Successful marketing doesn’t just reach the right audience, it reaches them at the right time. Johnny Morris, the founder of the Bass Pro Shops chain, got his start by locating displays of fishing tackle in a chain of liquor stores after noticing fishermen stopping in on the way to the lake. In New York City, hundreds of small merchants keep umbrellas in the back room and drag them out to the sidewalk at the first sign of rain. Both are examples of timely marketing

In technology marketing, however, it’s harder to know when a prospect will need your product or service. One solution is to keep your message in front of the prospect and, like a billboard, be there when the need arises. In 1993, as a novice freelance writer, I sent writing samples to creative directors at advertising agencies. "I liked your samples," I heard over and over. "I put them in the file." After hearing that a few dozen times I had coffee mugs made. One side bore my logo, contact information, and a list of services. The other read "Try putting this in the file." The message on any bulky item might have worked for a week by being clever. But on a coffee mug, it stayed on directors’ desks and brought me business for years.

Proto Labs, a Maple Plain MN producer of injection molded plastic parts and prototypes, uses a multi-faceted approach to keeping prospects’ attention. The company produces a quarterly journal, sends out monthly design tips, produces a variety of molded desktop toys demonstrating the company’s capabilities, and is producing an informative wall calendar. The company’s process is unique, but staying in front of prospective customers has helped earn multiple appearances on the Inc. 500 and Inc. 5000 lists of fastest-growing privately held companies.

Woody Allen said, "80 percent of success is showing up." In fact, showing up isn’t enough; you have to deliver the goods. But showing up when your prospect is receptive is 99 percent of getting the opportunity to deliver the goods.