Branding vs Direct Response Smackdown
When you’re looking to hire marketing help for your small business, you need to know where those folks fall on the branding-direct response spectrum.
Many agencies and consultants who spent their careers in super-sized companies have a clear bias toward branding and lack of understanding or even disdain about direct response that can be dangerous to to a small business owner looking to maximize her marketing dollars.
And this marketing article I came across today is a perfect example of that. In it, Gian Fulgoni, Chairman of comScore tells eMarketer…
Is the preoccupation with direct response partly a result of so many young people being involved in Internet advertising? DR [direct response] is immediate gratification.
Maybe they don’t understand branding. They don’t have a long-term perspective and they don’t have patience. They gravitate towards direct response.
Yes, the goal direct response is to prompt action. Last I heard–someone generally does have to take action to become a customer. (Unless you’re one of those telephone slamming companies.)
And an immediate response would be great–since the more time that goes by, the less likely people are to respond.
But the direct response rule of thumb says it usually takes 7-9 (and sometimes many more) exposures to a company’s message before someone takes action. So yes, smart marketers want an immediate response, but also know it may not come the first time around.
And in the meantime…those messages can help build a RELATIONSHIP with interested prospects–and help cement their loyalty after the purchase.
Of course, it’s hard to build relationships when you’re focused on espousing one-way messages via traditional “branding” strategies…so who sounds more short-term focused now?
(And who doesn’t understand branding? We get Branding 101 lessons from the moment Mom puts the first Baby Gap outfit on us…)
Don’t get me wrong, EVERY business needs to do some branding in terms of how they position themselves. But the vast majority can’t spend millions of dollars a year on ads that say “hey, look at us” and don’t ask for some type of response.
And he inadvertently makes my final point when he gives this example:
Let’s say I’m BMW. Do I want to reach a 20-year-old kid who can’t afford to buy a BMW today?
The direct response people would say, “No, don’t target with the Internet.” They would target those people who are about to buy a car. That’s one view.
Imagine that–trying to target people who might actually be READY to buy a car!
If you have money to burn, it’s great to be so future-focused. As a small business, I’d rather take the common sense approach with direct response marketing any day.
What about you?
Posted: July 6th, 2009 under Get a Clue!, Savvy Marketing.
Comments: 3
Comments
Comment from Kevin
Time: July 6, 2009, 8:45 pm
Nicely done.
Fulgoni does make a good point, though, that clicks don’t tell the whole story, which is why bidding on brand names converts so well for PPC. Do we have analytics that show how ad impressions, not just clicks, contribute to conversions?
My understanding of the goal of branding, via Al and Laura Reis, is to occupy the forefront position in the consumer’s mind for whatever category of thing it is that you’re selling. For example, in the summer when I desire cheap, cold beer in a can, my first thought is “PBR.”
The Reis solution is to be prime mover in a category that you create, or at least claim before anybody else.
But you’re argument for direct-response as an opportunity to build a relationship and cement loyalty sounds like a great alternative means to the same end. No form of advertising competes with a remarkable first experience.
Kevin´s last blog ..kevincollins: @treysmith this will do it: http://huitter.com/mutuality/ 
Comment from Tracy Needham
Time: July 8, 2009, 9:54 am
Hi Kevin,
Thanks for the comment. As far as I know, there’s no way to know how ad impressions lead to conversions–I believe that would require more qualitative type research (such as actually asking people where they’d heard of the company before, but of course, many can never remember).
The Reis solution is a good one — my issue is more with branding advertising. It drives me batty to see ads that small companies have paid a lot of money for in their local paper, trade journals and magazines that do nothing but attempt to “brand” them as the foremost company in their category.
Too often, these businesses are being led to believe these ads will bring them a flood of new customers. They won’t. Potential customers want to know “what will you do for me?” And branding ads rarely answer that question because they’re focused on the company, not the customer.
If your goal is to create a response, there’s no better way to do it than with direct-response advertising/marketing that speaks to the customers’ needs and wants and asks them to take action.
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