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Direct response and the coarsening of culture
Jan 4th
Direct response advertising to strangers is demanding. You pay for your click or you pay for your stamp and then you get a shot at making a sale. No sale, no revenue, no revenue, no more stamps.
As a result, direct marketers sometimes race to the bottom. They sell what sells the first time, and use the words that work right now. If the largest conversion rate is for a flat belly diet, then it’s the flat belly diet that gets sold. The public gets what it wants.
And what does the mass public want? Shortcuts. Discounts. Claims. No room for subtlety or even innovation.
Yes, there are great products sold by direct marketing, but in most cases, those products were dreamed up and refined and beloved in a less measurable world.
In a world that was 90% retailers and pr and word of mouth, the direct response around the edges was no big deal. It brings us the Veg-o-matic and bald spot hairspray, but it doesn’t really direct the culture.
Here’s the thing: going forward, just about all the growth in marketing spend is happening on the direct response side. Google ads, email campaigns–these are measured in percentage points and in clicks. Without the tastemaking sensibilities of the buyer at Bloomingdale’s or the quality guys at Fisher Price, the urge to compromise/shorten/cheapen/overpromise/dumb down is almost overwhelming.
It’s already happening to TV and music. (The label doesn’t have to please the music-loving program director. It has to please the YouTube clicking teen.) It’s likely to happen to your industry soon as well.
People who have never sold advertising sometimes point out that a new form of advertising is better because it’s more measurable, because it provides exact data instead of clumsy diary systems. Do you see that most advertisers don’t actually want better data? If you’re not sure what’s working, you can’t get blamed. And since you can’t get blamed, you get to decide, to be creative, to create stories and fables, instead of merely being Mr. Ronco selling the bassomatic, at the mercy of anyone with a telephone.
Measurable isn’t always the only thing that matters.
View full post on Seth’s Blog
Best Lead Qualifying Tool for Mlm & Direct Sales
Sep 29th
Huge market of multi-level marketing distributors seek way to qualify leads. This simple e-book is their answer. Pitch page promotes e-book: About 10 Things You Must Know Before Joining an Mlm . Niches: Mlm , direct marketing, direct sales, and many more
Best Lead Qualifying Tool for Mlm & Direct Sales
Direct Sales Success-Little Black Book Of Home Party Marketing Secrets
Aug 16th
Home Party Plans And Direct Sales Marketing Success Blueprint Known Only To A Closed Door Group Of Marketers! This A Step by Step Guide For Home Party Consultants On How To Increase Home Party Sales All This Right From The Comfort Of Their Own Homes
Direct Sales Success-Little Black Book Of Home Party Marketing Secrets
Direct Response Marketing
Jul 5th
The biz-op industry is all about upsells. No matter what product you have you can use these tools to create the ultimate in upsells. On average you should be taking one $50 sale and turn it into an addionaiol $1,000. Complete Biz-Op System inside!!
Direct Response Marketing
Read Buy Now and Get Profit Making Tips From a Direct Response Marketing Master
Jul 2nd
Rick Cesari (@cesaridrtv) is a regular guy who did what every businessperson is supposed to do and talks about doing but rarely does. He spotted a trend, turned it into an opportunity and created millions in sales. And now, he’s sharing his stories, insights and experiences in his book, Buy Now: Creative Marketing That Gets Customers to Respond to You and Your Product.
I received a review copy from Rick’s team and also had the opportunity to chat with Rick and ask him a few behind the scenes questions. I found him to be extremely engaging and fun to talk to; he was full of ideas and stories that made it hard to hang up!
How Rick Cesari’s Story Changed Direct Marketing
Rick’s story begins like many of ours. He went to college and got a summer job as a lifeguard. One of the ways he could make extra cash as a lifeguard was to sell suntan lotion. This is where he learned to use a winning formula to make extra money: Present a problem, offer a solution and then explain how his product was better than anything else out on the market today. It wasn’t just a winning formula for selling suntan lotion, it was a winning formula for selling some of the most successful products of the last 30 years.
In the late 1970s, Cesari got involved with real estate. Rick produced real estate seminars that ended up making more money for the real estate gurus than their real estate strategies ever did. And when Ronald Reagan deregulated television in 1982, this changed everything. Before 1982 advertisers could only purchase 8 minutes of advertising an hour. But after deregulation, they could purchase an hour of advertising time! Cesari knew he was on to something. He would use the lessons he learned by selling suntan lotion and real estate to revolutionize direct response marketing.
Buy Now is a terrific combination of real life case studies and lessons in direct response marketing. Just because you have no intention of creating an infomercial doesn’t mean that you have nothing to learn from this book. In fact, the core principles behind each and every example such as SoniCare Toothbrushes or the OxyClean brand has something wonderful to offer for every entrepreneur, business owner or sales and marketing professional.
Take the Time to Test for Increased Profitability
Here is a terrific example from Chapter 14 titled, “The Offer Is King.” If you think that the price level drives the offer, you would be wrong. Selling product is more about the offer than the price. Rick recommends having a variety of different offers to test. “You will always be tempted to test an offer that makes YOU the most money upfront. That’s not smart and it’s not accurate.”
Cesari goes on to share a powerful story of a piece of exercise equipment that was in the $200 price range. Of course they had a payment plan. First they tried three payments of $79. They couldn’t break even. Then they tried six payments of $39 – that did even worse. Finally they did something completely different. They offered a trial payment of $14.95 for the first 30 days. They used the increased call volume to research other price points and actually settled on $700!
As it turned out, when the consumers saw the $200 price tag, they assumed the machine was low quality – and didn’t buy. But once they had it in their home, they were able to justify a much higher price.
Another of my favorite sections is the discussion about why everything is priced at $19.95 and $39.95. Would you believe that this isn’t true – it just seems that way!
After running many tests, Cesari found that consumers see product price in terms of $20 increments; $19.95, $39.95, $49.95 and $59.95. In fact, when tested, consumers see very little difference between $29.95 and $39.95. The same is true at the $49.95 and $59.95 price points. Consumers just didn’t see that much of a difference in price – but you bet your bottom line will. This section alone can change your profitability almost immediately!
Who Should Read This Book
Buy Now is an ideal book for sales and marketing people, business owners and inventors. This is a book you will want to read with pen and paper by your side. My copy already has plenty of dog-eared highlights and underlines. The Cesari Direct website contains a video with a quick introduction to the book by Rick himself.
Cesari’s focus on the basics of tripping customer emotions and focusing on benefits that resonate with customers will inspire you to look at your marketing a whole new way.
Read Buy Now and Get Profit Making Tips From a Direct Response Marketing Master
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
31 Insiders’ Direct Marketing Ploys, by Drayton Bird – - 50
Jun 28th
Successful marketing guru Drayton Bird has a new e-book. His other books have been in print for 27 years and sold in over 50 countries. He offers a great guarantee too. Contact us if you want extra marketing resources.
31 Insiders’ Direct Marketing Ploys, by Drayton Bird – - 50
Is Direct Mail Dead or New Uses for Old Tactics
Jun 15th
Is Direct Mail Dead or New Uses for Old Tactics
This content from: Duct Tape Marketing
uzvards via Flickr
The first half of the title of this post is a question I get, in some variation, quite frequently these days. You could change the subject to email or face to face networking or press releases, but the implication is always that some long established marketing tactic has been supplanted by Twitter or Facebook.
My answer is always the same – nothing is dead – but the ways we use them have changed.
My take is that if you establish a strong marketing strategy, one that helps you build trust, and you fully understand the behavior and objectives of your ideal customer, then you can use almost any tactic to build your business.
In fact, some of the more “traditional” offline approaches have never been more effective when fused with technology and newer online approaches.
Digital has changed the customer communication environment fundamentally over the years and caused many to forgo the traditional broadcast tools.
But, smart marketers are discovering new ways to use old tools that are more in line with inbound marketing practices and are taking advantage of technology leaps to make a tactic like direct mail even more effective.
I return once again, as I do often, to my definition of marketing – getting someone who has a need to know, like and trust you – if you can find a way to use a tactic to do that, than no tactic is dead or even out of bounds.
Even the often maligned Twitter auto DM is fair game if you can find a way to use it to build trust – the fact is few can, but my point is there are no set rules or magic tactics in this game.
Here are a few examples of new uses for old tactics:
- Use variable data printing on demand printing to create highly personalized direct mail pieces with unique images, stories and calls to action based on your customer database. The technology is there to do this in small batches with hundreds of variations.
- Use technology to produce postcards that invite each recipient to a personal landing page that features information tailored to their interests and alerts a sales team to initiate a further contact.
- Use traditional broadcast and print advertising to drive prospects to a series of free online videos that educate, entertain and inform – oh, and build know, like and trust.
Reaching markets and creating buzz about our products and services still requires an integrated approach – that part won’t ever change, but before you drop a proven way to reach your prospects from the mix consider how you might use it build trust instead of move product.
View full post on Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing
Small Business News: Direct Marketing Diorama
Nov 18th
Not too long ago, we received a comment from a reader of our Small Business Trends small business news roundups on a post called “Marketing Mashup.” Though we ran through a wide variety of marketing techniques, the reader, “Mailing Lists,” found one conspicuously missing:
I am surprised that direct mail marketing was not mentioned? Advertising with mailing lists has consistently out performed any other form of marketing. I think the social media hype will wear off for small businesses. It seems to be more effective for larger already branded companies.
While I’m not sure we’d agree on the whole “social media is for big companies” thing, we heard ya. Not surprisingly, there’s plenty about direct marketing floating around on the Internet today. Can you say direct marketing renaissance? Here’s an overview of the latest on direct marketing in a mashup all its own, including how to integrate it with the dreaded social media revolution. Enjoy!
Direct Marketing Revolution?
What David Ogilvy would say about the state of direct marketing today. The British advertising executive once dubbed “The Father of Advertising” had some very distinct views about direct marketing, or “direct response advertising” as he called it. Though he is no longer with us, his wisdom still echoes in the digital world. In fact, one clip on the state of direct marketing as he saw it remains so popular that it is still being Tweeted today. Direct marketers, the future is yours! OgilvyGroup01
Old School
Is printed direct marketing still effective? Yes, printed advertising materials are still with us, and, by some accounts, will be for some time to come. But is it wise or cost effective to use printed direct marketing in a day and age of high printing and postage rates and free e-mail? The answer? It depends. Check out Scott’s full discussion on marketing with dead trees above. ScottFox.com
Dead tree direct mail stages come-back. While it may still remain the more expensive choice, direct mail that’s,…well, real honest to goodness mail may be experiencing a renaissance too. Have overuse of cheap e-mail marketing combined with the lower volume of the mail that actually comes to your door created a new opportunity for direct mail marketers? Direct Marketing News
Prospecting
How to use free eBooks to create a mailing list. Before you can create direct marketing online or off, of course, you must first build a list of prospects. Prospecting is not what it once was and an important step is to create a list of people actually interested in hearing from you in the future. A great way to do that, insists Shelly Kramer, is to offer them an eBook or other valuable content for free…in exchange for the right to stay in touch. V3
Strategy
How direct marketing saved whales from extinction. It’s not all about pushing product. In fact, direct marketing’s greatest devotees would argue the approach remains one of the most scalable methods for spreading just about any important message. Want more proof? Find out what Greenpeace and Amazon owe to DM techniques. Ogilvy Group UK
Metrics
How easy is it to measure your marketing success? Perhaps the best argument for including direct marketing in your playbook is that the results are easier to gauge than with some other approaches. Marketer Bruce Turkel gives a rather extreme example of how direct marketing operates at the most desperate levels. But, even higher up on the food chain, it’s helpful to remember that, where results are critical, a direct marketing approach can provide a realistic perspective. Turkel Talks
Video
Show don’t tell in your direct marketing campaign. The power and popularity of video on the Internet is already well-known, so coupling that power with direct marketing is an obvious step. John Sonnhalter argues for the value of video as a direct marketing tool over copy especially in businesses where a product or service can be easily demonstrated. Are you using the power of video in your direct marketing campaign? Tradesmen Insights
Small Business News: Direct Marketing Diorama
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Serp Dominance: An On-line Strategy to Maximize Consumer Direct Traffic
Oct 21st
Numerous studies have found that when a site has SERP dominance, (visible in both paid and organic search results) both results receive more clicks than if either appeared alone. When you
Adding Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising to your internet marketing plan will gain your company page dominance on the search engine result page (SERP) and drive more consumer direct traffic. Statistics show that having PPC advertising along with ranking high organically, increases a company’s click through rate by 77%.
One reason as to why page dominance creates higher click through rates, conversion rates, and revenue is: for many consumers, seeing a brand in several key locations on a search results page, builds the consumer’s confidence in your brand. When a consumer sees an ad on a SERP but doesn’t see the company listed anywhere in the organic search, they are less likely to trust where the ad link will take them. Seeing the ad and a well placed organic search listing, reinforces that your company or product is reputable.
Another online-strategy is bidding on your own business name. Kathleen Peters, .Com Marketing’s Senior Account Executive notes, “ competitors often bid on others’ branded names, but you will always score higher by search engines for your own name and thus, can push competitor results further down the page. This is the least expensive word you will bid on and gives you the best position, at the lowest price, when your business category is searched for”.
When you enter your company name into Google, you should dominate that page. Pay Per Click Advertising (PPC) combined with other Search Engine Optimization tactics such as, optimized press releases, blogs, microsites, etc. will help build SERP dominance of your brand.
View full post on .Com Marketing Blog | Internet Marketing Trends | Interactive Marketing
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Social Media Marketing Direct Path to Heaven
Aug 26th
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