Advertising is exactly like baseball

You need to hit a home run on your next swing or the business is bust.

As a marketer, I don't like home runs.

In baseball, a home run is a high risk, big reward swing.
Three little singles can yield the same result.
Hits are easier to get.
It takes longer to get a run, but once the bases are occupied, more runs come much easier.
In baseball terms, this is called "Small Ball".

"Small Ball" is the best way to make the biggest difference in your marketing efforts. Search for little hits that continue to encourage a customer to buy from your business. Three little hits and you have a run (or a sale).

There are four bases in baseball, so why is three the magic number? In baseball, a player on second base is considered in scoring position. If the third batter gets a hit, there's a good possibility the runner can score from second base.

In advertising, three is also the magic number. A frequency of 3 per week is the objective. Frequency is defined as the number of times a person hears or sees your ad in a week. 3 times per week over a 52 week buy is 156 times. That's lots of potential runs from the customer.

Small ball.

Hitting a homerun is fun and exciting.
You're a star when you hit one.
It clears the bases.
Most home run hitters are also the strike out leaders in baseball.
The best home run hitter in Major League Baseball in 2016 was Mark Trumbo. He hit 47 home runs in 613 at bats. That's a 7% chance of success. He struck out 170 times or 27.7% of the time.

He struck out almost 4 times more often than he hit a home run...

Despite what some advertisers will tell you, home runs are hard.
Hits are not.
Hits come from the crafting the right message and delivering it to the right people at the right time.

The problem with hits is it takes time to be rewarded for the efforts.

Most businesses can't afford to wait. They need results now. They need a home run. Yet they swing with a weak bunt.

Most advertising campaigns fail because the message is weak.

No one can hit a home run with a bunt.

When customers come to me looking for a home run, I send them to someone else. I don't hit home runs.  It's too risky.

I'm evaluated on results. Striking out is not an option. So I don't try.

My goal is to hit singles... a lot of them... It gets better results, in the long run.