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What is direct response marketing?

Marketing exists for only one reason - to sell. Taking a step back, buying is the most desirable action that can result from any marketing exercise. However some marketing can have other motives as well, such as awareness creation or creating an interest to know more. This is what separates advertising from direct response marketing. Direct response marketing specializes in getting an immediate direct desired response from the prospect while advertising can focus on building the brand without including any explicit call to action.

In order to be successful, a direct response marketing campaign must grab viewer attention, keep them interested through the communication and also evoke an emotional response from them. Finally it must give them an easy way to act on the information and "subscribe" or "order" or "ask for more information" or "call us" NOW. People's memory of advertising tends to be short lived. So if you don't get the desired response now, chances are you will not get it at all.

Given its very nature, direct response marketing needs a credible platform if people are to invest their time and money on the spot. Any advertising that looks as little like advertising as possible is more likely to be successful since people hate to be "told" what to buy. As such, news- style advertising, which creates a sense of urgency and credibility, is a great way to go. Contextual Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising also offers great Return On Investment (ROI) as it is targeting people who are already seeking similar products and services.

Fundamental to any good direct marketing campaign is an understanding of two very basic human traits. Firstly, we are all curious to know more about things that are new to us. Secondly, we are innately selfish beings who need to see tangible personal benefits before commencing on any action. An effective exploitation of both these insights can get prospects to "find out more" or "buy now" or any other immediate action desired.

Like any other form of advertising, a direct marketing piece needs to stand out from the clutter in order to be noticed or read. An interactive piece that engages and interacts with the potential customer works greater wonders, although at a greater cost. At the very least, direct marketing needs to feature eye-catching graphics and emotion arousing copy. Moreover, it should address a very narrowly defined target audience so as to be able to relate to their more specific subconscious needs.

A final word of advice: always test the piece with a small sample group to find out the hits and misses and work on the latter. Direct marketing involves considerable design, printing and distribution costs and it is best to verify which piece is generating maximum conversions before proceeding on printing in multiples of thousands.