Essentially, marketing is about selling your products or services.

It is not about building an image or increasing awareness. Brand awareness means people may have heard of you but it doesn’t mean any change in trust or any indication that people will buy from you.

The majority of marketing activity performed by businesses produces poor results because it is focused on getting more sales. The more intensely you try to get something, the more the attention turns to you and consequently, away from your prospects.

The more you tell the prospect all about you, what you have and what you know, the more they are being pushed away.

Instead, consider your marketing message from your prospects' perspective and ask whether it answers the question “What’s in it for me?” Learn about your prospects needs and what problems they want solving.

Introducing a more effective kind of marketing…

By orientating your material to your targeted prospects, you can give them useful and valuable information and promise them a workable solution. Instead of pushing them away you will be attracting them because you have something they want.

By adding an incentive or irresistible offer and asking for the sale, you are encouraging your prospect to respond. With a strong call to action you will get a direct response to your marketing.

How is Direct Response Marketing Different?

The most common form of marketing is known as institutional or image marketing. This form of marketing contains inward messages such as “Our product is the best” or “Our company is the biggest”. This is seen nearly everywhere and only performed successfully by larger companies as they are the only ones who can afford to spend the necessary amount to get the required visibility.

Institutional advertising is advertising that does not ask for a specific response. The typical advert would contain very little copy. The layout is generally the company name, the list of products or services and perhaps their features. There will be no reference to any benefits for the prospect and no promise of the results to expect. There will be no incentive to call now.

The Positive Effects of Direct Response Marketing…

The one thing that holds your prospects back from investing in your products or services is fear of making the wrong decision. If you provide compelling, valuable and helpful information, you’ll become the expert in your marketplace and as you prospects begin to perceive you as an expert the fear of buying from you is vastly reduced.

By posturing your business as the authority in your marketplace, you can build on the relationships between you and your prospects.

The three business relationships are:

• salesperson:
  the prospect has a healthy scepticism about your claims and a natural resistance to sales initiatives.
• consultant:
  look at the situation from their perspective. Perform an audit, review or analysis of their particular needs and make the necessary recommendations.
• Trusted advisor:
  provide impartial advice and compelling evidence.
  Become an industry expert by answering the major ‘why?’ questions.

As a trusted advisor, the questions such as "why should I choose you?", "why should I take this decision?" and "why should I invest in this?" will be answered in your direct response copy.

To help with these questions, give them the reason why with the following:

• relevant info
• facts and figures
• illustrations
• case studies
• independent reports
• testimonials
• guidelines

Summary

By posturing and differentiating your business as the industry experts, you will become the trusted advisor. Your direct response marketing will attract your prospects because you can answer why you are the best choice they can make.

Further Info

Call to Action