Threshold Effect

One has to get over this hump, or threshold, to start getting a response...

A "threshold effect" exists when there is a critical level of effort necessary to affect the system.  Levels of effort below this threshold have little payoff.  When there are threshold effects, it is prudent to limit objectives to those that can be affected by the resources at the strategist's disposal.

For example, there seems to be a threshold effect in advertising.  That is, a very small amount of advertising will produce no result at all.  One has to get over this hump, or threshold, to start getting a response to advertising efforts.  This means it may pay companies to pulse their advertising, concentrating it into relatively short periods of time, rather than spreading it evenly.  It may also make sense for a company to roll out a new product region by region, concentrating its advertising where the product is new so as to spur adoption.

ACTION POINT: Apply the critical level of effort needed to achieve threshold.