Direct marketing is like a sales call.
Three things impact a successful sales call:
- Is the sales person talking to the right person?
- Is the conversation pertinent and relevant?
- Does the sales person appear professional and knowledgeable?
A sales person provides information and an opportunity for a service or product to a particular client. But, if the sales person is not talking to the right person or not having a relevant conversation, #3 doesn’t matter much.
Similarly, three things influence the success of direct marketing:
- Who is your target audience?
- What is your offer?
- What will the design look like?
Remember the “lipstick on a pig” saying? We sometimes spend huge amounts of time and effort on the design of a promotion or marketing campaign, when in reality if we are not communicating with the right audience or making them an offer relevant to their needs, the design has little impact.
On the other hand, if the audience is dead on and the offer incredible, a great design or inspired creative will provide an incredible lift to the success of the project.
Here’s the Golden Rule:
Although the percentage sometimes change and there are dozens of variations just remember great direct marketing campaigns or (an incredible sales call) starts with the right audience and a great offer.
