Direct Response Advertising – How Does It Work?
What factors influenced your most recent purchase? Are you hoping for something for a long time and finally decided to go for it? Were you exploring a store and came across anything you liked? Or were you browsing and a business’s advertisement convinced you that you needed to buy it right away? If the latter, the company employs outbound marketing to get you to take action right away after viewing one of their marketing pieces. It can be a very effective tactic if executed properly. Advertising is basically marketing that promotes a product, service, or brand. One specific type of advertising is response-oriented advertising. Direct response advertising is one of the main types of advertising. But what is direct response advertising? How does it work? So, let’s get deep into it! What Is A Direct Response Marketing Definition? Direct-response advertising is a form of advertising that seeks to elicit an immediate response from the consumer. This goal differentiates direct-response advertising from other forms of advertising, such as image advertising and branding. The basic concept of direct-response advertising is designed to motivate people to take a specific action. This could be anything such as picking up the phone and calling a toll-free number or going online and buying a product. This is in contrast to many other forms of advertising designed to motivate consumers to feel better about a product or service but has little impact on the consumer’s decision to purchase. Direct advertising generates an immediate response from consumers and artfully directs them towards a contact mechanism, such as a 1-800 number or a website. DRTV, digital and print media campaigns focused on generating an immediate response offer a unique set of challenges and opportunities. You must develop creativity so that prospects can understand the message without any prior ad exposure. By nature, direct response ads are “in your face” and very forward in their approach. Also, this type of advertising does not have time for subtlety or nuance. It has one goal: to get prospects to take immediate action by picking up the phone or visiting your website. What Are The Elements Of Direct Response Ads? Headline The headline should be strong enough to grab the customer’s attention, and it should tell the target audience why they need you or your product. For example: “How I turned $100 into $25,000 in just 30 days!” This one line tells the target audience that making money is possible with your product. Subheadline The subheadline expands on what you discussed in the headline and gives more details on your offer. For example: “Discover how Joe Smith used this simple trick to make $25,000 in just 30 days.” A strong call to action If you’re working on lead generation ads, your goal should always be to get the person who sees them to take some kind of action. And that action is your call-to-action (CTA). Your CTA has to be clear and compelling. It’s not enough for you to know what you want people to do; they have to know it. Moreover, if you don’t tell them what action you want them to take, they won’t take it. A strong CTA might read: “Call now for a free trial!” or “Click on the link below for a free demo.” It doesn’t have to be complicated, but it needs to make sense and inspire action. And when there’s a deadline involved — such as in sales promotions — make sure it’s front and center in your ad copy. The use of the word “you” throughout the ad Talk directly to consumers using the word “you” throughout the ad copy. They don’t say things like “people who want to lose weight” or “consumers who are frustrated with their current cell phone service.” They say things like “you want to lose weight” and “you’re frustrated with your current cell phone service.” Also, this technique establishes a connection between the consumer and the product. An offer that sounds too good to be true The offer should sound too good to be true. The offer must sound so good that it causes people to think, “there must be a catch.” The better your offer sounds, the more sales you’ll make! If your ad says something like “buy one get one free”, people will think it’s too good to be true and want to call in immediately! A guarantee If you can make a guarantee, do it. A guarantee indicates that your product is worth trying. It ensures that there’s no risk for your customer – if they don’t like it or aren’t satisfied with it, they can get their money back. Limited time frame The most effective DR ads have a limited time frame attached to them – such as “this offer is only available for the next 24 hours.” This creates urgency and encourages people to act now instead of waiting until later. A sense of urgency To motivate speedy action, these commercials all have a sense of urgency in addition to a CTA. Thus phrases like “while supplies last” or “buy one, get one free” are popular. For example, perhaps you’ll send a direct marketing ad to inform them about an upcoming event so they can immediately sign up rather than missing it. Benefits Of Direct Response Marketing. Easily Track and Measure Direct response marketing allows for easy tracking and measuring results with tools like call tracking, coupons, unique landing pages, and special URLs. This helps you understand the return on your investment (ROI) for each campaign. You can also track specific metrics such as the number of times your ad was shown, how many people clicked on it, and how many people purchased or requested more information from your business. For example, if you spent $1,000 on an ad campaign that generated 100 clicks and 20 phone calls, you can look at what percentage of those who clicked called (20 percent). Then determine the overall ROI for the campaign ($100 in sales per $1,000