By Thomas Haire
August 5, 2010
OxiClean. ShamWow. P90X. Proactiv Solution. What do these product names bring to mind? If you’re a consumer, it’s likely you think “infomercial product.” If you’re a customer, you’re more likely to think “trusted brand.” But if you work in the business that has spawned these and other successful products and brands, you think “direct response marketing successes.”
What is direct response (DR) marketing, you ask? It is any marketing message (usually on TV, but also online and in other media) for any product or service that asks consumers to initiate a “direct response” to purchase or gain further information — via a phone call, a website visit and, nowadays, a click to download an app on their smartphones.
And, though major marketers like Procter & Gamble, Nationwide, Taco Bell and others have learned how to effectively use the tenets of DR in their campaigns, it is the entrepreneur that remains the lifeblood of the direct response marketing business. As a matter of fact, each of the four product successes mentioned above started out simply as an idea in one man or woman’s head — an idea that eventually became a well-known brand with the help of DRTV marketing.
One of the reasons for the success of direct response during the past quarter-century has been its success in marketing products no matter how troubled the economy. As a matter of fact, its “recession-proof” image, borne out most recently during the Great Recession, is one reason more major marketers are looking at the model.
What makes DR “recession proof”? The simple answer is that direct response marketing is the most measurable form of marketing there is. Marketers know almost immediately if their campaigns are successful, based on immediate response and sales results technology employed by the media, fulfillment and teleservices vendors in the business. In DR marketing, the marketing plan is always immediately adjustable.
At the same time, during tougher economic times, more consumers are at home watching TV or surfing the web, making them more accessible to DR marketers. Research has shown that most consumers who are pinching pennies by avoiding restaurants for dinner and other purchases perhaps thought of as “luxuries” will eventually get the itch to buy products they believe can make their lives easier or better. Enter direct response — featuring products that are specifically designed to target a demonstrated consumer need and use the ultimate “you must have it now” marketing.
For years, brick-and-mortar retailers warily eyed successful DRTV products, viewing them as kitsch. And, in the opposite direction, DR marketers avoided retail stores, thinking retail availability would siphon direct sales results. As the quality of DR products — and the power of the marketing behind them — improved, retailers began to want these products on their shelves. At the same time, DR marketers saw how a retail presence could expand the lifetime of a successful product. Think about it: when is the last time you went into a Wal-Mart, CVS or Bed Bath & Beyond store and didn’t see “As Seen on TV” products in a highlighted location?
This includes every type of product — from housewares items like the George Foreman Grill and Magic Bullet, to fitness products like the ultra-hot Shake Weight. In fact, whether the product is a more traditional product or one of those seemingly “once in a lifetime” viral hits, like the Snuggie, retailers want it. And the vast majority of DR marketers now build their campaigns around getting to those shelves.
Still, the lure of the business to most entrepreneurs remains the feeling that almost any product can make it to market via direct response marketing. While this is definitely far from reality (only one in 20 DR products that make it to a TV screen actually have success), the product inventor is a huge part of the business.
Unsurprisingly, there are unscrupulous marketing companies out there that prey on inventors. However, by aligning oneself with one of the top inventor associations and learning about the industry via such organizations as the Direct Response Marketing Alliance (DRMA) or attending trade shows like Response Expo (May 2011 in San Diego), entrepreneurs can position themselves to get in front of the best marketers in the business and get the best opportunity for success.
No matter the economy or other obstacles, direct response marketing gives an entrepreneur building his or her dream product in their own home the best opportunity to get that product in the hands of millions of consumers.
Thomas Haire is editor-in-chief of Santa Ana, Calif.-based Response Magazine, the only independent magazine covering the direct response marketing world. He can be reached via e-mail at thaire@questex.com.