News
 The
Top 8 Direct Marketing Offers of All Time
By Dean Rieck
Offers are the heart of all direct response
advertising. An offer is not just a statement of
your price, it’s the deal you’re making.
It’s the total of what the customer gets plus what
the customer has to do or pay to get it. By making
an offer, you’re saying, “You do this for me, and
I’ll do this for you.”
Here are eight offers that have proven themselves
over the years. They almost always raise your
response rate:
• Free Trial. This may be the best offer ever
devised. A customer can try out your product free
and without obligation for 10, 15, 30 days, or more.
The time frame should fit the product. This offer
removes risk for the prospect, overcomes inertia and
works with just about any product.
• Money-Back Guarantee. This is perhaps the second
best offer. A customer pays upfront but, if
dissatisfied, can return the item for a full refund.
Like the free trial, this offer removes risk but
allows you to use customer inertia to your benefit
since few people will take the trouble to return
something.
• Free Gift. When you offer a freebie your customer
wants, your offer will usually outpull a discount
offer of similar value. That’s because a gift is a
more tangible benefit. This also has the advantage
of not devaluing your product with a price
reduction.
• Limited Time. An offer with a time limit gets more
response than an offer without one. You can display
an exact date or suggest a response time frame, such
as 14 days or 30 days. This forces a decision. And
the faster you can force a decision, the more likely
it will be in your favor.
• Yes/No. You ask your prospect to respond
positively or negatively, usually by affixing a
“yes” stamp or a “no” stamp or by checking one of
two boxes. This offer is involving and usually pulls
more response than an offer that does not offer a
“no” option. It works because it clarifies the need
for a decision right away.
• Negative Option. This pulls better than positive
option offers. You offer a free trial or a special
deal on a product then automatically ship future
merchandise unless the customer specifically takes
an action to refuse. Just make sure this arrangement
is clear. People become very unhappy when you start
shipping and billing for items they didn’t know they
were ordering.
• Credit Card Payment. Nothing is easier than paying
with plastic. These days, there’s no reason not to
accept payment this way by phone, mail, fax, or the
Internet. In fact, this has moved beyond an offer
and has become an expectation.
• Sweepstakes. This increases your order volume if
you’re selling easy-to-understand impulse items.
However, these customers aren’t loyal, and you may
find yourself forever trapped in an endless cycle of
contests.
--- Dean Rieck is president of Direct Creative (www.directcreative.com),
a full-service creative firm. E-mail: DeanRieck@DirectCreative.com.
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