News
 7
Keys for Improving Your Offer
By Craig Huey
One critical element of any direct marketing
campaign is the offer. Many in the industry agree
that as part of the marketing strategy, the offer
constitutes 40 percent of the overall success of any
campaign.
Couple this with the fact that Americans expect a
special deal (e.g., half off, “freebies,” sales),
and it’s easy to see why the offer can make a
difference between success or failure.
With this in mind, here are seven tips to improve
your offer:
1. Concentrate on selling your offer instead of your
product. This especially works for lead generation
programs in which your initial goal is to identify
prospects who can be sold later on.
2. Emphasize your offer. Don’t bury it. State it
prominently and often. And make sure it’s evident at
the point of action—the order form.
3. Layer your offer heavily with benefits. What the
prospective customers perceive as valuable is what
sells. Remember, they are buying benefits.
4. Try to personalize your offer. This can be easily
done with the help of computer personalization. For
example, the most popular items in many catalogs are
name-imprinted pencils.
5. More leads will be generated if your offer
appeals to a broad market. Two good examples are the
marketing of cookbooks—because everybody eats—and
using unique athletic socks as a “freebie”—rather
than just golf balls—for sports fans.
6. The best leads will come if your offer closely
relates to your product or service. If your offer
includes something unrelated, you’ll get too many
less-qualified leads. On the other hand, if it’s too
specific, you may limit those responding. But you
can control your response somewhat by carefully
considering your offer.
7. Know to whom you’re making your offer. Gear it
accordingly, whether it’s to CEOs, families or
upper-middle-class investors. A dream house will
appeal to growing families, but probably not to
singles. Presidents of companies want to save time
and money, while employees want promotions and less
hassles at work.
Craig Huey is president of a direct response
advertising agency, Creative Direct Marketing Group,
Inc and InfoMat. 310-212-5727 (craig@cdmginc.com).
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