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What are the three most critical elements of a Direct Marketing plan?
Home » Advertising & Marketing » Direct Marketing » What are the three most critical elements of a Direct Marketing plan?Posted by Your Guide on October 16, 2005 3:17 PM
If you think of the direct marketing plan as a pie chart, you’ll find three critical elements for success. The first of the two largest areas is database, commonly referred to as “list” (the audience you’re targeting). On the pie chart, database represents 40%. This means that database, or list, is a major factor in determining the likelihood of success. To whom are you marketing? Who is most likely to buy the product? These types of questions, as well as questions concerning customer demographics (sex, location, age, race, buying habits), are key components in direct marketing.
The second piece of the pie chart is the offer or “hook” that motivates consumers to purchase. Like the database, the offer equals 40% of the equation and is critical to the success of the plan. Direct marketing plans have free offers, reduced offers, discount offers or any number of combinations thereof. The offer is critically essential and can have a tremendous effect on response rates. Companies often test their offers to see which pulls the highest response rates.
The third and smallest area of the pie chart is creative. Creative entails everything from the concept, design, paper and photography, to layout, packaging, etc. While creative only represents 20% of the equation, it is imperative that it receives 100% of its due attention. Solid creative acts as the glue that binds database and offer together. This tri-fecta combination is the difference which often makes a direct marketing campaign lethal to the competition. Once database and offer have been established, creative goes to work generating and honing ideas that will capture the minds and hearts of the target audience.
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