Effective Business-to-Business Use of Direct Response Marketing

Direct mail marketing has been a useful tool for businesses selling consumer products and services since the first Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalog mailed in 1893.  In December 2005, BtoB Magazine conducted a survey to determine marketing plans for 2006.  The survey found that 52% of business-to-business (B2B) marketers plan to increase their spending on direct mail this year. 

One of the most common reasons cited for the planned increase in direct mail is the ability to measure return on investment (ROI).  Having concrete ROI numbers to show management has saved many marketing managers.  But even companies that can't directly quantify ROI from a campaign plan on increasing the use of direct response techniques.  Once marketers experience the high response from direct mail, they often become strong advocates for the use of direct response techniques in all their marketing efforts.

What is direct response marketing?  Direct response marketing is any message delivered to a specific audience with a specific call to action.  So, direct response marketing is not just a mass mailing with a business reply card.  Direct response marketing is also a web site with a form to complete or a link to click.  It's a magazine or newsletter ad with a coupon to clip.  Direct response marketing can also be a space ad with a phone number to call or an address to visit.  What makes direct response marketing different than other advertising is a clear, and hopefully urgent, call to action.  Ideally, the response will be uniquely tied to the promotional material allowing you to measure the response.

Let's look at three effective uses of direct response marketing in B2B markets:

1.  LEAD GENERATION:  Warming up prospects for a call or visit from your sales staff is a classic use of direct response B2B marketing.  A typical campaign includes a letter, a product brochure or service description, and a card to send in to receive a special report or case study which also triggers a sales call or visit.  The package also needs to sell the free report.  This is done in the letter itself or on a separate lift note.  Why do you need to sell the free report?  Your prospect is only going to give you their contact information if they see what's in it for them.

Lead generation using direct response marketing may also occur online.  Internet-based lead generation can start with an email message or from a website.  The free report can be emailed or downloaded.  The key in either case is to gather the prospect's contact information and follow-up with additional information or offers.

2.  MAKE A  SALE:  For some products, it makes sense to simply ask for the order.  In this case, the package -- whether in print or online -- needs to sell the product's benefits.  Identify a problem your prospects have and show the problem being solved with your product.

Making the sale with the package works best when at least one of the following is true:

•  It's a low-risk purchase
•  You already have a relationship with the prospect 
•  The solution you provide is obvious or well-known

An element of the package that needs to really be well done for a successful direct response sales campaign is often overlooked.  It's the order form.  The order form should include all the available purchase options, clearly state the offer, and be sure there is enough room for the buyer's address and credit card information.  If your package is online, then not only the form needs to be easy and clear, but the entire purchasing process needs to be easy, quick, and understandable.

3.  INFORMATION GATHERING OR DISSEMINATION:  A third use of direct response marketing in B2B sectors is to gather information from your prospects or provide them with information regarding events, product or service changes, or industry news.

Direct response marketing improves information gathering by increasing the amount of feedback you get.  The direct response techniques used for information gathering include offering a free report or discount to the people responding and selling the benefits of responding.  You can measure the success of information gathering the same way as other direct marketing.  But you probably won't be able to assign an ROI, since assigning a discrete dollar value to feedback is difficult. 

The success of information dissemination is often hard to measure because incorporating a relevant response mechanism isn't always straight forward.  Qualitatively, you can get a feel for the success of information dissemination through increased inquiries to call centers, upgrades or renewals to services, and sales not associated with other specific efforts.

BECOMING MORE DIRECT

Direct response marketing does not need to completely replace other marketing and advertising efforts.  Direct techniques can be added to what you're already doing.  Adding direct response elements to traditional advertising and marketing materials doesn't mean just adding a toll-free number or website address at the end of the material.  Here are four tips to consider for making existing materials more direct.

1.  Add an offer with a deadline

2.  Use a headline with a specific benefit

3.  Focus the copy on your prospect

4.  Describe the benefits they receive from your product or service rather than the features

Using direct response marketing will increase your ability to measure the success of a marketing campaign and will likely lift response.  Both of these results will improve your bottom line.