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Keys to Effective Direct Marketing

By VERL ALLEN

Most of us are familiar with direct marketing and don't even know it. This is because we commonly confuse direct marketing with advertising. Advertising is typically used by businesses to build image, awareness and loyalty. Direct marketing, on the other hand, is used to generate an immediate customer response. The type of response generated by direct marketing can come in the following forms:

• Direct order or sale
• New sales lead
• Traffic to your business

Direct marketing crosses most media types including mail, television, radio, and Internet and it can be targeted to businesses or consumers. Additionally, direct marketing campaigns vary in scale, from a small direct mail piece to existing customers to an integrated national new customer acquisition campaign. However, each direct marketing campaign has one important goal, to solicit a specific response or action from a target consumer.

The success of a direct marketing campaign depends on the work that happens before the campaign goes live. The primary factors that will affect its success are:

• The list or audience you target
• The offer or promotion you make
• The creative execution you choose

There are some important things to remember when designing a direct marketing campaign. Research has shown that each of the success factors is not equal. In fact, most experts estimate that 80 percent of your success is related to the audience you target and the offer you make to this target audience. Knowing this affects how you develop your direct marketing campaign.

The first question you need to answer is, "Who is the customer?" This sounds simple, but most companies struggle with this question. It is important to know if you are targeting consumers or businesses because if you are targeting a business you must understand who the decision-makers are in the business. Also, it is important to understand what other groups have an interest in, or influence the purchase decision, and the criteria used for evaluating your product or service.

With consumers, the process is much different. Many purchases are influenced by friends or family. Additionally, purchases sometimes come down to more emotional factors that really make it important to understand the benefits your product delivers to the consumer and not just the features. Also, consumers make decisions based on impulse or emotion, which requires a much different approach to the offer and presentation of your product and service.

The more you understand about the demographics, motivations, and needs of your target customers the more effective you can be are at meeting their needs. Never underestimate the value of targeting the RIGHT customers.

The second area to focus on when developing a direct marketing campaign is the offer or sales proposition. There are four key components to any offer:

• Product or service features and benefits
• Price and payment options
• Incentives – free gift, rebates, etc.
• Any special or qualifying conditions

Each sales proposition should be unique, differentiate your from your competition, and be strong enough to motivate the customer to action. The type of action you are attempting to solicit also affects the offer. If you are attempting to generate leads, you may want to include a strong incentive to call you for more information. If you are attempting to make an initial sale, your offer may need to include an incentive for purchasing now. Again, the offer you make must be tailored to the audience and action you are trying to solicit.

The final factor that affects the success of your direct marketing campaign is the creative execution. It is important that your creative strategically communicates the following to a potential customer:

• Authority – Why should your potential customer believe the promises you make?
• Value – Much more than price. Is the product worth it to me?
• Clear Call to Action – Does the consumer clearly what you want them to do?

As the business climate gets ever more competitive, is it important that businesses measure the effectiveness and profitability of marketing efforts. Direct response marketing is a very unique way for businesses to accurately measure the return from marketing campaigns, and target specific groups of consumers. The key to any successful direct marketing campaign is the research and testing that take place before and after your mail piece hits the street.

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About the author:
Prior to joining Logoworks as Vice President of Acquisition Marketing, Allen worked in Business Development and Marketing at MyFamily.com. During his time there, MyFamily.com quadrupled its subscriber base and grew revenue 5X, establishing one of the largest privately held Internet companies in the world.

Sources:
Response: The Complete Guide to Profitable Direct Marketing by Lois Geller
Power Direct Marketing by Ray Jutkins
Catalog Copy that Sizzles by Herschell Gordon Lewis

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