Just how lucky are you? Are you as lucky as former Shenandoah National Forest Park Ranger Roy Sullivan? In 36 years of work, Ranger Roy was struck by lightning seven times and lived through each episode! He holds the world record for the most lightning strikes to one person. His wife was also struck by lightning once in their backyard (Roy was present, but not struck) and he claimed the blade of a scythe he was holding was struck when he was a child, which was not allowed to be counted toward the Guinness Book of World Records because the claim of an eighth strike was unsubstantiated.

According to the National Weather Service, a person’s chances of getting struck by lightning in a lifetime are about 1 in 15,300. The chance of being struck twice in a lifetime is 1 in 9 million. I am not sure anyone can accurately determine the probability of being struck seven times, but some have figured it to be 1 in 1028 (octillion). However, I can tell you that if you are standing outside during a rainstorm without an umbrella or any other protective gear, your chances of getting wet are 100 percent.

Just how lucky are you in getting your marketing to strike with your target market? Are you throwing lightning bolts with your marketing or are you making it rain? If you are working from the assumption that once a person encounters your marketing, they will buy from you, you will likely be sorely disappointed when your marketing doesn’t work. Those are long, lightning-strike-type odds. When marketing is working best, it is consistent and persistent, like the rain.

I recently had a client who landed a big sale from a company we had been marketing to for a long time. “You finally convinced me to give you a try,” their new customer told them. What exactly had we done with the marketing to turn him from a prospect to a customer? We had sent out marketing campaigns to his inbox on a twice-a-month basis. The marketing was based on superior quality, not on a cheap price. Selling on quality means that you need to showcase what you can do, not just talk about it. We did so in this case. This new customer saw that and needed what my client was selling. That sale did not happen with a lightning strike type of campaign. It happened when we fed a steady dose of marketing messages that touted the reliable products my client sold. We made the marketing rain and the new customer couldn’t help but notice it.

If you are looking to make your marketing work better, do five things. First, understand what you are really selling and how it stacks up against the competition. Second, understand who makes up your target market. Who is likely to need what you produce? Third, come up with marketing that distinguishes you from your competition. Fourth, build campaigns that showcase how you can help make life better for your target market. Fifth, be consistent in getting your message out there. Don’t expect your marketing to work like lightning. Sure, you will get someone every now and then that buys from you the first time they see your marketing, but that doesn’t happen often enough to make your marketing sustainable. The more you market, the more everyone understands your brand and is won over to give you a try.

Great marketing is like the rain: everyone notices and gets wet!