To the uber-modern and technologically-advanced marketer the phrase “direct-response marketing” can imply marketing tactics along the lines of call centers with annoying sales reps, seemingly endless piles of junk snail mail, and tv advertising using the most irritating and bothersome actors throwing up lame scripts with “1-800” phone numbers.  “Direct” response marketing can often be mistaken as something of the 20th century with no place in today’s social media savvy, PPC successful, and SEO-driven marketing plans. Yet the secret lies in a marketing agency’s ability to combine the two in a way that doesn’t scream 20th century and doesn’t ignore the “modern” marketing tactics.

From increased website traffic, increased conversions as a result of call-to-action buttons, increased awareness as a result of social mentions, and increased conversions as a result of email content marketing campaigns, Integrity Media Corp has a track record of showing clients the results of our marketing efforts.

To further explain direct response marketing, we will divide the approach into two categories:  one-shot and campaign. 

One-shot Direct Response Marketing

Like the term implies, one-shot direct response marketing can be measured as one effort, is curated towards a specific client, and solves a specific problem. A few examples can be a sales-pitch email, a company-branded postcard, or a mailed advertisement. This specific method awaits a near-immediate response from a prospect who is currently searching for the product or service. The brand’s effort is specifically curated towards the prospect so that a call or a click is expected right away. In a short period of time the efforts can be clearly marked as “rewarding” or “unproductive”.

 An example of a one-shot direct response marketing tactic can be a banner ad with a clear CTA leading to a landing page with the opportunity to make a conversion. Another example of a one-shot direct response marketing effort can be a postcard, a print ad, or an email. A response is anticipated within a short or defined period of time.

Campaign

This type of direct response marketing uses a more long-term approach. Using “modern” 21st century marketing techniques, campaign direct response marketing can be in the form of email marketing campaigns showcasing your latest content marketing efforts. An email marketing campaign won’t necessarily create conversions right away, but will create brand impressions that may result in sales down the road.

Reports, ebooks, and infographics available for download from websites can be used to gather contact information for prospects. These prospects can then be contacted to pitch your company’s services or products. This multi-step approach can be measured and attributed to the direct response method of marketing.

Various marketing efforts that may be used in the campaign approach can be CTA (call-to-action) buttons at the end of a blog post that can be tracked to show the value of the article in clicks or conversions. In this case you may not know who your audience is and therefore this is a campaign, rather than a one-shot direct response marketing effort.

A company video can acquaint your site’s visitor with your business and establish credibility. A video can brand your business to create awareness and may lead to interest further down the line resulting  in a purchase.

Choosing an Approach

There is no apparent winner here, as the most suitable approach would depend on the types of products or services of the business. High cost product or services would naturally require a long-term effort as these sales would not be as frequent as a lower-priced offering.

Inevitably, there will be a combination of both. The skill in effectively utilizing direct response marketing is developed in testing and analyzing which method works best and finding a balance between the two approaches.