Many companies that use direct marketing to generate sales leads repeatedly get poor results and can’t figure out why. There is a saying that the definition of a fool is a person who keeps doing the same things while expecting different results. Sadly, many people repeat the same mistakes in their direct response marketing campaigns and remain surprised when they don’t get the response they are expecting.
Don’t be one of those people – by taking steps to avoid making the common mistakes discussed in this article you will improve your chances of getting a good response from your direct marketing campaigns.
1) Wrong targets
The most important part of any direct response marketing campaign is not the design of the material or the copywriting, it is the people you send it to – your target audience. It is possible for identical marketing material to be distributed to two different target audiences and get wildly different response rates. It is, therefore, important for you to have a very clear understanding of what your ideal customers ‘look’ like and then target them with your marketing materials. The most effective way to do this is to make use of demographic analysis and profiling.
For further information on this topic, read my article entitled “The Importance of Demographics in Direct Marketing”.
2) No testing and measuring
Testing and measuring is a very important in any form of direct marketing. If you don’t test and measure you will effectively be shooting in the dark, not just with one campaign but with every campaign you ever run.
By testing all aspects of your direct marketing campaigns, from different materials to different contact lists to different offers, etc. you will be able to work out what works and what does not. Then, when you find what works best, repeat it on an increasingly larger scale, always continuing to test and measure the results to ensure that it is continuing to produce expected results.
3) No offer
Like all other forms of marketing, Direct Marketing is a highly competitive field. Remember that you are competing with hundreds, if not thousands, of other companies who are fighting for the attention of your potential customers who are being bombarded with marketing messages from many different sources.
Consequently, you need to make your marketing material stand out from the crowd. One way to do this is with an outstanding offer. It is the offer that persuades readers to choose your product or service over what your competitors are selling. Your offer must differentiate you from the competition by way of price, terms, guarantees or extras.
4) All about you
This may be a bit of a shock but people are not interested in you or your company or your products and services. They are interested in what your company and its products and services can do for them. This sounds pretty obvious yet how much marketing material do you receive that focuses on the company of the features of the product or service they are selling.
If you want your direct marketing material to have impact, ensure that all of the messages are aimed at the prospect and say everything from the prospect’s point of view – don’t begin your copy with “we” when you can begin with “you.”
For further information, see our article “Focus on Benefits, not Features”
5) Slow in getting to the point
You have a maximum two seconds to get the reader’s attention. If you have not gained their attention by then your marketing material is either heading for the bin or it’s already there.
Don’t make the mistake of a slow build-up – get straight to the point and put your strongest selling point (or benefit) in the first line of copy. Give them a reason to continue reading. For more information, see our article “Does Your Headline Sell?”
6) Poor follow-up
There is no point in putting a lot of effort into generating great direct marketing material and ensuring that it is delivered to your ideal target customers if you are not ready to deal with the resulting enquiries. If you are slow to respond to the leads that your direct marketing campaign generates it would have almost have been better never to have started in the first place.
Make sure that you are ready to deal with enquires and ensure that all leads are followed up within 48 hours, ideally within 24 hours. To do this you should have worked out exactly how you are going to handle enquiries before you start your campaign and have all of the relevant material ready to go. If you are going to follow-up by telephone, make sure that the people who are on the ‘phone are comfortable with telesales and have an appropriate script.
7) No time limit
Don’t make the mistake of allowing your potential customers to put off responding to your direct marketing material until they forget about it all together. The best way to avoid this is to put a time limit on your offer and make that time limit crystal clear in your literature. You may also consider making a special offer to those who respond quickly. This does not necessarily have to be a time limit. You could, for example, say something like “The first 50 people to respond will receive a further 10% discount”.
8) No call to action
Finally, the whole point of direct response marketing is to encourage potential customers to buy your products or services so make sure that you know what action they have to take in order to make a purchase.
If you don’t ask for a response, you won’t get one. Tell your potential customers exactly what to do and make it as easy as possible. Some examples include a free telephone number, a pre-paid response card, an e-mail address or web site address. Whatever method you choose, make sure that it is appropriate to your audience.
