Tips for Direct Response Marketing

When running an ad campaign it's easy to grab any readily available number, but have you thought about the effect this may have on conversion rates?  In this economy conversion rates are becoming increasingly important. Conversion rates measure each campaign's effectiveness and more importantly the effectiveness of each marketing dollar spent.

800 Response and Infosurv recently commissioned a study that looked at the habits of 1,000 consumers when they were presented with an advertisement that contained a toll free number and a web address. They found that consumers were 45% more likely to remember the vanity toll free number of a company rather than its website. In one instance, a fictional ad for an auto dealer called Bayside Auto Sales presented a vanity toll free number of 800-new-auto and a website of baysideautosales.com. Respondents were 52% more likely to remember the vanity number over the website, even though the website reflected the exact company name of the auto dealer.

New products, new competition, new mailing lists, new government regulations — there are always reasons why you should be updating your direct marketing materials.

One of the best ways to test and compare the effectiveness of new materials is by using toll-free numbers. That way you can tell immediately which offers are getting responses. Plus, response rates can be tabulated automatically through your phone system.

Direct response consultants will tell you that you need to be constantly testing and refining. Here are a few of the ways you can test your materials:

• Test your new campaign to your current customer base. Mail to existing lists, or advertise in the existing channels. See how the new campaign compares to previous ones to the same lists.
• Test current directing marketing campaigns to a new customer base. Try a new mailing list, put your ads in a new periodical or on a new radio station. See how the new customer lists responds.
• Try out preliminary versions of a new campaign, testing to sub-sections of your existing customer list. This will help you determine which version of the new campaign to roll out to your full list.

When you sign up for toll-free numbers with Custom Toll Free, you get access to an online management tool that assists you with direct response tracking. There’s even a free campaign analysis tool included; input advertising costs and see your return-on-investment expressed in terms of cost per call.

Find out more.

One of the fastest-growing segments of marketing communication is outdoor advertising. Traditional billboards are benefitting from fast, lower-cost ink jet printing technologies, and new forms of outdoor ads are proliferating. These include electronic billboards, bus signs and bus wraps, kiosks, giant banners, LED message reader boards, and even taxi tops.

Studies of advertisers reveal that they choose billboard ads for their superior abilities to communicate effectively, to attract new customers, and to increase sales. eMarketer Digital Intelligence predicts that US outdoor advertising revenues will rise from the $7.4 billion posted in 2007 to more than $10 billion in 2011.

Radio advertising accounts for just under 10 percent of all advertising dollars. It’s effective, universal, and mobile. That’s why many Custom Toll Free clients do direct response marketing over the air waves.

The folks at Radio Lounge USA are in the business of producing direct response ads for their clients. They advise companies to make the call to action clear and give listeners a URL or phone number that’s memorable.

“If you are driving users to a toll free number, make sure you are not advertising some random ten digits that are difficult to remember. Use vanity phone numbers,” is their advice.

Here are a few general tips for using radio advertising with your custom toll free number:

Know your audience. Pick stations and time slots that best match your audience demographics.

Repeat, repeat, repeat. Once you’ve chosen a particular time slot or show, stick with it. That guarantees enough repetition of your ad and your toll-free number with a particular audience (morning drive time, gardeners, talk show fans) that your information will be remembered.

Try “roadblocking.” The term “roadblocking” means running your ads on several stations during the same weeks. Businesstown.com explains why roadblocking can be highly effective.

You’ll also find some great advice for successful radio advertising here.

One of the best ways to strengthen the power of your vanity toll free number is to use it in all your marketing materials. That includes putting it in your telephone greetings. Think about it: Clients dial “1-888-PET-CARE” and the greeting they get is “Hi, this is Johnson’s Pet Supplies.” But they could be hearing “Hi, you’ve reached 1-888-PET-CARE, Johnson’s Pet Supplies.”

This is a no-cost way of helping customers recognize and remember your custom toll free number, increasing the likelihood that they’ll call your business again in the future. Here are five ways to use phone greetings to turn those vanity number calls into sales — and increase customer satisfaction.

1. As often as possible, have a live person answer the phone and present your message during business hours. Studies show that customers expect and prefer it, and it’s the ideal during a sales campaign when you want a sales person to have immediate access to a prospect. After all, studies show that customers who make purchases over the phone order more merchandise, and 95 percent of the time they order more expensive merchandise than customers who are ordering from print or online catalogs. If you are using your toll-free number for non-sales purposes, it’s not as critical that the live person greeting the customer be on your team. A good answering service can handle the caller and then send you a convenient email message.
2. If you need to use recorded messages, be sure to record separate ones for business hours and for after-hours. Why? See tips 3 and 4.
3. When your callers do get a recorded message during business hours, it should mention your 1-800 number and your company identity. Then tell the caller, quickly, how to get to the department they’re calling or the information they want. Example: “Thank you for calling 1-888-PET-CARE, Johnson’s Pet Supplies. A representative will be with you in one minute. If you need to reschedule a delivery for tomorrow, please press 3 for the shipment desk. For all other business, please stay on the line.”
4. The message callers get after hours should (again) reinforce your business identity by mentioning your toll-free number and business name. Then let people know when you’ll be back in the office and what they can do to get a message to you in the meantime. “You’ve reached the after-hours line for 1-888-PET-CARE, Johnson’s Pet Supplies. We’ll be back in the office at 8 a.m. Please call back then, or press 2 to leave a message with our answering service.”
5. If you have a website that allows people to view products or schedules, place orders, or send email, be sure to mention that website in your phone greeting. For some callers, this is a plus. But keep in mind that many callers to your toll-free number prefer to talk directly to a live person.

Whenever you think of the toll-free number market, you think flowers, contact lenses, or safe autos. But today, many parents are using personal toll free numbers to keep tabs on their kids. Parents worried about their college-bound youngsters are resting better at night with toll-free numbers.

We all know it’s hard to get little Suzy or Johnny to call home everyday, but if the call is free you might have a better chance of hearing that phone ring. While normal cell phone plans were once the popular route, they can be highly expensive.

In fact, research shows that 90 percent of people in the United States are dialing toll-free numbers. Additionally, response rates increase an average of 14 percent when advertisements contain toll-free numbers.

Who are the regular people using toll-free numbers today?

•    Parents and grandparents
•    College students
•    Parents of teens and tweens
•    Military families
•    Frequent travelers
•    Those in a long-distance relationship

Custom Toll Free can design a minute plan that is just right for your special toll free needs. You just might bond with your kids, friends and other loved-ones better. Well, maybe or maybe not, but you WILL save money!

At last, you’ve got it: Your new vanity toll-free number. It’s catchy and memorable — and powerful. But only if you get it out there where prospective customers can see it. While you certainly have plans to use it in the next big direct marketing campaign you roll out, keep in mind that there are many other ways you can a vanity toll-free number to boost business and improve ROI.

• Update your advertising. Redesign your ads and get new versions to all the publications, websites, and broadcast outlets where you currently advertise.
• Update your printed materials. This includes business cards, envelopes, packaging, invoices, br ochures, and signage. It’s amazing how many people may drive by your bricks-and-mortar business every day and not stop in, but who will call as a result of seeing your 1-800 number.
• Update your website. The new custom toll-free number should be prominently displayed on the home page and any sales pages — not buried on the “Contact Us” page or at the very bottom of the web pages.
• Update your phone message. If people who call your current number get a recording (when you are closed, or if they are on hold), take advantage of those recordings to inform them about the new toll-free number. It will make it easier for them to call you next time.
• Explore new types of advertising that are now open to you with an easy-to-remember vanity toll-free number. Those include vehicle signage, t-shirts, and all manner of corporate memorabilia, from mugs to license-plate frames.