How Compelling is Your Direct Marketing Message?
How Compelling is Your Direct Marketing Message?
So, are our traditional direct marketing efforts a waste of time? Happily for us, the answer is no. However, there are definitely some important factors to consider when creating your message. One author, Clayton Makepeace, thinks that one of the main reasons why this shift is occurring is that the Gen-X generation is one of the largest purchasing audiences today. Gen-Xers are between the ages of 26 and 46 years-old and are, as a group, highly skeptical and cynical. Hence, they are going to be highly skeptical of anything that "smells" salesy. Makepeace recommends taking a look at your messaging -- as well as the marketing strategy around that message. Here are three areas that he thinks this inherent skepticism has on our DM efforts today:
1. One-shot customer-acquisition promotions are going the way of the dinosaurs.
Today, it’s all about the relationship between your company and your customer… and building credibility and friendship over time. While marketers who deliver value, invite involvement, and create a sense of community among prospective customers before expecting a sale are growing by leaps and bounds, those who cling to the old models are losing ground.
2. Bombastic "big promise" headlines are not working as well.
Today’s prospects are more likely to ignore sales communications that look and sound like sales communications. Instead, topical, newsy, and intrigue leads that key on something they are already thinking about often work best.
3. High-octane sales copy is losing its power.
Today, lower-key, value-added advertising copy (advertorials) that reward prospects for reading by delivering valuable, helpful, actionable information is leaving the language of the high-energy carnival barker in the dust.
Very interesting -- Makepeace makes some great points. Old-school DM just isn't cutting it anymore. And, as the economy decides what sort of state it is currently in (recession, slow-down, etc.), this becomes even more important. We've got to create campaigns that best resonate with our audiences. And, we simply have to embrace those channels that our customer segments are insisting that we utilize in order for them to buy from us. By understanding customer preferences, you'll stay ahead of the game. And, now, more than ever before, customers are willing to share with us exactly what they are looking for and how to improve on what you do. It's empowering and scary at the same time. I guess the net-net of this is that you have to be willing to truly listen to customer desires and then react to their feedback to keep them coming back for more!
How Compelling is Your Direct Marketing Message - To learn more about this author, visit Nancy Arter's Website.
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It is very interesting to see how our world is changing in terms of what resonates with the consumers or businesses that receive our marketing messages. In fact, there is a growing school of thought that believes that you can't push out DM messaging very effectively at all anymore. Nope, it's all about customers getting involved with the conversation about your product and providing their feedback to other "would-be" customers. The world of Social Marketing is proving this to be true.
So, are our traditional direct marketing efforts a waste of time? Happily for us, the answer is no. However, there are definitely some important factors to consider when creating your message. One author, Clayton Makepeace, thinks that one of the main reasons why this shift is occurring is that the Gen-X generation is one of the largest purchasing audiences today. Gen-Xers are between the ages of 26 and 46 years-old and are, as a group, highly skeptical and cynical. Hence, they are going to be highly skeptical of anything that "smells" salesy. Makepeace recommends taking a look at your messaging -- as well as the marketing strategy around that message. Here are three areas that he thinks this inherent skepticism has on our DM efforts today:
1. One-shot customer-acquisition promotions are going the way of the dinosaurs.
Today, it’s all about the relationship between your company and your customer… and building credibility and friendship over time. While marketers who deliver value, invite involvement, and create a sense of community among prospective customers before expecting a sale are growing by leaps and bounds, those who cling to the old models are losing ground.
2. Bombastic "big promise" headlines are not working as well.
Today’s prospects are more likely to ignore sales communications that look and sound like sales communications. Instead, topical, newsy, and intrigue leads that key on something they are already thinking about often work best.
3. High-octane sales copy is losing its power.
Today, lower-key, value-added advertising copy (advertorials) that reward prospects for reading by delivering valuable, helpful, actionable information is leaving the language of the high-energy carnival barker in the dust.
Very interesting -- Makepeace makes some great points. Old-school DM just isn't cutting it anymore. And, as the economy decides what sort of state it is currently in (recession, slow-down, etc.), this becomes even more important. We've got to create campaigns that best resonate with our audiences. And, we simply have to embrace those channels that our customer segments are insisting that we utilize in order for them to buy from us. By understanding customer preferences, you'll stay ahead of the game. And, now, more than ever before, customers are willing to share with us exactly what they are looking for and how to improve on what you do. It's empowering and scary at the same time. I guess the net-net of this is that you have to be willing to truly listen to customer desires and then react to their feedback to keep them coming back for more!
How Compelling is Your Direct Marketing Message - To learn more about this author, visit Nancy Arter's Website.
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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