It’s often stated that “timing” is a unique skill or talent among the best comedians. But timing is no less critical to the success or failure of any marketing, sales, or public relations initiative.
An article about dreams and how they help us strip emotions out of painful experiences and memories got me to thinking about how effective it can be to put a little “time and distance” between a controversial issue or subject and a public hearing or vote. This particular tactic was often used by the municipality where I used to live: there was a very engaged general public and no shortage of controversial topics. The media consistently built up anticipation and interest surrounding public meetings dealing with the significant topic du jour; and the public officials/governing body consistently listened to the controversy and opinions of the public stakeholders; only to “table the vote” or schedule further discussions until many weeks, sometimes months later. Often, the media moves on; and the public’s intense interest ebbs a bit. Only the most affected stick with it to find a resolution and read the “footnotes.”
It’s important to note that delaying a resolution is one approach to letting emotions subside a bit; but a delayed, vague or misleading response to any negative public relations issue is ill advised and will strongly stir the emotional brew. Because no matter how negative a story or issue may appear, if an immediate, forthright response is not provided, the media coverage now expands and gets into dangerous territory — words like “cover up”, “ill prepared”, or “negligent” may appear along side your or your firm’s name. Neglecting to deal with a PR issue immediately and “head on” usually lengthens the story’s life and intensifies attention. There is no good time for a negative story, but things quickly move from bad to worse if your response timing is anything but swift, and your information and attitude anything but forthcoming.
I also read another relevant piece on timing by the Search Engine Journal summed up the importance of timing in the world of online marketing:
“Most poorly performing online marketing campaigns; whether social media, online marketing or PPC advertising; seem to be failing because the manager has either put very little time into planning the campaign, or has spent a lot of time setting up a campaign and getting it started but has then left it to ‘flounder’.”
Such a great point. Marketing success is not determined solely on the basis of the timing of your campaign launch, but also on the time spent adequately preparing to launch.
Which brings me to the next key point about marketing timing. There is a great deal of information and statistics out there about the “best time” to send out your Tweet or post an update on a Facebook wall. Ditto when the best time to send out an e-mail blast in hopes of a high open and response rate. I found some great tidbits on Jim Connolly’s marketing blog in the comments and discussion section. A post noted that the best time to send an email seemed to be Tuesday mornings. Jim Connolly responded with the following relevant reminder:
“In my experience… it depends on the industry / profession and the country they are in. Some businesses have their Christmas heads on really early and others work through diligently until 24th December…Depending on the culture of the business, many businesses work on Christmas day too.”
In other words, remember your target audience. Are you directing your message to senior citizens who may not have access to a computer and the Internet? Or are you trying to reach a smaller group of workaholics and computer wizards on the other side of the world in another time zone? You always have to ask about the schedule and appropriate timing for your audience.
At the conclusion of a marketing or PR campaign, you may find yourself “wishing you had more time…” — I know I utter that phrase (too) often. However, that’s the challenge, it’s about making the time you’ve got work. Rarely is this easy, given the depth of preparation needed, or the immediacy and comprehensive nature to a press inquiry, or the complexity of conflicting schedules. Nonetheless, it is a key component for success.
