2006 Articles
Incorporating Direct Response into Your Sales Efforts
This article was published in the July/August 2006 issue of the Society of FSP's electronic newsletter, Key Facts
By Warren Hunter
While “closing the deal” is the ultimate goal of any sales effort, we all know that there’s much that goes on behind the scenes. Getting to the end game doesn’t “just happen” without adequate preparation and follow through. But have you considered that getting from lead generation to product or policy sale is improved when direct response advertising is added to existing brand building efforts?
What are the differences between brand — or awareness — advertising and direct response advertising? And what are the pitfalls to avoid in incorporating direct response to improve your existing sales efforts?
Brand vs. Direct
Consider that while brand efforts serve to build and sustain awareness, direct response methods drive orders, inquiries, and Web traffic. Brand creates an identity for a product or service while it is the job of direct response to demonstrate the utility of a product or service. Brand is not designed to create an immediate response. Direct, however, is predicated on a strong call to action; the message is benefit-driven in order to spur a quick and deliberate response.
What’s more, direct response advertising offers a way to generate cost-effective, qualified leads for your business. Make note — there is a difference between “interested” and “qualified” leads. While most lead generation programs are underutilized, you can utilize direct response techniques to distinguish between those who are merely expressing interest and those that are both interested and qualified for the product you offer. The objective is to know your audience and their needs and target offers that meet those needs in a preferred way.
Direct Response: Avoiding the Mistakes
There’s a lot more to know about direct response marketing than can be written in this brief article, but what follows is advice — or rules of thumb — that I refer to as the “seven deadly sins of direct marketing.”
Sin #1 — You didn’t know your audience!
In order to generate qualified leads, you need to know your audience. This means knowing the needs and wants of individual customers and prospects. When it comes to direct marketing and mailing lists, it is important to know that it’s quality, not quantity that counts.
Sin #2 — You mailed to the wrong list!
The best product and the best offer will ultimately fail when mailed to the wrong prospects. Segmentation profiles and models offer sophisticated ways to ensure the right offer gets to the right prospect, but good old fashioned common sense goes a long way in targeting offers.
Sin #3 — You didn’t mail to a clean, updated list!
Often times the list that has not been cleaned and updated may be your own in-house file of existing customers. In the wake of consumer privacy concerns, having a clean list not only makes good business sense, but it may also be mandated by law. Keep your mailing lists current by using the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) National Change of Address service and use undeliverable mail to update files on a consistent basis. You’ll save both time and money.
Sin #4 — You didn’t test your creative!
Testing is the cornerstone of direct marketing. Test your efforts in all direct marketing channels, including mail, space ads, inserts, and broadcast. To maximize return on investment, it is critical to test against established controls (or to establish a control). A control will allow you to know what worked and what didn’t.
Sin #5 — You didn’t personalize the communication!
Personalization is important to customer communications and, done properly, can greatly improve the overall response rate. Key to getting a direct mail message read is to get the envelope opened. Direct marketers should live by the “four second rule.” In other words, a consumer will spend, on average, four seconds with your mailing. When it comes to e-mail, the average interactivity you’ll have is three clicks of the mouse or nine seconds of time. In breaking through the clutter, first impressions really do count!
Sin #6 — You didn’t use the magic words!
In direct response advertising, words rule. There are a number of magic words that help you create effective, response-generating messaging. Try using “You,” “New,” “Free,” “Now,” “Win,”“Easy,” “Today,” and “Guaranteed.” Using these words in a deliberate, relevant way can help generate interest — and an immediate response.
Sin #7 — You didn’t measure and track your results!
“It’s not worth doing if you can’t track results.” That’s the mantra of direct response. Direct response advertising allows you to measure response in a number of ways that make sense for your business — such as by acquisition cost per customer, by list, or by distribution channel — and then adjust your approach based on the results. Remember, in direct response, every dollar has a targeted income.
Direct response advertising — when appropriately added to existing branding efforts — can support brand awareness and lead generation goals. Direct response is both a science and an art that allows you to target your advertising dollars, directing them to where they work best. And that makes good business sense in any economic environment.
About Warren Hunter
Warren Hunter is president of DMW Worldwide, a full-service direct response advertising agency with offices in Wayne, Pa and Plymouth, Mass. The agency provides strategic planning, creative, database management, broadcast, media, production, fulfillment and Website promotion. Hunter can be reached at 610-407-0407 or e-mail at whunter@dmwdirect.com. Visit DMW on the Web at whunter@dmwdirect.com. Visit DMW on the Web at www.dmwdirect.com.
