Getting response in a down economy

All of us who work in the direct marketing industry have been affected by the economy.

In fact, the economy has affected pretty much everyone in advertising, publishing, or media.

So, last year, when the pain really started to set in, I decided to write a white paper to provide my take on the situation and provide some sound advice on dealing with it.

The results was Getting Response in a Down Economy: 4 Key Principles to Boost Your Direct Mail Profits in Today’s Difficult Market.

In just under five pages, I reveal the challenge of today’s market, what’s really happening out there, 6 key truths about your customers, the hidden opportunities of a down market, how to get your mind right, and the four key principles to improve response to your marketing efforts.

I then spend the rest of the 37-page report providing simple, actionable tips and resources for surviving (or even thriving) in today’s marketplace.

Here’s a quick excerpt:

Understand Your Customers

Each morning when you wake up, say this five times: “It’s ALL about psychology.” This is true for the economy and it’s the key to direct response advertising as well. Your customers are uncertain and afraid, but they are still essentially the same customers you’ve always had.

All the same psychological principles apply, though some are now playing a more prominent roll. By understanding this and allowing this knowledge to guide your selling strategy, you can give yourself a powerful advantage now and in the boom years to come.

People love to buy. They love to discover wonderful new products and experiences. In America, and increasingly around the world, people see commerce as a natural and appealing activity.

People make buying decisions emotionally. They decide based on a feeling, need, or emotion. That’s why intangible benefits are generally the key to persuasion. For any given promotion, you should ask yourself, “What is the emotional hot button here?”

People need to justify decisions logically. While people make emotional decisions, they justify those decisions with logic and facts. You should always give people the appropriate justification for making a purchase.

People want to avoid risk. People pursue gain, but the urge to avoid loss is more powerful because it works on a more basic level. In direct marketing, people usually can’t see you or the thing you’re promoting before they part with their money. So there is always a level of distrust and suspicion you must overcome.

People seek value. Value is not a fixed number. It is a subjective relationship between the thing you are selling and what people perceive its worth to be. The greater the value relative to the price, the more likely people will respond to your offer.

People buy direct because of convenience and exclusivity. Don’t fool yourself. If your customers could easily find the things you offer at a nearby store, that’s probably where most would buy them because the perceived risk is lower.

Has any of this changed? No. People are still people.

However, while a well-written headline and eye-catching photo can still make someone want what you’re offering, your customer’s fear and logic circuits are now operating on overdrive. They need stronger justification and greater value than ever before. They also need more assurance that their financial risk is minimal or even that the purchase will save them money.

These aren’t foreign concepts. We know these ideas well. Today’s market simply requires more attention to them than when the marketplace was flush with cash.

So if you are savvy enough to sell with one set of psychological conditions, you are savvy enough to sell with another set. In fact, as a direct marketer, you are better equipped to adapt to these modified conditions than virtually any other type of business.

Click here to download the entire white paper.

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May 11, 2010 | Filed in Direct Marketing

1 Comment

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One Response to “Getting response in a down economy”

Joshua Black | The Underdog Millionaire on May 11th, 2010 3:10 pm

Thank you for sharing this with all of us Dean. I know that I have definitely felt the economic hit in my own business. People are making sure that every dollar they spend is going to bring them back a real value and if we can develop some strong business in this current economy, then it will really boom when things pick back up again.

-Joshua Black
The Underdog Millionaire

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