpoint, they might call an annoyance.


Track and Analyze Having the right content to deliver as touchpoints is imperative, and data can reveal what’s working best. You’ll want to know what content was consumed


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