FIVE DIRECT MARKETING INSIGHTS
FOR THE AGES

1. CONNECT WITH THE BUYER
   One thing that over twenty years in this industry has taught me is that the consumer is always right. We can sit around conference room tables, we can brainstorm the next "big thing," we can play with hypothetical breakeven scenarios, we can crunch numbers on spread sheets but absolutely none of it matters if we do not connect with the buyer. We must convince them that our product or service is worth their time, their attention and their money.

   
   

2. USE FAMILIAR LANGUAGE
   We must reach out to prospective customers in a language that they understand. We must speak in comfortable and familiar terms and master a consumer-speak dialogue that is recognizable, friendly and affable. And, we should chat with them in all those places where they now live, learn, share, tweet, post and shop.

   
   

3. LEARN TO LISTEN
   I have often said that Marketing is a business of questions and answers and the only one with the right answer is the buyer! If they have a real need for a product, they will purchase it. If there is a service that saves them time and money, they will sign up for it. If there is an item that they really believe will make their life easier, better or brighter ... they will absolutely buy it. If they choose not to buy it then we are simply not explaining it right, and the biggest mistake that we can make as marketers in crafting that explanation is to not listen to what they are saying.

   
   

4. KNOCK ON EVERY DOOR
   In Direct Response, not everything happens on TV. Consumers are searching, shopping, learning, living, chatting and sharing in a multitude of places. If we are not telling our story in each of those places, we simply will not reach the most prospects possible. Compare this to the days of door-to-door salesmen, and visualize single-channel selling as skipping an entire street. Why limit our market? Why leave easy dollars on the table? Why pass by a single door?

   
   

5. KNOW THY AUDIENCE
   I believe that marketing channels are like different theatrical stages each with a different audience. The storyline may the same, but we must consider the location of the theatre, the space, the lighting, and the dynamic of the audience. If we are not playing to a particular viewership just perfectly, our greatest scenes will be missed.

Trish Mahon, President of Outsource Marketing Group