To learn more about direct marketing consider that direct marketing can be broken into two groups: business-to-business and business-to-consumer. These two groups share many of the same strategies and tools measuring effectiveness; however, business-to-business make decisions differently and may have different targets including achieving a return on investments.
There are several tips that Drayton Bird discusses to educate direct marketers about direct marketing, such as selecting a target and specifically marketing to the intended target. Begin your communication with information that addresses and interests them. You must learn to specifically define the personal benefits for the consumer.
Another tip that can assist us to learn about direct marketing is to get to the point. Be sure to present your information in a clear and concise manner. Answer every possible question that could potentially be asked about the question
Another essential piece of information that can help us learn about direct marketing is to realize the importance of print. Print is the outstanding choice of medium for direct marketing. Print is inexpensive to produce. Print is highly portable. With the availability of modern technology it is probable and highly possible to hone your target group or set of individuals.
No matter what avenue of direct marketing you choose to take, a key to learn about direct marketing is to continue to try new approaches and strategies. Research certain strategies and why they are more effective than other strategies.
The ultimate tip : “Keep on trying, keep on practicing, and keep on testing.” And continue to learn about direct marketing. It is our desire that no matter what business or adventure you are involved in that we provide the best information available to assist you in helping to see that your business grows and that we are a blessing to you.
Direct marketing is advertising from a manufacturer or front-end supplier directed to the ultimate consumer of a product or service. Another way of looking at direct marketing is selling to a consumer directly, whether is from a printed magazine campaign, TV or radio spot, or from a direct mail package. It means that salespeople are not physically moving your product; promotions are. Direct marketing is a simple approach but also can be useless if not done right.
In today's worldwide marketplace, direct marketing takes on many different shapes and sizes. Some companies use direct marketing as just one of the ways to sell their product. Others use direct mail ads exclusively to attract their buyers. For most, direct marketing is integrated into the entire scope of a marketing campaign.
Smart direct marketing people are using more and more sophisticated ways to reach their target market. Databases are used to examine who would be their most likely customers. Their habits are tracked in a number of ways including questionnaires, polls, studies, and by placing “cookies” on their computers to track their movements on the Web.
The most common and most recognized form of direct marketing is a direct-mail campaign. A database is generated to form a list of potential customers and specific information and promotions are aimed especially for them. This gets the information directly into the hands of the people most likely to purchase the products being offered.
Direct marketing offers advantages over other forms of marketing such as network marketing and broadcast marketing. With direct marketing, you can target a very specific group. A company can make the campaign large or small, depending on their budget. Ads can be test marketed to see if the response rate is good before a larger campaign is started. Also, you can customize your direct marketing efforts to your former customers by compiling a database from past orders.
Direct marketing business strategies, often also referred to as B-to-B direct marketing can attribute success to five key principles. When developing your direct marketing business strategies, keep these strategies as a top priority as they are relevant to your marketing success.
One key principle of direct marketing business strategies is to always facilitate direct marketing as a selling process. This is where direct marketing business strategies differ from general marketing to a consumer. B-to-B direct marketing is not designed to increase brand awareness, position, entertain or enlighten.
A second key principle of direct marketing business strategies is to make the return on investment (ROI) your main target. Your goal should not be in changing mind set, but changing behavior. Only this action will lead to generating a lead or making a sale, which directly contributes to return on investment. In order to achieve the goal of return on investment you must set the following targets before your creative design is begun: revenue targets, closing rate targets and response rate targets, cost per lead targets and total budgets.
A third key principle of direct marketing business strategies is to use what is known as the “Reader Doesn’t Care” rule. Many forms of marketing communication projects a level of anticipation and excitement (also known as hype) that really isn’t there. Build your direct marketing business strategies around the ideas that the prospect doesn’t care about your company. The prospect does not care about your product or service. The prospect does not care about anything you have to tell them or sell them. If you base your development and strategies using these assumptions you will still bring in those who buy because they simply love to buy and those who buy out of desperation. More importantly these assumptions can lead you to bring in the marginal buyers also known as “fence sitters” – this is where the direct marketing competition is won or lost.
The forth key principle of direct marketing business strategies is to make your copy appeal to the buyer’s emotions, such as guilt, anger, fear, exclusivity, greed and salvation. They may not care what your product does, but they will care about what your project will do for them.
The fifth and final key of successful direct marketing business strategies is to test all hypotheses. Before executing a million dollar direct mail campaign, send out a test mailing, requesting feedback and response. The buyer will tell you how they want to buy; you simply have to test. By sticking to these simple direct marketing business strategies you can secure the direct marketing success of your company.
What are the benefits of direct marketing newspaper inserts? According to the Los Angeles Newspaper Group, the main reason to use direct marketing newspaper inserts is, “because it achieves saturation coverage and capitalizes on the appeal of direct marketing newspaper inserts to customers, newspaper is the preferred preprint delivery format of consumers.” Most basically said, this flexible preprint delivery program enables you to control precisely who receives your message.
The newspaper is a reliable vehicle of delivering information whether current events, the society pages, the letters to the editor, the crossword puzzle or ads of retailer giants which may include direct marketing newspaper inserts.
Consumers are conditioned to check these ads when considering a purchase. Because direct marketing has received a somewhat negative connotation, often being called “junk mail”, the utilization of delivery by means of the newspaper helps to avoid the negative perceptions sometimes associated with direct mail.
By using direct marketing newspaper inserts, you can count on 5 key benefits as compared to other saturation delivery programs. One of these key benefits is that you will be plugged into a confirmed audience. Your audience already places a value on and is willing to pay for the information that the newspaper provides. This audience is already conditioned to read the newspaper, including advertisements from major retailers and direct marketing newspaper inserts. Statistics show that 70% of adults agree that they have checked the weekday or Sunday paper inserts to help plan weekly shopping or make a purchasing decision.
A second key benefit of direct marketing newspaper inserts is that your reach will be more effective. Because the consumer already subscribes to the newspaper, you are guaranteed to literally get your foot in the door. Your message will avoid being perceived as “junk mail” because it is in good company along side national retail giants.
A third key benefit of direct marketing newspaper inserts is that you can easily target your audience by selecting the zip codes and income range of household coverage you need to increase direct marketing newspaper insert success. This allows you to choose the demographics that you company can target.
A fourth key benefit of direct marketing newspaper inserts is that the information vehicle, the newspaper, will allow you to have maximum efficiency eliminating duplication between households. Most households only receive one newspaper, so you are assured that they will only receive one advertisement.
A fifth and final key benefit of direct marketing newspaper inserts is convenience. The newspaper along with your direct marketing newspaper insert has delivery available both midweek and weekends.
All of these benefits make direct marketing newspaper inserts a powerful weapon in your direct mail arsenal.
While direct marketing objectives and strategies come in all shapes and sizes, there are several characteristics of direct marketing that every plan must include to ensure success.
A main characteristic of direct marketing are what marketers call the “3 C’s” of direct marketing. The 3 C’s of direct marketing required to maximize the chances for direct mail success are that the direct mail campaign needs to be clear, concise and compelling. Every piece of information that you send, whether a physical piece of mail or an e-mail, needs to contain information that is present in a clear and concise manner. After all, confusion is never a good sales strategy, yet one of the main characteristic of direct marketing that you find in your mailbox and inbox is anything but clear or concise.
If you are using language that contains jargon and unfamiliar industry language, it is most certain that your mail will be tossed in the trash or deleted.
The third characteristic of direct marketing, the third “C”, is that each piece of mail sent needs to be compelling. This simply means that the customer needs to be prompted to read the direct mail piece and ultimately take immediate action. Whether it involves making that call,placing a sticker on a card or checking a few boxes on a postcard and dropping it in the mail, your customer must feel a sense of urgency. Compelling direct mail can accomplish this.
Another characteristic of direct marketing is that the information should be honest. Make sure that you are going to be able to deliver the product or service that you are promising the customer. If you develop a reputation for dishonest dealings, the word will quickly spread and you will have a difficult time selling to customers in the future. With the advent of the Internet, negative word-of-mouth spreads quickly about a product or service offering that doesn’t like up to the hype from the direct marketing. In fact, there are many websites whose sole existence is based on exposing dishonest marketing offers and techniques.
Another one of the characteristics of direct marketing is the ability to accurately measure effectiveness. One of the greatest characteristics of direct marketing is that you can measure the results and effectiveness of the direct mail campaign by calculating the response rate. Effective direct marketing pieces should include some type of response mechanism. By the number of response phone calls, website traffic or postcards returned requesting information, for example, you can examine and assess how effective your direct marketing is.
Another way to assess how effective your direct marketing will be is through testing, which is another great characteristic of direct marketing. Suppose your direct marketing plan involves a mailing to100,000 prospective customers. You can send out a sample mailing to1000 of these prospective customers to assist you in estimating what the overall response will be.
All of these characteristic of direct marketing are the reasons why many companies depend and successfully use direct marketing on a daily basis.
When it comes to direct marketing, there are several direct marketing tips that may make the difference between whether your direct mail campaign realizes tiny or tidy profits.
The first and most important direct marketing tip is to provide excellent customer service to your customers. This is the key to success in any business whether you are in the direct marketing industry or another field. Good customer service will maintain your customer base. Customer service taken to the next level is proactive customer service which can enable you to exceed customer expectations, which can lead to increase business and customer loyalty.
Another important direct marketing tip is to design a response mechanism that effectively motivates the customer to take action. A limited time offer can successfully motivate the most skeptical prospect or procrastinator to take action. By placing a “drop dead date” or expiration date on a limited offer, free gift or trial you can move the most hesitant of customers. If you can effectively convince the potential customer that waiting another day will cost them more money, they are more likely to take action.
An additional direct marketing tip is to develop follow up strategies. These strategies can be implemented on two fronts. One front is the “customer service front”. These strategies may involve a series of mailings that continue to provide the customer with additional information regarding your product or service. They may take the form of a survey designed to gain feedback on service or product benefits. The strategies may include information to “up-sell” your service or product to the customer. The second front on which to follow up is on recreating your product and information. This might be done by improving the content or accessibility of your web site. Perhaps this can be done by following through with a Yellow pages advertisement. Another follow up strategy is to test the responsiveness of your target audience.
Another directing marketing tip is to use a first-class stamp when sending out a direct mail piece. It will separate your piece from bulk stamped “junk mail.”
Another direct marketing tip is to constantly test. In real estate, it is “location, location, location.” In direct marketing, it is “test, test, test.” It is only through testing that you can determine the effectiveness of your direct marketing campaign.
These direct marketing tips can go a long way in ensuring your direct mail success.
Recently, Keith Norris, the Chief Executive of the Direct Marketing Associate (DMA) defined direct marketing as, “a database-driven, one-to-one marketing structure.” Confused? Well, perhaps a better way to define direct marketing though may be through the use of examples of direct marketing.
Suppose you own a business that sells automobiles – cars, trucks, vans and SUV’s. You have an active database of customers that have purchased from you in the past and you know who your customers are – who purchased a car, who purchased a truck, and so on. You then develop specific communications to the different segments of that database. That is one of the examples of direct marketing – a database-driven, one-to-one marketing structure.
Direct marketing is all about finding out your customers individual needs, and then finding ways to meets these needs. Such as a luxury goods seller that knows you fit into a certain income bracket or a toy manufacturer that knows from their database that you have children, or even grandchildren.
Another one of the examples of direct marketing is when you receive a letter from a charity organization or a political group seeking donations. Typically, these letters are derived from a database that lets them know that you fit into the same demographics as their target market. These mailings are usually tailored specifically to you, with your name strewn throughout the letter.
These examples of direct marketing all focus on one thing – customization. The marketer is trying to maximize the return on his direct marketing dollars by selecting those on his list that are most likely to respond based on certain predetermined criteria. They then take this criteria and produce a targeted direct marketing campaign.
As Keith Norris recently stated, “Whatever your definition of direct marketing, these days I think they’re one and the same – totally integrated and focused on really connecting with customers.” And these examples of direct marketing prove that Keith Norris is correct.by: Sean D'Souza Would you really dare to give each client a gift of $500 this Christmas? What about something worth $2000? Or maybe $5000?
You
think I’m joking right? I mean, here you are struggling with your 50
cent marketing budget and I’m giving you the key to your bankruptcy. At
Christmas time, too!
Step up to the roller coaster and you’ll
find out how Marie beat the system with some simple, yet smart
marketing tactics and how you can too. Yeah, just like that…
Marie Ain’t No Santa Claus!
Nope! She’s just like you and me.
She
can do the Ho! Ho! Ho bit, until she’s faced with the prospect of
expensive client gifts. Oh sure she wants to revel in the spirit of
giving, but her bank balance is screaming for some mouth to mouth
resuscitation. And that’s something she can’t ignore.
What’s Worse Is Marie’s Clients Probably Won’t Even Like The Gifts!
Look
at yourself. Did you really like that burgundy sweater you got last
year? Or that gift basket full of calorie-ridden chocolates that made
you wish you hadn’t seen them at all.
Let’s face it. Murphy’s
Law, kicks in bigger and bolder at this time of the year than any
other. On average (and often because you’re buying gifts in bulk)
you’re giving your client a gift that’s so far off the mark that you
might as well throw it in your own trash can and save him the trouble.
How Can Marie Play Scrooge And Santa Simultaneously?
There’s
one simple concept every business ignores. It’s called Spare Capacity.
Hotels are never totally booked, flights are never quite packed to the
gills, and by golly, most businesses like yours and mine (no matter how
busy) always have some free space and time.
Marie could use this factor to her advantage. If she approached my business, these are the steps she would logically follow.
1-2-3, Cha, Cha, Cha (Here Are The Steps!)
Step
1: It’s all in the way Marie puts it. If she simply asked me to speak
to her clients, I might decline, but if she made it extremely
tantalizing, I’d be only too willing.
"How would you like to meet with 20 new clients, that would be very keen to do business with you?"
That
kind of question would get my curiosity wound up pretty quickly. She
can then explain how she would be introducing me to 20 of her top
clients. All I had to do was offer each of them an hour of my time. If
I did a good job, I would get a whole bunch of new clients that would
be quite eager to meet me.
Let’s say I charge $500 for a
consultation. Marie could qualify her clients well, and give them each
a voucher to meet up with me. In this consultation, they would have the
opportunity to throw me any of their marketing issues and I would have
the chance to wow them with my fancy footwork.
Step 2: Once
we’re in agreement, she would create a voucher that she can give to her
clients. This voucher offers them the specified time at my convenience
(I only need to meet them in my free time). This voucher would offer
them the benefit of some radical, unusual marketing either via the net,
phone or in person. To make the deal sweeter, Marie could offer me 20
hours of her time to meet my clients.
Step 3: We give these
vouchers to our respective clients for Christmas. We tell them that
we’ve bought them a gift that will help them tremendously in their
business and that the gift is worth $500 or $2000, as the case may be.
Any one of those solutions would be worth anything from $200 to $20,000, depending on what the client did with the idea.
How does that compare with your $20 gift right now?
Where Do You Start Looking?
There are no rules. Just because you sell product, it doesn’t mean you have to do this Christmas swap with products.
If
you sell products like beds, start looking at chiropractors, massage
therapists, interior designers. If you look around you, you will find
dozens of businesses that will be more than willing to play Christmas
gift if there is something in it for them.
If you sell
services…ditto. Look for services as well as products. Every one has
spare capacity. Services are most highly valued because they’re
abstract and based on the person themselves, but you can find products
that are sitting in someone’s warehouse and they’d be glad for you to
take them off their hands, in return for access to your top clients.
Best
of all, this solves the problem of the suitability of the gift.
Wouldn’t a business be more excited by a highly prized service than
another daily planner?
Why This Concept May Not Work For You
Marie,
has got to make sure that I give solid information in the consulting
session to her clients. Sales pitches are a no-no. Your swap must be a
REAL gift, not some shoddily disguised sales pitch.
Pick your Christmas Partners carefully. A lot could go wrong here if all they’re seeing is dollar signs.
The
second reason why this may not work for you is sheer laziness. You
might find it easier to step into a gift shop and blow $1000 on gifts
for your clients. It’s easy and it beats having to knock on doors and
trudge through snow or sun (depending on where you live on the planet).
Hopefully You’re Not That ‘Duh!’
When you give your
gift, all you’re doing is trying to make your current client happy (and
that’s great!). With Marie’s concept, you’re actually getting a chance
to meet another 20 new clients.
Say that quietly to yourself:
Twenty new clients without you having to do any selling. You don’t even
have to spend any advertising or marketing moolah to get them in the
door. Best of all, they will actually be grateful to have you over.
Does
that send a chill down your spine? What if you could do this deal with
three people just like Marie? Would 80 appointments be good enough for
you?
Are You Going To Have a great NEW YEAR Or What?
No
one ever told you about Santa Scrooge did they? Well, now that you
know, what are you going to do about it? This rocks, my friend. Now go
there and create a New Year that’s really worth big bucks in your
balance sheet.
If you do, the next time your banker hears Ho! Ho! Ho, he knows it’s not Santa!
About the author:
Wouldn't
you love to stumble upon a secret library of small business ideas? Find
simple, yet electrifying ideas onmarketing strategy,psychological
tactics and branding. Head down to http://www.psychotactics.comtoday
and judge for yourself.
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Q: Are there any other cost effective ways that I can use to promote my business online?
A: Sure there are tons of free marketing sites out there. I will list a few here:


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