Everything you need to know about Direct Response Marketing

Have you ever walked by a particular ad and felt so convinced by it that you just had to take action and buy whatever product or service it was selling almost immediately? This doesn’t just happen in real life on billboards or posters; it can even happen while you’re scrolling on social media – remember that particular ad on Instagram that you came across, that you clicked into and purchased from in record time?

That, my dear reader, is direct response marketing at its most effective.

Our team at SalesWorks has been driving brand activations in the Asian region for more than 25 years now. When shaping a forward strategy for clients, no matter the product or service and the medium through which you are selling, it is a tried and tested method to include a direct response element as it functions to generate actionable results for any type of campaign.

But first, let’s explore everything you need to know about direct response marketing.

What is direct response marketing?

Direct response marketing is a type of sales technique designed to evoke an on-the-spot response by the prospective customer. The primary objective is to encourage the customer to take action and create a conversion, such as making a purchase or signing up for an offer.

In practice, direct response marketing is applicable across all marketing methodologies – from direct mail and social media marketing to even influencer campaigns – allowing you to adapt to the best and most effective targeting methods to reach your customers.

Advantages of direct response marketing

Taking up the direct response approach in your marketing strategy delivers higher quality leads as you’re focused on an audience with imminent needs.

This, in turn, leads to much faster revenue growth as the customer moves down the sales funnel quicker with each traceable conversion – giving you insight into how effective your campaign is.

So, in short, not only does it bring about an immediate reaction, but it also gives you immediate data as to whether your campaign is successful or not.

How to shape up a direct response marketing campaign

There are four key elements to a direct response marketing strategy:

• Solving a problem: The whole point of a direct response marketing campaign is to elicit an immediate response. That’s why your ad needs to focus on consumer problems or on things they care about.
• Using clear calls to action: The call to action (CTA) is the most crucial part of an advertisement since this is where you direct your users to perform a specific action.
• Picking the right channels: You don’t have to spray and pray; optimise your strategy on the most effective channels where your audience is, and analyse where the most conversions typically happen as well.
• Creating a sense of urgency: Time is of the essence; creating a sense of urgency encourages quick interactions and decision-making that impacts the success of your campaign.

Now that you have a good idea of what direct response marketing is and how it can boost your business, check out how brands are putting this to practice.

Examples of prominent direct response marketing campaigns in Southeast Asia

Take a leaf out of these brands’ books and glean inspiration from these successful marketing campaigns:

1. Berocca: 30-day #BeroccaBERchallenge

The healthcare brand intended to position its product as a health supplement that provides an energy boost, seizing the month of Ramadan as the perfect setting to reinforce its product as a daily supplement.

Berocca enlisted popular Malaysia influencers to document their 30-day #BeroccaBERchallenge, encouraging customers to participate during Ramadan itself and driving conversion on Shopee where the same 30-day product packs used by the influencers are made available for purchase.

2. Circles.Life: A world without telco contracts

This digital telco operator was launched in Singapore as the market’s first virtual network operator. Their biggest challenge is the fact that consumers do not really understand how digital telcos work.

They devised a direct response content campaign that focused on educating the general population about their product – but also drove conversion with a clear call to action to switch over to a different type of telco service.

3. Zalora: Black Friday, Cyber Monday sale

Popular Southeast Asian fashion and e-commerce platform, Zalora, is big on direct response marketing. They’re quick and good with seasonal campaigns that create a sense of urgency and conversion with limited-time offers.

Ace your direct response marketing strategy with SalesWorks

Now that you have a good grasp of direct response marketing and inspiration of how other brands are leveraging it, you might want to look for a partner that can support your go-to-market activation and more – which is where SalesWorks can come in to bring your strategies to the next level.

Get in touch with us to find out more about how our team of experts on the ground in more than 8 markets across Asia can help. Contact us today!