Generating Customers Using DRTV, Part 2
Two weeks ago I provided you with the needed cautionary information about the pros and cons of direct response TV as a new customer generation vehicle. So what do you need to pull off a successful DRTV campaign?
(To read part 1, click here.)
First, you need the right product. DRTV is much more mass-targeted than direct mail. While you can do some targeting of audience by choosing stations wisely, you’ll need a product from your stable that is or has the following:
1. Mass appeal. Can your product be sold to a mass market?
2. Uniqueness. Are you the only company selling your product?
3. Tested. Have you tested this product in your catalog? Do you have a proven winner?
4. Margin. Is your COGS ratio at least 4-to-1? A ratio of 5-to-1 or more is recommended for DRTV. Think into the future. If your product takes off, you’ll likely be able to get a better deal from your vendor. If this is the case, you could test at as low as a 3-to-1 if the product is a hit for your catalog.
5. Does your product lend itself to demonstration? TV visuals are perfect for this.
6. Does your product solve a problem?
7. Can your creative appeal deeply to peoples’ emotions?
Items five through seven are the key drivers for TV response. If said product lends itself to demonstration, solves a problem that someone otherwise can’t fix and (mostly) appeals to emotions — and there are many gee whiz products that appeal to logic, too — you have a good argument for testing TV.
Additionally, the selling price is a strong factor. Does your product retail for less than $40? The rule of thumb here is the lower the selling price, the easier it is to get response. If you have a product that goes for more than $50, you may want to consider breaking up payments — you know, the proverbial, “just two easy payments of $X.XX.”
A few other product considerations.
Do you have complimentary products that you can use to upsell callers with and, in effect, increase your average order value? Does the product have continuity potential? Can it be sold under an auto-ship program at intervals? While continuity is not by any means required, it does help drive revenue on the back end.
But wait, there’s more! In part three next week, I’ll discuss the operations setup for DRTV. Oh, and continue your assignment of watching DRTV. Late nights and early mornings are the best times. Check your local listings on national cable stations for details.
Jim Gilbert is president of Gilbert Direct Marketing Inc., a full-service catalog and direct marketing agency. His LinkedIn profile can be viewed at www.linkedin.com/in/jimwgilbert or you can post a comment here or e-mail him at jimdirect@aol.com.
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- Jim Gilbert
Jim Gilbert has had a storied career in direct and digital marketing resulting in a burning desire to tell stories that educate, inform, and inspire marketers to new heights of success.
After years of marketing consulting, Jim decided it was time to “put his money where his mouth was" and build his own e-commerce company, Premo Natural Products, with its flagship product, Premo Guard Bed Bug & Mite Sprays. Premo in its second year is poised to eclipse 100 percent growth.
Jim has been writing for Target Marketing Group since 2006, first on the pages of Catalog Success Magazine, then as the first blogger for its online division. Jim continues to write for Total Retail.
Along the way, Jim has led the Florida Direct Marketing Association as their Marketing Chair and then three-term President, been an Adjunct Professor of Direct and Digital marketing for Miami International University, and created a lecture series, “The 9 Immutable Laws of Social Media Marketing,” which he has presented across the country at conferences and universities.
