Direct response marketing is a lot different from indirect
response marketing, although guerrillas like it best when the
two are teamed up. The first is geared to obtain orders right
here and right now. The second is geared to obtain orders
eventually. Although a fair amount of standard, indirect
marketing often is necessary to set the stage, to make prospects
ready to buy, and to separate your company from strangers, it's
when you initiate direct marketing that you first taste blood.
As you well know, we are living in the Age of Information, most
of it very easy to obtain. But information is hardly enough for
a guerrilla. And information is not insight. It's the
combination of information and thought that leads to insight and
it's insight that's going to make you a stand-out in the direct
response arena.
The first insight for you to absorb is that direct response
marketing either works immediately or not at all. Unlike
standard marketing which changes attitudes slowly and ultimately
leads to a sale if you go about things right, guerrilla direct
response marketing changes minds and attitudes instantly and
leads to a sale instantly if you go about things right.
When it works, you know it. You don't have to sit around and
wonder. You don't have to wait months and months for your
message to penetrate the mind of your prospect. Your time-dated
direct marketing offer either results in a sale right now or
it doesn't.
To succeed with direct marketing in any medium, remember always:
1. Your offer is omnipotent. The best presentation in the
world has a major uphill battle if you make a weak or ordinary
offer.
2. The market to whom you direct your message can make or break
your campaign. Saying the right thing to the wrong people
results in no sale.
3. What you say and how you say it is easily as important as to
whom you say it. Talk in terms of your prospects and how your
offer benefits them.
4. Carefully planning every cent of your campaign for maximum
profits requires as much creativity as your message. Guerrillas
excel at this.
5. The more that people have been exposed to your other
marketing, the more readily they'll accept what you offer with
your direct marketing.
Some principles of indirect marketing apply to direct
marketing. You must still talk of the prospect, not yourself,
and you must make a clear and cogent offer. But from that
point on, direct marketing is a whole new ballgame. And its one
that you can win with the insights of the guerrilla.
Stupid mistakes in horrid abundance have been made by otherwise
bright companies when testing the direct response waters.
Fortunately, guerrillas can learn from these blunders, making
those waters a bit safer. Listing them would take an endless
series of books, but it's worth your time if I make a start by
providing insight into ten of the most notable:
Failure to attract attention at the outset dooms many
brilliant campaigns before they have a chance to shine.
Envelopes, opening lines, mail subject lines and first
impressions are the gates to your offer. Open them wide.
Not facing the reality of a direct marketing explosion
relegates your attempt to the ordinary, which means the ignored.
Guerrillas say things to rise above the din, to be noticed and
desired in a sea of marketers.
Focusing your message on yourself instead of your prospect
will usually send your effort to oblivion. Prospects care far
more about themselves than they care about you. So talk to them
about themselves.
Not knowing precisely who your market is will send you into
the wrong direction. Research into pinpointing that market will
be some of the most valuable time you devote to your direct
marketing campaign.
Mailing or telephoning to other than honest prospects wastes
your time and money. If you make your offer to people who don't
really have a need for your offering, they'll be an incredibly
tough sale.
Initiating direct response marketing without specific
objectives gives you too hazy a target for bullseyes. Begin by
creating the response method for your prospects so you'll know
what your message should say.
Featuring your price before you stress your benefit will be
telling people what they don't want to know yet. First, your
job is to make them want what you are offering, then you can
tell them the price.
Concentrating on your price before your offer is wasting a
powerful selling point. Even if your price is the lowest,
people care more about how they'll gain from purchasing. Give
your low price at the right time.
Failing to test all that can be tested is a goof-off of the
highest order. Test your price points, opening lines, subject
lines, envelope teaser lines, benefits to stress, contact times
and mailing lists to know the real winners.
Setting the wrong price means you've failed in your testing
and your research. Guerrillas are sensitive to their market and
their competition, testing prices and constantly subjecting them
to the litmus test of profits.
As direct response vehicles become more sophisticated and
prolific, guerrillas have the insight to zero in on the exact
people to contact, so as not to waste time or money on
strangers. Successful mailings to strangers net as high as two
percent response rates. Successful mailings to customers and
qualified prospects net up to ten percent. Precision leads to
profits.
About the Author
Jay Conrad Levinson is the creator of the Guerrilla Marketing series
of books - the best selling series of business books in history. He
is also responsible for some of the most successful ad campaigns in
history, including the most successful in history: The Marlboro Man.
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