The 7 Most Important Things to Know about Direct Marketing

The 7 Most Important Things to Know about Direct Marketing

1. What exactly is Direct Marketing

Direct marketing is more than just direct mail. It can be email, print advertising or even commercials. It is a communication designed to generate an immediate response, such as for a direct order, a sales lead or traffic for a business. The key is that the audience is enticed to respond right now.

With immediate response comes better measurement of return on investment. You'll know when people respond with inquiries, appointments or orders. And with careful tracking you'll also know who's responding, which offers work best and what creative really pulls them in.

2. Response Can Be Very Low

For many reasons: The people you are reaching may not need your service now. They may be flooded with marketing messages. They may be busy. They may have lost your package.

That's why communicating frequently, targeting the right people, reaching many people, and having a compelling offer and message are vital to breakthrough and get results that move your business forward.

In evaluating a direct marketing campaign it's important to look beyond response rate. For a fuller picture of how successful your program is, you'll need to understand:

Conversion Rate: What percentage of responders become customers?
Average Order: What is the average amount of the purchase?
Cost per Order or Cost per Inquiry: How much does it cost to get an order or inquiry. This figure allows you to compare different promotions.
Lifetime Value: How much do customers purchase over the life of their relationship with your company?
Breakeven Orders: What is the number of orders needed to cover the cost of the campaign, goods, fulfillment, etc.?
Breakeven Response Rate: What is the percentage of orders needed to breakeven?

3. The Audience is Everything

The mailing list, magazine readership or TV audience is the most important indicator of how well a direct marketing campaign will do.

The reason is simple. Your company can create the most beautiful direct mail package, ad or email the world has ever seen, but if the wrong people see it, all that work does little good. The key to successful direct marketing is to pinpoint the people most likely to want your offer and to reach them frequently with an offer they can't refuse.

4. The Offer Must Be Irresistible

So much is standing in the way of your audience contacting you: time, existing relationships, unfamiliarly with you or your service, and more. The job of the offer is to break your audience from inertia and get them to act now. So it's got to be good.

An offer is more than giveaways and price breaks. When your audience is evaluating your offer they are considering:

Your product or service
Pricing and Payment Terms
Special Incentives
Any Conditions

5. Successful Creative is All About the Customer

After the list and the offer, the direct marketing concept, copy and design are critical. With mere seconds to interest or lose your audience, direct marketing creative has to focus on that audience. What motivates them. What intrigues them. What interests them. What scares them. Direct marketing creative must answer their questions and their concerns.

The more targeted your audience the easier it will be for the creative to tap into its needs. Plus, direct marketing has an arsenal of techniques that have been proven to increase response. Without them, your campaign may be leaving money on the table. It's equally important to try something new to discover unique ways of grabbing interest.

6. Once is Never Enough

People are busy in life and at the office. Your mailing may get lost, be delivered to the wrong person or placed in a pile. An ad may not be noticed at first. The reader may not need your service this month or does need it but misplaced your information. Therefore it's best to develop campaigns, not one-shot pieces that keep your message present when needed.

7. Testing Saves Money and Improves Response

More than other marketing techniques, direct marketing lets you know what works. You only have to test it and track the response. Regular testing can tell you: which people and which offers give you higher response, what happens if you change your price, etc.

Because it's so important, which audience or lists respond better should be your first test. Once you pinpoint the right people for your message, move on to test your offer and how you present it. Remember to test one element at a time, so you know exactly what worked better.

Kemba Johnson is principal of Kemba Creative, a marketing communication company that creates the communication strategy, design and messaging to help companies get to the next stage of growth.

Want to put these strategies into action?

Let's talk about your goals, your challenges and your customers. You'll gain clarity and be on the road to bigger business and more loyal customers.

Contact me
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Phone: 404-223-1025

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	Tips & Strategies Articles Tools	The 7 Most Important Things to Know about Direct Marketing 1. What exactly is Direct Marketing Direct marketing is more than just direct mail. It can be email, print advertising or even commercials. It is a communication designed to generate an immediate response, such as for a direct order, a sales lead or traffic for a business. The key is that the audience is enticed to respond right now. With immediate response comes better measurement of return on investment. You'll know when people respond with inquiries, appointments or orders. And with careful tracking you'll also know who's responding, which offers work best and what creative really pulls them in. 2. Response Can Be Very Low For many reasons: The people you are reaching may not need your service now. They may be flooded with marketing messages. They may be busy. They may have lost your package. That's why communicating frequently, targeting the right people, reaching many people, and having a compelling offer and message are vital to breakthrough and get results that move your business forward. In evaluating a direct marketing campaign it's important to look beyond response rate. For a fuller picture of how successful your program is, you'll need to understand: Conversion Rate: What percentage of responders become customers? Average Order: What is the average amount of the purchase? Cost per Order or Cost per Inquiry: How much does it cost to get an order or inquiry. This figure allows you to compare different promotions. Lifetime Value: How much do customers purchase over the life of their relationship with your company? Breakeven Orders: What is the number of orders needed to cover the cost of the campaign, goods, fulfillment, etc.? Breakeven Response Rate: What is the percentage of orders needed to breakeven? 3. The Audience is Everything The mailing list, magazine readership or TV audience is the most important indicator of how well a direct marketing campaign will do. The reason is simple. Your company can create the most beautiful direct mail package, ad or email the world has ever seen, but if the wrong people see it, all that work does little good. The key to successful direct marketing is to pinpoint the people most likely to want your offer and to reach them frequently with an offer they can't refuse. 4. The Offer Must Be Irresistible So much is standing in the way of your audience contacting you: time, existing relationships, unfamiliarly with you or your service, and more. The job of the offer is to break your audience from inertia and get them to act now. So it's got to be good. An offer is more than giveaways and price breaks. When your audience is evaluating your offer they are considering: Your product or service Pricing and Payment Terms Special Incentives Any Conditions 5. Successful Creative is All About the Customer After the list and the offer, the direct marketing concept, copy and design are critical. With mere seconds to interest or lose your audience, direct marketing creative has to focus on that audience. What motivates them. What intrigues them. What interests them. What scares them. Direct marketing creative must answer their questions and their concerns. The more targeted your audience the easier it will be for the creative to tap into its needs. Plus, direct marketing has an arsenal of techniques that have been proven to increase response. Without them, your campaign may be leaving money on the table. It's equally important to try something new to discover unique ways of grabbing interest. 6. Once is Never Enough People are busy in life and at the office. Your mailing may get lost, be delivered to the wrong person or placed in a pile. An ad may not be noticed at first. The reader may not need your service this month or does need it but misplaced your information. Therefore it's best to develop campaigns, not one-shot pieces that keep your message present when needed. 7. Testing Saves Money and Improves Response More than other marketing techniques, direct marketing lets you know what works. You only have to test it and track the response. Regular testing can tell you: which people and which offers give you higher response, what happens if you change your price, etc. Because it's so important, which audience or lists respond better should be your first test. Once you pinpoint the right people for your message, move on to test your offer and how you present it. Remember to test one element at a time, so you know exactly what worked better. Kemba Johnson is principal of Kemba Creative, a marketing communication company that creates the communication strategy, design and messaging to help companies get to the next stage of growth. Want to put these strategies into action? Let's talk about your goals, your challenges and your customers. You'll gain clarity and be on the road to bigger business and more loyal customers. Contact me Visit me Phone: 404-223-1025		Related Content Services Learn about the steps we take to make direct marketing and advertising effective. Read more>

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