DRTV is a form of direct response marketing that utilizes television as a medium to target audiences and build customer relationships. Performing the right market research methods allow advertisers to reach small to large groups with a specific niche. Even on TV, marketers are advised to have a precise approach in targeting customers for the utmost success.
There are two major forms of direct-response television, which gives marketers options to position their advertising campaign and reach market goals. These goals are guided by the general key elements of direct response advertising.
Let’s find out more about direct response marketing and what makes DRTV unique from other forms of campaigns.
Direct Response Marketing
Direct response (DR) is a marketing method that elicits immediate responses from potential customers. The general goal of direct response is to generate leads quickly. Each campaign is strategically arranged to achieve the desired action and produce a fast ROI.
Other marketing methods aim at different directions like introducing a brand image and promoting brand awareness, which eventually builds up customer responses and boosts sales. Alternatively, direct response offers a route that brings advertisers from point A to point C without going through point B.
There are various goals for lead generation campaigns through DR marketing. However, there are guiding elements that allow marketers to ensure that they’re on the right track.
What are the goals of direct response marketing?
These are the goals of direct response marketing:
- Build effective communication and relationship with the audiences
- Use the campaign to encourage consumer prospects to “take action”
- Generate projected leads according to the market research
- Assist sales force in driving high revenue for the company
- A side effect of advertising campaigns is promoting brand awareness
- Establish a stable interaction with existing customers
Direct marketing should serve as a cost-effective way of generating sales and increasing ROI, preferably in a short time— that’s the ultimate goal.
Guiding Elements of Direct Response Marketing
The primary target of a direct response campaign is getting the desired action from the customers, and here are four ways for advertisers to achieve that:
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Choose Product Niche
Choosing a product to promote through direct response marketing should be centered on particular customer interest. Choose a niche that addresses a benefit for the audience. Successful advertisers often identify a specific problem so that they can provide a solution for potential customers.
The advertising campaign should highlight the advantages of buying a product from a certain niche. By doing this, advertisers can personalize the ad and target an identified group in the market.
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Narrow Down The Target Market
The product niche allows advertisers to narrow down the target market to which they should direct the campaign.
Conducting market research will provide advertisers the statistics of the consumers they ought to target and predict the possible revenue of the campaign. Most importantly, knowing the market gives information about customer interests. This information is leverage for personalized advertisement content and optimized consumer interactions.
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Propose Urgency
Speaking of advertisement content, the tone of the ad should suggest a sense of urgency. The emphasis on taking immediate action should have a calculated delivery.
Proposing urgency is often paired with promotions that make it sound like, “you’ll miss out if you don’t buy now” by offering: (1) limited-time discounts and top-of-order freebies, (2) limited supplies, (3) limited package deals.
Consumers are observed to experience a fear of missing out, and advertisers use that to their benefit. Apparently, “FOMO” is consumer psychology that has proven to drive increased sales, thus, reaching the projected ROI.
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Create Clear CTAs
Advertisers decide their desired result for the DR marketing campaign, and call-to-actions (CTAs) make that happen. Clear CTAs direct consumers to the specific action that advertisers want them to make.
CTAs instruct to buy, call, email, sign-up, register, or whatever informs the consumer the next action to accomplish. Usually, CTAs are plastered throughout the advertisement to ensure that consumers won’t miss them.
Direct-Response Television Marketing
DRTV can be created either in a short or long form. Short form DRTV ranges from 30 seconds to two-minute commercials. On the other hand, long form DRTV commercials can run for up to 30 minutes.
Long form DRTV commercials are also known as infomercials. This type of DRTV educates consumers about the features and benefits of a product or service.
What are the two main uses of DRTV?
Direct-response television has two main uses:
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Sales strategy
In the past, DRTV was considered as a method to bypass retail processes. Manufacturers can use DRTV to sell products directly to wholesalers or consumers. This would’ve bummed out the retail industry. Eventually, retailers learned to use it as strong support for distribution.
Today, DRTV is widely used as a sales channel for all kinds of commerce industries and organizations.
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Advertising strategy
Retailers and brand marketers use DRTV as an efficient advertising strategy that directly drives action and indirectly boosts company sales. In some cases, DRTV campaigns are positioned to simply introduce a certain brand, product, service, or promotion without instructing a direct response from the audience, but just enough to build the interest of possible consumers and drive traffic to the company itself.
What are the two major forms of Direct-Response Television (DRTV)?
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Direct-Response TV Commercials
DRTV marketing creates commercials that allow advertisers to track the impact of the campaigns through a toll-free phone number or a web address, depending on the CTA instructed in the ad. For consumers, these are accessible tools that don’t prevent them from performing the response, especially those who already have the intent to do so.
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Home Shopping Channels
DRTV can also run in an entire channel. The TV industry opened to home shopping channels dedicated to selling products and services. Basically, the channel runs a series of infomercials owned or produced by the network.
Final Thoughts: Direct-Response Marketing As Seen on TV
The television market is a consistent source of active consumers. Shopping at home has become a form of entertainment. Many people call it “retail therapy.” And unlike traditional commercials and cable advertising, direct response has a distinct goal. DRTV is unique for having two different advertising forms that deliver desirable alternatives for both advertisers and consumers.
Explore more of how you can leverage DRTV for creating sales-generating marketing campaigns. Contact us today!
