Download direct response marketing and more Study notes Marketing in PDF only on Docsity!
DIRECT MARKETING RESPONSE
DEFINITION
- Direct response marketing is a type of marketing that elicits a specific, measured response that is resulting from a consumer's direct response to a marketer. Direct response marketing facilitates the delivery of call to action and outcome via direct or online interaction for immediate feedback and response.Direct response marketing allows marketers to understand the performance of their products or services without undergoing a waiting period.
- Direct response marketing is a type of sales technique designed to evoke on-the-spot response and encourage a prospective customer to take action by opting in advertiser’s offer. Unlike other marketing types, the direct response requires little or no time waiting to see measurable results. It packages the value proposition and call-to-action all in one to take a prospects consideration to decision faster.
KEY COMPONENTS OF DIRECT RESPONSE MARKETING
Advertising that supports direct marketing is intended to sell products immediately, hence the ad and the buying decision are consecutive. Direct response ad must trigger an instant feedback; otherwise, it fails. A typical direct response ad necessarily includes the following elements:
An offer : An “offer” is a combination of factors such as product itself, the cost per unit, trial
period, terms, optional features, guarantee, incentives, future obligations, time o quantity limit,
shipping and handling, etc. Very often, the aim of the offer is no sell anything, rather get the prospect’s interest and lead him to the next action. Usually, the offer is fixed on a prospect and
appeals to their emotions, desires, frustrations and fears.
Information : A direct response ad must have enough information for customer consideration
and immediate acceptance of the offer. As a rule, the less famous the product is, the more information needed. On average, the advertiser has 4 seconds to grab the attention of the
recipient, thus the message must be personalised, relevant and persuasive. Advertisers provide reasons to accept the offer and highlight the value of the offering, including information about
why this product is better than others available.
Call to action and means of response : Every direct response ad includes a clear call to action,
compelling a visitor to do something specific. A few common examples are: Use this coupon at the counter, Contact us immediately by calling this number.
BENEFITS OF DIRECT RESPONSE MARKETING
Trackable performance
When a user responds (clicks, signs up, etc.), the advertiser knows exactly which ad and which
media generated that impression. advertisers can determine whether ads are effective, which target group is affected by the ad the most, what is the engagement rate, what amount of clicks is
generated daily and so on; all data is simply displayed on the dashboard..
Measurable outcomes
Since advertisers know precisely, which ads are being responded to and how much revenue is
coming from each one, they can easily evaluate the campaign performance. For this reason, direct response is one possible way to test the scale of consumer responses with a small campaign
before launching a full-volume campaign.
Targeting specific audiences.
While branding campaign targets everybody in order to promote the brand awareness, the direct response is all about people who are most likely interested in the product. Prospects within
specific verticals, geographic zones or niche markets are targeted. The ad aims to appeal to a narrow target market.
Precise segmentation.
Marketers can develop effective segmentation strategies by buying a list of potential consumers,
for example, new car buyers, credit card users, clothing shoppers and so on. With programmatic advertising, advertisers can use ad networks that specialise in types of content they cover, like
entertainment, beauty, travelling, foods, etc. These websites would be then grouped into vertical channels and sold out to the advertisers who wish to reach out people interested in these
topics. Alternatively, some ad networks sell audience segments built on demographic, behavioral data or user interests.
- DIRECT RESPONSE TELEVISION
The direct marketing uses of television include direct response and support infomercials and home shopping channels. Television can be used for sales or lead generation. When it is used to generate sales .those who respond to the programming place an order but when they ask for more information they provide a lead for the firm in its pursuit of sales .direct response television ask for an immediate decision from the viewer or reader .In direct response television the age, education, and income of many prospect are known in advance as the time, or night they watch television and seasonality of their buying habbits. Direct response advertisers also know the approximate number of viewers for a show and which program will encourage responsiveness to an offer. Offer that work on direct response television must appeal to general audiences or to audiences that are Segmented by the demographics by which television programming is sold particularly by age and gender or by the programming content in which they are shown.
INFORMERCIALS
An infomercial is a form of television commercial, which generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of direct response television (DRTV), long-form
- The limited geographical reach of most stations and their specialized programming formats attract audiences that tend to be quite homogeneous in terms of demographics and lifestyles
- Radio advertising is relatively cheap compared to print or television advertising
- Scripted data no excessive preparation required, radio advertisement can be changed easily
- Radio is portable and mass medium that people use while driving, clean the house or mow the lawn. TV advertising requires people to sit in front of their TV, print ads and web require focused attention on the page or screen. But you can listen to the radio while doing other things
Disadvantages of radio vs other media
- lack of permanence because If an ad in a newspaper or magazine catches your eye, you can crop and save, or at least take a picture of it. With the advent of the DVR, including television advertising you can rewind and watch again if it attracts the viewer’s interest. But radio ads are ephemeral: you hear them, and then it is gone. If you have lost a phone number or any other details mentioned in the notice, you’ll have to wait to be advertised again.
- it distracted the audience This is the other side of portability. People can listen to the radio while driving, and in doing so will not be able to act immediately to listen to advertisements. Nobody is going to stop on the highway, for example, to enter a number. Meanwhile, those who listen to the radio while working can be so focused on their tasks than ever logged.
- Unfortunately, many radio stations will air too many commercials during each stopset. That means listeners are exposed to too many ads at once, and your marketing might get lost in the mix. Working with the right radio partners can help choose the best stations — for instance, at Zimmer, we limit the number of spots per break, thus making each spot more powerful.
- Radio is similar to television in this respect. The commercial only lasts for the length of �me that it’s on the air, with no permanent, tangible reminders for reference. That’s why you need to develop crea�ve with an eye to its frequency to maximize impact.
THE ESSENCE OF DIRECT RESPONSE RADIO ADVERTISING
Experienced direct marketers know that radio needs special attention in order to produce sales .the commercial must be memorable particularly the phone number setup .because a large number of radio Listeners are in car ,it is especially important that they be able to remember what they heard without having to write any thing down. the phone number or mailing address must be announced several times In the course of a commercial.
Radio Station Formats
In using radio commercials it is important to consider a stations format because each station tends to have a different listening audience .Most radio commercial use music, but many use a non musical Script that is read either by the radio station show host live or by a recorded commercial that features a spokesperson. Radio is an emotional medium many people listen to it to change their mood .this means that better radio advertising makes an emotional pitch to its target the audience by way of music and words designed to deliver the selling message
Creating Radio Commercial
The main selling concept must be the star of the commercial it must not be dominated by creative concept .However this does not mean that selling needs to be boring .the product , the phone number , the offer or some relevant selling idea must be the main thrust of the radio spot , and it helps to use a standard format, but this still leaves room for creativity .the spot can focus on a straight announcer it can emphasize dialogue. From a creative standpoint radio might be the simplest advertising medium there is .With a straight forward radio spots are powerful, cheap and easy to produce.
- DIRECT RESPONSE IN PRINT MEDIA
Print media consists of magazines and newspapers
a. Magazines - usually have national distribution but their circulation is targeted to specific
reader interests.
b. Newspapers - circulate in small or regional geographic areas.
Direct response magazine and newspaper space advertising must ask the reader to do something .To make a sale, the ad must present enough information to stimulate a purchase decision or generate an Inquiry which will be followed up by mail or personal sales call.
Magazines and newspapers that contain a heavy volume of direct response ads usually outperform those that do not have many such ads. We believe this to be true because particular magazines or newspapers have readers with a positive attitude toward direct marketing activities.
- Business magazines include three types: 1. Trade papers which appeal to retailers,
wholesalers and other distributors; 2 Industrial magazines, which appeal to those
in manufacturing; 3 Professional magazines, which appeal to those in medicine,
law, marketing, etc.
- Business publications are often read during working hours so readers can
be easily motivated to give a positive direct response with few distractions
- They also reach directly the persons who have responsibility for the items
being promoted
Direct Response In Magazine
Direct response advertising in consumer magazines is dominated by ads for music and self help products or services.Aside from ads in general business magazines such as fortune or business week, direct response ads in business publications tend to focus on the products and services of most interests to the specific magazines readership.similarly for consumer publications the most specialized magazines contain ads for product and services that are very specific to the editorial content of the magazine.
NEWSPAPERS
Newspapers are classified according to their frequency of publication, with some
published daily and some published weekly. Newspaper advertising is a great resource for
direct marketers, as it provides exposure to some of the most coveted demographics throughout all the major markets. As with any other direct response advertisement, newspaper direct response ads are designed to elicit an immediate response from the reader.The headline should be attention grabbing, the copy should be clear and convincing, and the call to action should be explicit.
Advantages of Newspapers
- Frequency. Most newspapers, with the exception of small suburban and rural papers,, publish six or seven times per week, and some large papers offer both morning and evening editions.
- Immediacy. For black-and-white advertising, the close time (the time by which the ad must be submitted for inclusion in a particular edition) is often only 48 hours prior to publication.
- Reach. Newspapers offer high penetration of households in their primary geographical area. Big papers offer zones editions, where they break out their territory. A 50 percent penetration of households in a locality is not uncommon, and some newspapers have a penetration of 70 percent or more.
- Local shopping reference. Readers expect to see notices of sales, special events
- Fast response. Since most newspapers are a daily medium, the direct marketer knows quickly whether a particular offer is producing a satisfactory response.
Terminology
Run of Paper (ROP) - advertising can appear on any page, in any position in a column, or even buried among other ads. The choice of where the ad will appear is up to the editor. You can pay extra for placement.
Display advertising - uses photos, illustrations, white space or color
Classified advertising - is arranged under subheads according to what product or service is being advertised.
Classified display = arranged under subheads but allows some art work.
Freestanding Inserts - FSI - are produced by the advertiser and shipped to the newspaper who becomes the distributor. They offer a great deal of flexibility to the marketer.
Supplements - are printed as magazines and inserted into newspapers, usually in the Sunday edition.
Direct Response In Newspaper
Newspapers are the major advertising medium for direct response retailers that operate store locations, banks and other similar retail locations .Newspaper fit retail communication well because of their circulation distribution in specific guides .newspapers may also be distinguished on the basis of the audience they attract .Thus in addition to the general interst newspapers there are many newspapers that cater to special groups such as foreign language papers and trade similar to that of other newspapers.
- BUSINESS TO BUSINESS DIRECT RESPONSE MARKETING
Business to business marketers uses direct marketing to sell their offerings to organizational buyers rather than individual consumers. Business to business transactions typically have a longer sales cycle. Sales in business markets take place over a longer period of time as compared to consumer markets. Therefore, the most important role of direct marketing in business to business transactions is to support personal selling. Visits by sales people may be preceded by telemarketing or use of direct response advertising or direct mailers to generate some leads.
Objectives of business to business direct marketing
- Usage rates - heavy versus medium versus light users (based on unit or dollar sales or number of orders)
- Benefit segmentation - rational benefits dominate. For example, with computers for the company high processing speed, network compatibility, and reliability.
- Industrial Classification (SIC) Codes - are based on business activities in the United States. Agriculture, Mining, Construction, Manufacturing, retail trade, financial services, etc.
- End Use - the final application of the product by a particular industry.
- TELE MARKETING AS DIRECT RESPONSE TOOL
Another common form of direct marketing is telemarketing, in which marketers contact customers by phone. The primary benefit to businesses is increased lead generation, which helps businesses increase sales volume and customer base. The most successful telemarketing service providers focus on generating more "qualified" leads that have a higher probability of getting converted into actual sales
- Telemarketing can be important part of an intigrated marketing communication program
- The telemarketing objective is to reach customers in a personalized ,cost effective interaction that meets customer needs.
- A well planned tele phone marketing program is a carefully thought out and controlled activity in which the persons called have been identified as actual or potential members of the firm target market.
- Tele marketing helps build and maintain satisfactory customer relationship .the most effective telemarketing programs make use of the latest technologies including communications hardware and software particularly data base technologies.
- (^) Telemarketing is a powerful tool because it has the ability to create a positive image through a personal interaction with a customer or prospect.
Telemarketing methods are categorized as
Inbound call: The customers are calling a firm to place an order or to request more information or customer service. Because of this, most inbound call centers are customer service focused. Customers will call into these types of call centers when they need assistance with the product or service they specialize in.
Outbound call : the place where the firm is calling customers and prospects to make a sale or to offer information which it hopes will lead to sale. most outbound call centers are sales focused. this means that they’re targeting them for a sale.
THE SCOPE OF TELEMARKETING
No other direct marketing tool can match the cost effectiveness , flexibility , control and speed of telephone .telephones are more useful to get good results.
Selling : Telemarketing based selling involves outgoing solicitations for a firms product or service .selling by telephone is the most profitable telemarketing application .with exsisting customers it can be used to elicit reorders ,sell additional product or services or increase the volume of product purchased .it can also resell inactive customer ,sell new prospects and handle smaller customer. Telemarketing is used in conjuction with some other method of promotion to elicit a direct response.
Setting qualified appointments : Setting qualified appointments involves calling prospects ,qualifying them and setting appointments for salespeople. Salespeople have a variety of duties including preparing and giving face to face presentations .A trained telemarketer set appointment for salespeople usually becomes more proefficent. Telemarkerters can do better because of their concentrated and entirely focused on prospecting.
Generating leads : A lead generating program provides a source of information about prospects who have expressed an interst in the product or service offered by a firm. Outbound telemarket -ing is only as effective as the prospect list it uses. A firm can have the best product or service in
- DIRECT RESPONSE FROM SOCIAL MEDIA
In the world of social media, every tweet, post and image can feel like a direct response appeal; there’s always a link to click, a question to answer or a status to share
More and more, customers are turning to social media to decide what to purchase, and from where. Clearly, consumers expect some benefit from following brands on social media, and direct response marketing can address this by encouraging them to take advantage of special opportunities. But as objectives vary from industry to industry, so does the success of various types of messaging.
More than any other form of digital marketing, social media meets the three keys for direct response, particularly now that the platforms have reached a new maturity and are incorporating advertising tools:
Social media helps your media agency reach out to a targeted group of consumers
on a large scale. The growth of Facebook, Twitter and other social networks has been
revolutionary. Millions of people are logging into social media each day and spending more time there. As the numbers of users rise, the platforms have begun segmenting their audiences in order to serve more relevant content as well as advertising. Social platforms provide a number of different tools that your direct response marketing agency can use to weed out unqualified prospects and serve ads to those that are most likely to take action.
Social media offers tools to tune offers to meet the needs of specific segments of that
audience. Before social media, this type of digital direct response was done primarily through
content management systems. Now, content management systems are used as landing pages for social advertising. Based on incoming traffic, these pages can be tuned and delivered in order to optimize conversions.
Social media can provide multiple optimization levers for your direct response
advertising agency. There are a plethora of levers that can be used to create higher conversion
levels for your social media campaigns. For example, creating bulk mobile conversion pages that
are optimized for specific segments and groups can help your media agency see what is working and what is failing. Retargeting and behavioral segmentation can also be used more easily
through social media platforms, leading to even better conversion rates.
