Slicing The Pie With Direct Response Marketing
Direct response marketing is a widely-used form of marketing in which the company allows consumers to purchase products instantly, or order and receive them within minutes. Direct response marketing includes TV advertising and infomercials, radio commercials, email marketing, online display ads, and mail-order catalogs.[i]
In this post we will discuss how you can use direct response marketing to drive more sales by providing customers with instant gratification. To start off we will explore how direct response benefits both marketers and consumers. Then we will look at some examples of different types of direct response campaigns used in the past. Finally, we will discuss some ways you can use direct response marketing to sell your products and services.
Direct Response Benefits Marketers
Direct response marketing allows marketers to create a direct tie between the medium used and the product being advertised. In other words, when you are using direct response marketing, the consumer knows exactly what they are getting.[ii] This is a benefit primarily because it allows companies to measure how effective their campaigns are much more easily than with other advertising techniques. When consumers know exactly what they are purchasing before they purchase it, they will tend to be more open to purchasing your product. This is especially true when the sales pitch is short and concise.
Direct Response Benefits Consumers
When you are using direct response marketing, the consumer knows what they are purchasing before they purchase it. This shortens the sales cycle, which allows companies to capture a greater percentage of the consumer's decision-making process. In addition, products or services that are purchased through direct response marketing tend to have a higher perceived value than other products or services that are purchased at retail.[iii]
Direct Response Example #1: The "Free" Bottle Of Wine
I am sure that everyone has heard of the wine group at their office purchasing a case of wine and hanging it up to encourage people to drink more wine. This is a direct response marketing campaign that is used by many groups and departments. This type of promotion requires little more than the group purchasing the wine to hang it on the wall. The only cost incurred by the group is to pay for the can of spray paint needed to paint a single large advertisement.
Direct Response Example #2: Free Wedding Invitations
Another well-known direct response example is when your company or private foundation sends out free wedding invitations to couples who have signed up for your mailing list. There is no cost to the couple and the only cost incurred is the price of the mailing list. Couples who were interested in your products or services will be prompted to purchase those products at a later date through your direct mail marketing campaign.
Direct Response Example #3: Free T-Shirts
Some companies offer free T-shirts with advertisements on them. For example, if you are selling T-shirts from your website, you might want to include a direct response advertisement in one of your T-shirt designs. The advertisement can tie into your product by saying something like "80% cotton 20% polyester" or "Made with recycled materials" or something similar regarding the material used to make it. There are many options for these types of campaigns and you can find successful examples by looking at the different websites that sell T-shirts for promotional purposes.
Another option is to sell your own T-shirts with your company's logo plastered on it. You can either pay someone to promote these shirts or sell them yourself using an online storefront, such as CafePress.com . These are much more costly than the free T-shirts that require no advertising, but they have a much higher perceived value and can be used a lot longer in your marketing campaign.
Direct Response Example #4: Free Screen Savers
Another way you can use direct response marketing to promote your brand is by creating screen savers that promote your products and services. You can then use software such as givefreesavers.com to distribute them for free on the Internet. You can also create the screen savers yourself using a program like Adobe Photoshop, or give away pre-made screen savers found on other websites such as freewallpaper-download.net .
Direct Response Example #5: Free Design Advice
Another option is to offer free design advice or guidance in exchange for the customer signing up for your mailing list. Although this is not a direct response marketing campaign, it can be used in conjunction with direct response marketing. For example, you could include a small sentence at the bottom of your web pages that promote's your product or service and directs customers to your website. If you are running a business selling custom Web Designs or graphic designs, this may prompt some customers to contact you directly in order to get their designs completely free because they know they will have to pay a fee if they contact you later.
Direct Response Example #6: Free Ebooks
One more way is to give away free e-books that advertise your products or services in exchange for the customer signing up for your mailing list. Many companies have found success selling ebooks that are written by their in-house authors. You can purchase the e-books using your website using the pay-per-sale method discussed in "How to Sell Products and Services Using Direct Response Marketing: The Pay Per Sale Method" page.
Direct Response Example #7: Free Marketing Tools
One way to promote your products or services is by giving away free marketing tools such as coupons, information packets or promotional items. For example, you could create a coupon if you sell cleaning supplies and then send it out with each shipment of cleaning supplies you send out. You could also create an information packet that contains information about your company and direct customers to your website in order to learn more about your products or services. You could even include a direct response advertisement that redirects them to your website.
Direct Response Example #8: Free Customer Service Training
As mentioned many times previously in this article, providing excellent customer service can help you when using direct response marketing strategies. When you provide excellent customer service, you are building up what is known as "reputation capital" with your customers and clients. This means that when a new product or service needs to be purchased, they will think of you first because of the positive experience they had with your business.
One way you can build this reputation capital is by using direct response marketing to promote your customer service training programs. For example, if you provide customer service training courses, you could promote them through a direct mail campaign that is focused on promoting your customer service training. You could also promote these courses online via an online storefront such as shop.com or make sales from your blog posts, website and through information packets.
Direct Response Example #9: Free Giveaways
Another way you can use direct response marketing to make money is by running free giveaways for products or services of the same value. This can be done through contest drawings, sweepstakes or other free giveaway programs such as freecoupongiveaway.com .
Conclusion
Direct response marketing is a highly effective way to advertise your products or services online and offline. It targets the individual consumer in a way that other forms of advertising cannot, making it an extremely powerful marketing tool. By using direct response marketing, you will be able to convert more visitors into customers and increase your profits exponentially.
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For more information on direct response marketing, see my book Make Money With Direct Response Marketing: http://www.makemoneywithdirectresponsemarketing.