Fact, Fiction or Just Plain Assumptions?
By Sandra Pearce, MPA Media Marketing Manager
What do you base your marketing decisions on?
In marketing, we hear a lot of things that sound like fact. People talk about things with conviction, passion and a tone of authority. That doesn't make what they say factual, or research based. It also doesn't mean that some of what's said isn't based on a bit of fact or that assumptions don't have some truth to them.
When I first started my career in marketing more than twenty years ago, it was hard to tell what things where factual and what were assumptions, especially when I would hear them from people who I perceived as experts.
Let me give you some examples that have to do with the print, online and the media world we live.
- Magazine readership is shrinking.
Fiction. It's actually up by more than 4% over the last five years.
- The younger generations are not reading magazines.
Fiction. 96% of adults UNDER 35 read magazines. And by the way, 93% of adults overall read magazines.
- Internet advertising alone is more cost effective than magazine advertising alone.
Fiction. Internet alone cost far more per qualified lead and sale.
- Magazine advertising is not affective in getting readers to act.
Fiction. Actions taken based on print ads are up more than 10% in the last 5 years.
- Qualified customers are primarily driven to visit websites by banner ads and search engines.
Fiction. Print leads all other media in driving people to the web to search for specific companies and/or products.
- Paid subscriptions are more valuable to advertisers than free ones.
Fiction. There is no difference. You can read the entire research study titled "The Value of Magazine Readership: Reader Dynamics and Ad Impact Among Paid and Nonpaid Readers" at www.magazine.org/advertising.
Maybe we should stop at 6 because the list just goes on and on. But I think you get the idea.
The point here is that people are highly suggestible. It's human nature. I'm skeptical about data and I still fall prey to suggestibility. So let's keep this in mind. What we think we know as fact may not be. At least not until it's proven. The truth is that we marketers can give you "research" that has a very low number of participants, and we can leave out the data that we don't want you to see. So, never take survey results at face value unless you know the facts. The facts aren't that hard to find. In fact, if you want to find the research to back up the examples I listed above, check out www.magazine.org/handbook.
If someone gives you research without their methodology, audience size and response rates, then there's probably something they don't want you to know. While small samplings of audience can get you some good data, you should at least know how many people were asked the questions and how many of them responded. Then you won't make a decision based on insufficient evidence. Broad conclusions using statistics of a small group can backfire.
Please don't think I'm suggesting that you become a skeptic, or that you doubt everything you hear. What I am doing is encouraging you to get the data, get the facts, get the whole story, not just the CliffNotes. Then, you can decide for yourself if the data and information you're getting is worth doing anything with.
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