The Other 99.5%

The traditional practice of marketing fails to consider the persistence of human memory. Its goal is to onboard a very small percentage of a very large number of people. If two million people see an advertisement, and only 0.5% of them react to it, that's 10,000 sales (or leads, or whatnot) - and that would be hailed as a very successful campaign. But it fails to consider a very important question:

What about the other 99.5%?

From the traditional perspective, they just don't matter. At least you got your name out there; and maybe you can catch them next time, with a promotion that's more appealing to their specific interests, or catch them at a time when they're more likely to respond to an offer. Ultimately, the attitude toward non-respondents is "we don't care." And that's a terrible and costly mistake.

If your message was inappropriate, offensive, or misleading, they will be less likely to respond to your next message. And applying the same algorithm, if the message you send damages your brand to only 0.5% of the audience, that's 10,000 people who will be less likely to respond to an offer, even if it's better suited to their interests, and even if it catches them at a time when they're seeking to buy. Ever. You've damaged your brand and done long-term harm to your potential to gain new customers that may outweigh the value of the short-term gain of a sliver of a percentage of immediate sales.

I expect this is a bone of contention between brand marketing and sales promotion, though I haven't seen the notion get more than a passing mention. There have been suggestions that a company ought to follow up an promotional campaign with a brand audit to determine if they have done any collateral damage - but it always seems to be mentioned as an afterthought.

Collateral damage that, like so many dead civilians, is a minor embarrassment to those intent on winning a battle. The fact that victory was achieved is all that matters.

But the battle for market share is not entirely analogous to a military conflict. A promotional campaign is a tactical maneuver in a struggle than never ends in victory. The casualties you inflict are customers you will never gain, and who are likely to be more interested in your competitors' offer the next time they are in a position to purchase.

The "other" 99.5% should never be disregarded or dismissed.