Is CRM Right For You? A 15-Minute Quiz

Do you believe in magic?

Marketers tend to. They are suckers for miracle cures - and here's why.

We all know our customers are lazy. That's why the words "quick" and "easy" always increase readership of any headline.

Show them how they can do something - lose weight, learn a language - with less effort, and you probably have a winning proposition.

You must package it well, though - preferably with an impressive name.

So it's not listening to and repeating words and phrases; it's "programmed learning". That makes you feel you're doing something important, doesn't it?

And guess what? Marketers are just as lazy as customers - hardly surprising, as they are customers every day. Most (as I learned from asking them to define it in many countries) are is too lazy to even learn what marketing is - let alone what "direct marketing" means.

Anyhow, that word "direct" ... doesn't it sound distressingly close to direct mail? And we all know what that means, don't we? Junk. Ugh. That certainly doesn't sound very flattering, does it?

CRM sounds much better. People love it. Though I cannot for the life of me see how it differs from what I've always done.

Mind you, it took me about nine years to get any good at what I do, whereas a few years ago Oracle's ads said: "Start today and have global customer relationship management in 19 days."

Sounds a lot better than hard work, doesn't it? Mr. Super CRM would whiz into their office and take care of everything for them! No wonder it took off.

Many firms started CRM divisions before even knowing what the heck it really was - or meant to their business.

No wonder that a few years after it first came into fashion, the US magazine Advertising Age reported that over 70% of firms who tried it said it didn't work.

I shall discuss why in a moment, with some good, practical advice you can act on from somebody who has specialised in this field.

In the meantime, here's a little reminder that miracles only happen in the movies.



The word 'loyalty' is often used about CRM. But as a former chairman of Marks & Spencer observed, "Customers are not loyal nor should they be. We have to earn their loyalty every day".

His firm forgot that and it nearly ruined them.

Sober people know the obvious: nobody sane wants a relationship with their bank or supermarket. They have enough trouble getting on with their families. And a "programme" won't cure any dodgy relationship.

But the intelligent use of data does pay. Here is a good example. Ocado sent my partner Marta this, based on things she had bought before.



CRM schemes fail above all because your business lives or dies on its attitude to customers. And a quick fix doesn't change attitudes.

So here is check list for you. It was put together by my associate Peter Hardingham, who has worked with me on and off for 20 years, and revised by me because I interfere with everything that leaves this office.

Is CRM right for you? A 15-minute quiz

Step 1

Unless you have answered these four questions, there is absolutely NO point in boarding the good ship CRM.

• Do you really know what your customers want?


• Do you know what they think you promise them? Are they the same things?


• Can you clearly identify these desires and beliefs, before and after they have become customers?


• How will you find out? Do so before anything else!

Step 2

Set realistic expectations, and deliver what you promise or you can end up worse off than if you never started.

• Can you deliver what your customers want - and, just as important, what they think you promise?


• If not, what can you deliver now, and in the future?


• If it is in the future, how quickly? And how will you keep them happy in the interim?

Step 3

A customer in the dark is an angry customer. A customer in the know can end up buying more.

• At what points in the purchase process will you tell your customers what they want to know


• About their order?


• To reassure them?

Step 4

• Can you identify the points from step 3 in every customer transaction?


• Are you sure your IT team can deliver?


• If you have retail outlets, can the staff get this information - quickly and easily?

Step 5

Many firms still have separate databases for customer and transactional information If your marketing database can't access both, you're in trouble.

• Can you record what happens at all every point in the transaction?


• On a database all those who may need to know can access?

The moment of truth.

Did you answer the first 5 steps mostly 'yes'? If so, you stand a chance of CRM working for you. If you said mostly 'no', stop right now and get it right.

If you're talking to CRM consultants politely ask them to leave. Their time is expensive, and you'll lose your shirt.

Step 6 - start the ball rolling

• Tell your customers what you plan to do


• Manage their expectations


• Involve, motivate and train all your


• Make sure everyone - particularly retail staff - gets the same respect

Step 7 - attend to detail

Remind yourself what you've promised, and deliver it. Often, essential processes are not part of firms' structures. They don't appreciate what skills and structures you need.

• If this is an incentivised scheme, how will points, miles or other benefits be allocated, captured, and communicated to the customer?


• How will redemptions be handled?

Step 8

Most customers won't tell you they are unhappy. They tell their friends - and walk away.

• Set up a monitoring process in your company


• Make sure you identify any weak links that appear in the chain

Step 9

• Ask your customers how they think you're doing


• Loyalty can improve just by making it easy for them to tell you what they think


• Allow your customers to suggest improvements. It's the best research you'll ever get

Step 10 - it doesn't stop

Don't imagine this is something you just "put in place".

• Keep listening to your customers


• Keep learning from your customers


• Keep refining your system


• Keep training and re-training your people

When should you refer to these questions?

When your IT director says, "We've got this wonderful CRM software..."

When the board says, "That's a brave move you're making there, this CRM stuff..."

Just take out this quiz, and re-read it. You'll know more than many CRM consultants. You might even keep your job.

If that interested you, you might find half an hour with Peter worth your while. I sent him along to three clients a while ago, and all wanted to know more. One - a travel destination - had him on a plane within a week.

Best,
Drayton
www.directmarketingcourse.com
www.commonsensedirectmarketing.com

How I Finally Made A Success Of My Business - And How You Can Do The Same

In october 2006 I decided I'd had enough.

I'd had enough of working for other people and making them the kind of money I could only dream about.

I'd had enough of people looking over my shoulders constantly to ensure they squeezed every drop of blood for the pittance they paid me... even though I worked my butt off.

In fact, in one job my manager actually told me if all the other guys together did half as much work as I did by myself, he'd be a happy bunny. There were eight other people in the team.

Did that satisfy the bosses of the company?

Does spiderman really exist? (Okay, I only used that because I'm a die-hard comic book fan. But you know what I mean).

Anyway, in October 2006 I decided I was going to be self-employed. I was going my own way.

So I called up the relevant government department and told them so.

And I've been self-employed ever since.

Although I think the term self 'unemployed' would be more suitable.

You see, I tried to learn how to make money on the internet. I bought one course after another.

Each time the promise was:

1. I had to spend money to make money


2. "Our course is the best one. And you'll definitely make money with it"

Three years and about $50,000.00 later (no typo), all I had to show for myself was a huge debt, with no ability to pay it back.

I was desperate.

Then, in October 2008 Drayton Bird held his first course in Direct and Digital Marketing through EADIM (European Academy of Direct and Interactive Marketing).

The cost was 3,000 Euros. I couldn't afford it.

So I ended up wasting more money trying to learn more stuff that was no good And getting even deeper in debt on my credit cards.

(funny how we can't afford to pay for something sensible, but can afford to get even more in debt, huh?).

Then in August 2009 I decided enough really was enough.

I borrowed the money from my brother and enrolled on that year's EADIM course.

Was it worth it?

It was the single best investment I've made in all these years of struggling.

In fact, I made back my investment at least 5 times since. And more.

I was so enthusiastic about this course that Drayton Bird himself sent me an email and offered me the chance to work with him.

The result?

Check out this site: www.directmarketingcourse.com

I had a big hand in that copy.

This is what Ross Bowring, a fellow copywriter on the Warrior Forum, said of the copy on this site...

"Rezbi... Bravo! And I've never said "Bravo" to anyone before (!) That's a very nicely written letter. Skillfully communicates benefits with no hype whatsoever. Read the whole thing. Never usually do that. Mightily impressed."

And this is what Drayton said of the same...

Enthusiasm without knowledge is useless. Rezbi is one of those rare and valuable people - a genuine enthusiast who studies. He was hugely valuable to me in working on the promotion for EADIM. The (very complex) landing page is a good example of his work, a great joint effort!

All I can say is this - I got the opportunity to work on this, and on others, as a direct result of going on that course last year. It is, in my opinion, the best course on direct and digital marketing that exists today.

And, if ANYONE is really serious about their career, online or offline - no matter which industry they are in - they would be jumping to get on this course.

Now my question is: How serious are you?

Don't waste any more time or money. Get on this course and - finally - start making a success of your business and career.

If nothing else, at least go and check out the site to see how much I've accomplished as a result of doing this course. And how much you could, too: www.directmarketingcourse.com

Oh, I nearly forgot... if you book before the end of the year, you also get a HUGE 34% discount.

And, if you can't afford that measly sum, you can even pay by monthly installments.

Check it out: www.directmarketingcourse.com

Best,
Rezbi

Direct Response Marketing - How It Differs From Other Marketing Disciplines

What Is Direct Response Marketing?

Since even a mature business like advertising is not clearly understood by many of its practitioners you can hardly be surprised that few understand what direct marketing is.

Indeed, whilst preparing this article, I saw that, in a survey of 133 leading American direct marketers, no clear agreement on what the business is emerged.

When the phrase direct marketing comes up, most people, in my experience, immediately think of the medium of direct mail.

Others think of direct marketing as a method of selling, like off -the-page selling.

Others confuse it with a channel of distribution, like mail order.

Producing a definition as simple as ‘Salesmanship in print’ for advertising proved an insuperable task for the industry’s pundits. So much so that (in what I can only assume was a moment of despair) Direct Marketing magazine – then the industry’s leading American organ – summoned not one, but three experts to do so.

The result of their labours was placed at the beginning of every issue of the magazine.

It occupied two half pages, featuring one of those gloriously complicated flow charts which always throw me into a state of utter confusion.

You may consider the need for a simple definition unimportant; indeed, few people using direct marketing bother to speculate on what it really is.

But I consider it crucial.

Imagine spending millions of pounds without clearly understanding what you are spending them on.

Not an imaginary scenario, I assure you.

In fact, not long ago, I recall a debate taking place with a leading automobile company, which we shall call Ford for the sake of argument, covering many countries and multifarious marketing problems.

Was direct marketing an advertising activity?

In that case the people in charge of advertising should make the decision.

Was it ‘below the line’? In which case that company’s policy meant that a different department, usually concerned with purchasing everything down to stationery, would deal with it.

I will not go into detail, save to say that in the end different decisions were made in different countries for different reasons – most to do with these varying views of direct marketing.

This is obviously stupid.

And it is not likely to become any more intelligent if everybody involved has to understand and memorise a long, illustrated definition before they start work.

Moreover, the pool of understanding has been muddied further by the fact that many practitioners are not even agreed that direct marketing ought to be called direct marketing.

As a result, combined with the desire to give brand names to particular companies’ approaches to the business, all sorts of names have cropped up: terms such as ‘curriculum marketing’, ‘dialogue marketing’, ‘personal marketing’, ‘database marketing’ and – currently the most fashionable one – ‘customer relationship marketing’.

But the most common term remains direct marketing.

It is certainly the one I propose to stick to.

Nevertheless, these terms do reveal important facts about the nature of the business.

Certainly direct marketing revolves around the building and exploitation of a database – though there is more to it than that.

Equally, building a relationship is one of our objectives – but only one.

The approach is personal; and in the process of building  a relationship, you can guide your prospect through a curriculum whereby you learn more about them and they learn more about you.

But my simple definition of direct marketing is: ‘any advertising activity which creates and exploits a direct relationship between you and your prospect or customer as an individual’.

If you and I can agree that we ought to call direct marketing ‘direct marketing’, and you accept my simple definition, then you will immediately appreciate that a wide range of activities is encompassed.

I am sure you have been stopped by people standing on street corners with questionnaires bearing such inane queries as: ‘Are you able to save as much money as you’d like?’ If you are not careful, these will lead to a visit from an insurance salesman.

Clearly these people are engaged in direct marketing: they are making a direct contact and trying to initiate a relationship with you as an individual.

In the same way, somebody who offers you a leaflet inviting you to go into your local hamburger joint and win a prize; or the ad for the introduction agency offering love everlasting; the note in the shop window selling a used ghetto blaster; the ad suggesting you apply for shares in British Telecom; the leaflet coming through your door in praise of your local Conservative Party candidate – they’re all direct marketing.

In fact the most popular section in many papers – the classified section – is nothing but direct marketing.

And almost everything that happens on the internet involves direct marketing.

Perhaps it is worth stating here what I believe to be the differences between direct marketing and some of the other communications tools. (This is not made any easier by the fact that in the case of sales promotion, people are no more agreed about what they do than are direct marketers.)

How Does Direct Marketing Differ From Other Disciplines Like Advertising?

• Advertising usually speaks to people en masse, not as individuals. Although today the vast majority of ads do allow people to respond, especially by going to a website, advertising does not usually aim above all for an immediate response. It seeks  to influence customers so that they choose your brand when they reach the point of decision – the shop, for instance.


• Sales promotion is normally designed to get action at the point of sale. Often it uses the same methods as direct marketing. It can also generate lists. But rarely is there a continuing effort to build a lasting relationship with  respondents by exploiting the full possibilities of a database.


• Public relations employs media controlled by others to create a favourable climate of opinion. It too can create a database, for instance of replies to editorials, which are usually of very good quality.


• Packaging protects and draws attention to the product. It can also strengthen people’s belief in your product, reassure them, make offers, and collect names cheaply for the database.


• Experiential marketing, a fashionable new name for what used to be called events, certainly creates opportunities for building relationships, although few are doing this with it. Certainly practitioners in all disciplines are  increasingly aware of the potential of the direct relationship, but very few appreciate its full possibilities.

The above is an excerpt taken from Drayton Bird's book, 'Commonsense Direct & Digital Marketing'.

To discover how direct and digital marketing can -- and most probably will -- make a difference to your business, click here.

Best,
Rezbi
www.directmarketingcourse.com
www.hotbuttoncopywriting.com
www.commonsensedirectmarketing.com

P.S. I just found a great article by Seth Godin where he also talks about the difference between direct marketing vs. mass market thinking. You can read that article here.

Failure - A Friendly Kick Up The Backside

I'm a lazy sod given half a chance, so I thought I'd let an old friend do a bit of work.

Christian Digby-Firth was one of my creative directors years ago at O & M and has a very neat turn of phrase.

Good writing is always a good thing to note if you want good people, since as Dr. Johnson observed, "Language is the dress of thought."

Here's something Christian sent me just now.

"What is it about airport ads? They're breeding grounds for some of the most fatuous copy lines in the biz. "We know what it takes to be a Tiger", "In business people are good together", "Hello", etc. etc and all the others too crushingly dull to recall. Which is of course your point.

International committee work, I suppose.

"Make the most of now" is Vodafone's anxious strategic imperative writ large: i.e. "Please use your mobile phone to do all sorts of things that are pointless to you but profitable to us, and do them now because we don't make anything on your boring old voice calls".

Now, I have to confess that though I agree with almost everything in that hilarious little note, I don't agree with that.

I think the Tiger campaign is very cleverly aimed at executives with very small p**cks and even smaller minds who want to feel like they're big bold business marauders - and who are gullible enough to believe Accenture will help them do it without having to think, in exchange for absurdly large sums of money.

But there is an important point I want to make (besides one I made in an earlier piece, which is that emotion beats logic, even in business).

It's: Playing on people's inadequacies is a very smart thing to do.

Take a look at any successful self-help ad, and you'll see what they do.

I mentioned Max Sackheim a week or so ago - the man who wrote "My First 50 years in Advertising".

He wrote an ad entitled, "Do you make these mistakes in English?" aimed to sell English courses to immigrants who felt unsure about their English. It ran successfully for 40 years.

Here it is:



Lillian Eichler wrote an ad with the heading, "Again she orders - A Chicken Salad, Please." - to sell a book of etiquette to people who felt socially inadequate.

It took three writers to produce an ad headed, "Here's an extra $50, Grace - I'm making real money now" - aimed to sell correspondence courses. This is one of my favourite headlines ever..

Now, I hope you're not going to give me that bleeding heart stuff about playing on people's fears. If you do I will tell you one thing I know for sure, in fact I bet on it once..

Recently I was speaking at Manchester University, and the celebrity speaker was a famous chef. I was discussing what motivates successful people with a lady at my table..

I said, "It's fear of failure - and I bet this man is no exception."

The man's speech began almost word for word with what I'd said. He revealed how he feared not living up to his father's expectations..

People who achieve do so almost always because they fear to fail..

And people who fail usually do so because they're cocksure -not worried about failing, and so don't try hard enough.

Best,
Drayton
www.directmarketingcourse.com
www.commonsensedirectmarketing.com

"The Greatest DM Creative Of This Generation"

This is Steve Harrison...

"The greatest DM creative of this generation."

A bold claim, you might say, but that's not me saying it. It was a claim made by the UK’s leading advertising journal, Campaign magazine.



Steve was one of the presenters at the direct marketing course ran by Drayton Bird's European Academy of Direct and Interactive Marketing, or EADIM for short.

Let me tell you, Steve alone was worth the fee for the course.

And that's saying something when you consider some of the industry's biggest hitters were also there presenting.

It's happening again starting this October. I'll give you more details soon.

Best,
Rezbi
www.eadim.com
www.commonsensedirectmarketing.com

How Often Should You Talk Yo Your Customers?

This video may sound a bit like it was recorded in a municipal swimming baths (actually it was my partner Al'S quaint West Country residence) but once you've got over that, you may find it useful.



That's because it deals with something I must have been asked a thousand times: how often should I mail/email my clients?

This reminds me of another hoary old favourite: how long should the copy be?

And both remind me of the philosopher Bertrand Russell's remark that "What men seek is not knowledge, but certainty."

Some people think they should be talking more often, lest their customers think they are being ignored; others think they should talk less for fear of boring them.

The truth is, as so often, that it depends on a myriad things. In this 2 minute 6 second clip I get pretty excited about the subject - but don't let that put you off.

By the way, I have just finished putting together the examples for the first How to Write Proper webinar.

Best,
Drayton
www.eadim.com
www.commonsensedirectmarketing.com

How To Charm Your Prospects

Last week I sat beside Drayton and watched him go through copy written by one of his clients. Keep in mind this piece of copy wasn't bad.

Drayton just sat there, in front of his screen, and edited it with such ease it was amazing.

By the time he finished, it was a masterpiece.

Best,
Rezbi
www.eadim.com
www.commonsensedirectmarketing.com

Drayton Bird On The Most Common Copywriting Mistake

In copy one of the worst things you can do is to drag on about irrelevant things.

This is a mistake I always made before Drayton kept drumming it into my head. I guess I still do make this mistake, but not as much as before.

As David Ogilvy used to say, "You can't bore people into buying your product. You can only interest them in buying it."

Best,
Rezbi
www.eadim.com
www.commonsensedirectmarketing.com

Watch Your Tone!

Do you suffer from a crippling condition called deadline panic?

I do - and it attacked me with some ferocity recently when after a few glasses of cheering sangria I looked at my schedule for the week.

I was immediately reminded of a maxim by one of my old bosses: "Whatever you're doing, you should have started sooner" - Bill Phillips.

Bill Phillips ran Ogilvy & Mather when I sold my old agency to them, and we both like quotations.

(One of his I particularly appreciate is "A neat stall is the sign of a dead horse" - and if you saw my desk, you'd know why)

Anyhow, I realised with some alarm that I was going to Bucharest and Kiev that week to do 4 seminars, one of which I hadn't written yet.

Since it takes a couple of days' work to put together a good talk, this was quite a worry, so I started going through possible material.

And by chance I found one or two good quotations. Here is the man who wrote the first:



Did you recognise him? It is Evelyn Waugh, one of the great comic writers of the 20th century, and a wonderful stylist.

During the Second World War he and his wife used to write to each other and on one occasion he wrote complaining about how dull her letters were.

"A good letter is like a conversation," he wrote.

This reminded me of a meeting I had with the managing director of Mercedes Passenger Cars about 17 years ago when we started doing their direct marketing.

He was concerned about the tone of their copy - and in fact that is why we got the business.

We talked about this for a while, then I said,

"Have you ever actually sold cars?"

"Yes" he said.

Then I asked: "Did you talk to your customers the way you've been talking to me?"

"Yes."

"Well," I replied. "That is the kind of tone your direct mail should have."

The difference between good copy and so-so copy is largely about tone. Of course, few writers even understand the basics, but even if they do most write with a sort of half-witted enthusiasm, where everything is "fabulous" and "exciting". So the copy lacks credibility. Readers say, "Oh, come on."

The really good copy is conversational in tone, and is adapted to suit the context

Read your copy out loud. Does it sound like someone talking? It should.

And does it sound like typical "sales" copy any one of your competitors could run. It shouldn't.

The other thing to watch out for is that the language must be appropriate to the writer - and the recipient.

If you're supposed to be the chairman, write like a wise and friendly adviser. If you're writing to another chairman, write as an equal. If you're supposed to be someone who handles complaints, adapt accordingly. And so on.

It's deceptively simple - but not that easy to do. You just have to work at it.

Best,
Drayton

P.S.  This is number 25 of Drayton Bird’s 101 free helpful marketing ideas.  You can sign up on the link below for the rest.

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www.draytonbirdcommonsense.com / www.eadim.com

Is this gibberish REALLY how to communicate? Hard to believe – and I have a suggestion

Do you feel successful? I don't.

Yes, I have moments of euphoria, usually after I’ve written something pretty good – but it’s not long before I decide I’m useless.

So I read about a seminar in “power talking” and “communication skills” with great interest - especially when it said that 80% of people fail at work because they don’t “relate well” to other people ...“a clear case of failed communication”.
.
Well, the seminar was cheap, the course leader is practically a genius – “multi skilled as an Occupational Psychologist, Executive Mentor, Presenter and Counsellor” - and the subject is highly relevant.

But the copy put me off. As far as I or anyone else who cares for the English language might be concerned it was indeed a case of failed communication. It had more clichés and jargon in it than a politician’s speech.

I was promised “user-friendly, high-level skills” and “solution-focused communication techniques”. There was obsessive use of expressions based on the word “impact” – “impacts on”, “impactful”, “high-impact” and “positive impact”. And naturally that shop-soiled word "engage" popped up (why not "intrigue" or "interest"?)

If that's how people who teach communication write, it explains a lot of the mindless tripe we all have to plough though - in documents, on the internet, in meetings: everywhere.

Every day you are trying to get colleagues, bosses, customers – maybe family – to do what you want. Whether you like it or not, life is one long sales pitch – and most of that selling is done in writing.

So how do you avoid boring the hell out of people? How do you write well? It really matters, as two old colleagues, Ken Roman and Joel Raphaelson, revealed in their splendid book “Writing that Works”.

It seems that when the Chief Executives of top U.S. firms were asked what they would most like to change in business, the majority pleaded: “Can someone please teach people to write better?”

Now if you’re wondering where all this has been leading, let me ask you a question.

Would you or your colleagues be interested in three short webinars on how to write better? I have been teaching this for nearly 30 years, and my normal rate is £5,000 per day. But if enough of you are interested I will do them for £39 each.

In my time I’ve written books, scripts, articles, ads, brochures, presentations, speeches, emails, editorials – you name it – and got paid for them all. I’ll tell you what I’ve learned.

The last time I did a seminar on this subject it was for the world's largest conference organisers. People said the were "inspired". I can't guarantee such giddy heights of joy, but I think you'll find it worth it.

Can you take a second to email me and say if this interests you? Just write saying yes or no to Drayton@draytonbird.com.

And, just so I know where you're coming from, do me a favour and type in 'marketing sleuth' anywhere in the email.

Thanks!

Best,
Drayton

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Website: www.commonsensedirectmarketing.com / www.eadim.com

Drayton Bird: Understanding People

Drayton Bird on why understanding people is good for good marketing.

Sales Tip...Choose Bonus Gifts Carefully

It was almost impossible to find direct marketing mentors when I started in business. Therefore, much of my education was by necessity trial and error. One of the many marketing blunders early on in my career was this.

A book I published through my company,
Enterprise Publishing, that was written by a
prominent lawyer was my first big flop. Of
course, I had lots of remaining copies in the
warehouse. And this was after I had tried several
different copy approaches to sell it.

So, I came up with what I thought was a brilliant
idea. I would beef up and enhance the offer of a
very successful $70 book I was then marketing.
How? By simply adding a free copy of the failed
$25 book. My assumption was overall sales
would be even stronger than without the free gift.
Of course, I wrote some sales copy.

Much to my amazement, sales not only didn't go
up. They went down by more than 33%!

Tip: The important marketing lesson is this. If
you can't sell it, you can't give it away
successfully either. If people won't buy it when
offered in an appealing way, they don't want it,
free or not. Period.

Lesson learned: With any failed product, after
you have gone back to the drawing board and
exhausted every creative approach you can think
of and it still doesn't sell, get rid of it. Write it
off. Burn it or toss it if you have to. Just
don't try to sell it, or try to use it as a free
bonus gift. You will waste lots of time and
money.

I was again reminded of this important marketing
principle above just recently.

A big client of mine who is highly successful
catalog marketer asked me to take a look at three
recent covers of his catalogs (I write all the copy
for this entrepreneur, but I haven't always chosen
his free bonus gifts which are featured on the
cover).

He informed me that sales response was down on
these particular catalogs and asked me to please
take a look and comment as to what may be the
reason.

When I looked at the covers, everything looked
really good. The headline and subheadline copy
(which I wrote) as well as the photos were well
done graphically.

But there was one glaring problem that popped
out to me. The free bonus gifts featured on the
cover complete with photos were not at all
appealing. Therefore, there was little or no
added inducement to order from that particular
catalog. (Actually, a company employee in the
marketing department purchased the three free
gifts because she was offered a special low price
by the supplier. It's easy to see how the decision
to choose them was made.)

Tip: To do its proper job of increasing sales,
what counts is not your cost of a free bonus gift.
The key is that it must be appealing enough to
your customers to induce an order, especially
from "fence sitters."

I'm sure with better selection of bonus gifts
(that I have now been asked to approve before
use) my client's future catalog sales will
undoubtedly be much more successful.

Tip: To increase sales on any offer, add the
incentive of free gifts. Everyone likes free
gifts. I've never seen any offer that didn't get
a more successful response when the inducement
of appealing free bonuses was added. In fact,
many offers today online and offline will not
succeed or even cover front-end costs without
them.

By all means use free bonus gifts. But choose
them carefully. They can be terrific sales
builders. I've seen sales double on a previously
successful offer simply by adding hot bonuses.

As always, here's to your greater success, which
is always in the margin.

Your correspondent,
Ted Nicholas

—————

“This article appears courtesy of THE SUCCESS
MARGIN, the Internet’s most valuable success and
marketing e-zine. For a complimentary
subscription, visit http://www.tednicholas.com/

Make Sure That Before Anything Is Created, Database People Talk To Creative People

A little later I have a free offer for you, but first ...

Years ago I used to talk about what I call the "Nod Factor", which is essential in your messages.

I came up with this because most selling messages get one of three reactions.

• The first (and most common) is total indifference, because the message is irrelevant, stupid or meaningless, such as "T-mobile - stick together". This gets at best a puzzled "Uh?"


• The second, almost as common, occurs when the message is boastful drivel - like "The future is bright. The future is orange" - and almost all car advertising. This gets an irritated "Oh, come on."


• The third is what you should aim for. In it you say something the reader simply cannot disagree with. This gets the nod. And it is the beginning of successful persuasion.

Once you've got someone to agree to one thing you can then say something else hard to disagree with - and so on until you ask for a reply.

Having agreed to everything else, why should they say "no"?

The late Peter Drucker said many years ago:

"The perfect advertisement is one of which the reader can say, 'This is for me, and me alone'."

That means it gets the nod. And mass advertising simply cannot be that personal and relevant, which helps explain why direct marketing - online or off - has overtaken it.

More particularly, it helps explain why the database is so important.

I always refer to the magic crossroads, which for me is that point where what you want to say meets what you know about your prospect or customer. But first, here's some terror for you.

Harvey McKay said in his book Swim with the sharks without being eaten alive: "Something you know about your customer may be more important than anything you know about your product".

So even if you say something dull and unimaginative like "As an accountant" when writing to accountants you will get them reading.

As a matter of fact I have seen exactly those words increase response by 200% in a mailing to sell business loans.

Well that seems very simple doesn't it? Just use database knowledge intelligently.

But I noticed long ago that the chief objective of any organisation with more than one department is to make it hard to do anything intelligent.

In marketing one way this is done is by making sure the people who create the messages talk as little as possible to the people who manage the database.

So today's helpful idea is - make sure that before anything is created, database people talk to creative people.

I mentioned a little freebie at the start. It's a list of 11 database desiderata put together by the person I consider the best practical database expert in this country.

He's worked with everyone from American Express to Coca Cola - and I've collaborated with him many times over the years.

What I like about him is that he focuses quite simply on one thing: how to turn your data into money.

Just right click here to download it.

Unlike most stuff about databases which is pretentious and needlessly obscure, it's easy to understand.

Best,
Drayton

P.S.  This is number 4 of Drayton Bird’s 101 free helpful marketing ideas.  You can sign up on the link below for the rest.

—————————————–

Website: www.draytonbirdcommonsense.com / www.eadim.com

Click here to get 101 free helpful marketing ideas. Marketers from all over the world think they’re a pot of gold.

A Tiny Change Can Triple Response

To my mind, one of the most interesting aspects of
any form of direct marketing is this: How small
changes can make such a huge difference in
response. Especially in headlines and subheadlines.

For example, a client reports adding a single letter
to a headline tripled response to an offer.

The first headline read:

Put More Cash Into Your Pocket

The new headline is:

Puts More Cash Into Your Pocket

The addition of the letter "s" to the word "put"
made a 300% difference. This is not a misprint!

Notice the addition of a single letter changes the
meaning of the word and implies an easier solution.

If this is not enough to convince any skeptic that
small changes, even a single letter, can make a
huge difference, I don't know what is.

Here are other examples whereby a single word or
phrase has made an enormous difference in
response.

First headline:

Learn the Secrets of Millionaire Copywriters

New headline:

Discover the Secrets of Millionaire Copywriters

This new headline more than doubled response.
This is undoubtedly because the word "learn"
suggests lots of hard work.

Another example.

First headline (on order form):

ORDER FORM

Second headline:

FREE TRIAL REQUEST

This is another 200 plus percent increase. Reason?
Consumers do not respond well to the word
"ORDER". While it's an extremely negative word,
the majority of marketers still overuse it.

The word "order" suggests spending money, which
no one likes.

Plus, no one likes to fill out forms. Not even
accountants!

Do you, dear reader, feel able to choose which of
two competing headlines is the winner and
produced the highest response based on actual sales
results?

** The Success Margin challenge **

I'll present three headlines which were tested
against each other. The body copy was the same in
each instance. The results varied significantly. The
winner produced sales increases of 145% to 212%
and 254% respectively.

Here they are:

1. (a) The Ultimate Tax Shelter
(b) Tax Shelter for all Incomes

2. (a) How to be a Successful Consultant
(b) What Makes a Consultant Successful?

3. (a) Do You Suffer Joint Pain?
(b) Do Your Joints Feel Like They Are on Fire?

Success Margin subscribers who choose all three
correctly will receive a special gift.

Dedicated to helping you constantly improve
response.

Your correspondent,
Ted Nicholas

—————

“This article appears courtesy of THE SUCCESS
MARGIN, the Internet’s most valuable success and
marketing e-zine. For a complimentary
subscription, visit http://www.tednicholas.com/

Creativity and Accountability In Advertising

In case you've never heard of Lester Wunderman, he's the advertising genius who first coined the term 'Direct Marketing'.

In this video Wunderman talks about 'accountable creativity'.

Be All You Can Be - Read

I just carried out an interview with Drayton Bird (more on that soon) where I asked him his recommendations for books and authors to study.

One thing Drayton said is that you should not restrict your reading to only business books. You should also read for leisure. (I won't go too much into this as it's all on the interview.)

However, very soon afterwards I received an email from Ken McCarthy of the System Seminar.

In this email he said something which really resonated with me, and should with you, too, if you intend doing well in your business: Be all you can be. Read.

He points to a post on his blog entitled: Ten classic direct marketing books, where he lists his ten best books on the subject.


This was fantastic news to me as I'm always on the lookout for more material to sink my teeth into (if I was a vampire I'd be biting into books rather than necks).

Here's his list:

1. My Life in Advertising – Claude Hopkins
2. Tested Advertising Methods – John Caples (Fourth edition or earlier)
3. How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling – Frank Bettger
4. Scientific Advertising – Claude Hopkins
5. How to Write a Good Advertisement – Victor Schwab
6. My First Sixty Years in Advertising – Maxwell Sackheim
7. Secrets of Successful Direct Mail – Richard Benson
8. Breakthrough Advertising – Eugene Schwartz
9. The Robert Collier Letter Book – Robert Collier
10. Common Sense Direct and Digital Marketing – Drayton Bird

That's a good list.  I already have seven of them.

However, I think he missed one: How to write sales letters that sell by Drayton Bird which, in my opinion, is even better than The Robert Collier Letter Book.

Going too far, did you say?

Woah, give me a break and check it out yourself before getting the whip out.

Anyway, that is quite a comprehensive list and one you'd do well to take note of.

http://directanddigitalmarketing.com/thesystemseminar/

Be All You Can Be - Read

I just carried out an interview with Drayton Bird (more on that soon) where I asked him his recommendations for books and authors to study.

One thing Drayton said is that you should not restrict your reading to only business books. You should also read for leisure. (I won't go too much into this as it's all on the interview.)

However, very soon afterwards I received an email from Ken McCarthy of the System Seminar.

In this email he said something which really resonated with me, and should with you, too, if you intend doing well in your business: Be all you can be. Read.

He points to a post on his blog entitled: Ten classic direct marketing books, where he lists his ten best books on the subject.


This was fantastic news to me as I'm always on the lookout for more material to sink my teeth into (if I was a vampire I'd be biting into books rather than necks).

Here's his list:

1. My Life in Advertising – Claude Hopkins
2. Tested Advertising Methods – John Caples (Fourth edition or earlier)
3. How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling – Frank Bettger
4. Scientific Advertising – Claude Hopkins
5. How to Write a Good Advertisement – Victor Schwab
6. My First Sixty Years in Advertising – Maxwell Sackheim
7. Secrets of Successful Direct Mail – Richard Benson
8. Breakthrough Advertising – Eugene Schwartz
9. The Robert Collier Letter Book – Robert Collier
10. Common Sense Direct and Digital Marketing – Drayton Bird

That's a good list.  I already have seven of them.

However, I think he missed one: How to write sales letters that sell by Drayton Bird which, in my opinion, is even better than The Robert Collier Letter Book.

Going too far, did you say?

Woah, give me a break and check it out yourself before getting the whip out.

Anyway, that is quite a comprehensive list and one you'd do well to take note of.

http://directanddigitalmarketing.com/thesystemseminar/

Be All You Can Be - Read

I just carried out an interview with Drayton Bird (more on that soon) where I asked him his recommendations for books and authors to study.

One thing Drayton said is that you should not restrict your reading to only business books. You should also read for leisure. (I won't go too much into this as it's all on the interview.)

However, very soon afterwards I received an email from Ken McCarthy of the System Seminar.

In this email he said something which really resonated with me, and should with you, too, if you intend doing well in your business: Be all you can be. Read.

He points to a post on his blog entitled: Ten classic direct marketing books, where he lists his ten best books on the subject.


This was fantastic news to me as I'm always on the lookout for more material to sink my teeth into (if I was a vampire I'd be biting into books rather than necks).

Here's his list:

1. My Life in Advertising – Claude Hopkins
2. Tested Advertising Methods – John Caples (Fourth edition or earlier)
3. How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling – Frank Bettger
4. Scientific Advertising – Claude Hopkins
5. How to Write a Good Advertisement – Victor Schwab
6. My First Sixty Years in Advertising – Maxwell Sackheim
7. Secrets of Successful Direct Mail – Richard Benson
8. Breakthrough Advertising – Eugene Schwartz
9. The Robert Collier Letter Book – Robert Collier
10. Common Sense Direct and Digital Marketing – Drayton Bird

That's a good list.  I already have seven of them.

However, I think he missed one: How to write sales letters that sell by Drayton Bird which, in my opinion, is even better than The Robert Collier Letter Book.

Going too far, did you say?

Woah, give me a break and check it out yourself before getting the whip out.

Anyway, that is quite a comprehensive list and one you'd do well to take note of.

http://directanddigitalmarketing.com/thesystemseminar/

Here Are Two Adverts: Can You Guess Which Did Better?

How good is your judgment?

Below are two ads, both over 100 years old.

Can you guess which did better?

---

You'll find the answer near the end of this piece.

How did you do?

Now let me tell you about them.

I originally saw these ads during my first job as a creative director, some 40 years ago. Our biggest client sold washing machines direct - and I must have done a pretty good job as our chief competitor went broke.

I would like to say this was entirely because of my uncanny talent, but it was largely because we had a better product.

Anyhow, I had read something by David Ogilvy saying that before he wrote for any new client he studied all the advertising in the relevant category over the previous 20 years. I went back even further.

I found a book called My First 50 Years in Advertising, by Max Sackheim - which is excellent, by the way.

Max eventually co-founded one of the first specialist direct marketing agencies - Sackheim and Sherman, and he told the story of the winning ad, one of the first he ever wrote, in the late 1890s.

Anyhow, this leads to my next hint, taken from the great John Caples, who was once asked by the Wall Street Journal if the principles he laid down in the '30's and '40's still applied.

"Times change. People don't" he responded.

So, study what has worked in the past - even the distant past.

Which ad worked better? "Let this machine do your washing free" (with a happier face and much longer copy) trounced the negative approach and set Max Sackheim's career going.

I read his story and then wrote an ad headed, "Try this washing machine free in your home for 7 days". I even used the same typeface, which at that time was out of fashion.

I decided on this approach partly because I had found that once people had the washing machine in their homes hardly any complained, whereas only 20% of normal enquirers converted to sales.

The ad worked like a charm, and saved a ton of money in salesman's commission

***

Here's a sad postscript.

After I quit the agency to go into the mail order business, they forgot the principles I had listed for them, started getting "creative", and the client went broke.

The poor fellow who owned the company committed suicide. So good marketing can be a matter of life and death. And fancy ideas can kill.

***

(Max Sackheim and his partner devised the concept of the modern book club, and I shall write to you about him again, as he wrote one of the most successful advertisements ever, which ran for 40 years).

Best,
Drayton

P.S.  This is number 24 of Drayton Bird’s 101 free helpful marketing ideas.  You can sign up on the link below for the rest.

—————————————–

Website: www.draytonbird.com / www.eadim.com

Click here to get 101 free helpful marketing ideas. Marketers from all over the world think they’re a pot of gold.

Where To Get Ideas From

Some time ago I went to see a client who asked me where I get the ideas for these effusions from.

All sorts of places is the answer, but the question stimulated me to write Where to get ideas.

I love history, so I'll start with Vincenzo Lunardi, a Neapolitan who in 1784 was the first person in England to ascend in a balloon. They say 200,000 people watched him, including King George III through a telescope from St. James's Palace.

Afterwards the intrepid balloonist wrote to the King describing it all. Besides a dog, a cat and a pigeon, which escaped - the pigeon, I mean - he took a leg of chicken and a bottle of wine, admirable chap. Here is a splendid picture.



The bottle of wine reminds me of an old film I saw of David Ogilvy talking about how to get ideas. He said a bottle - then corrected himself - half a bottle of good claret helped. Since I know a bottle was more about his mark, I suspect he edited the truth so as not to drive young writers and art directors to drink before their time.

I do not entirely recommend booze as the high road to inspiration, but it can be. I once drafted a mailing to get legacies for Save the Children when distinctly squiffy. It worked well for many years.

I was completely potted when I wrote perhaps my best mailing. Professor Derek Holder, founder of the Institute of Direct Marketing, had come to show me a letter inviting potential sponsors to the launch of his new venture at the Barbican.

With the refreshing candour a truckload of wine confers, I said it was lousy because it was too impersonal, but I would revise it. Gathering my addled wits, I dictated something which my then PA, Daphne, transcribed. I edited it, and off he went into the late afternoon sunshine. I didn't hear from him until he asked if I was coming to the event. There was a full house. The letter got over 70% response. Derek never looked back.

I don't know what happened to that letter - I wish I had kept it. But I always feel pleased to have contributed, despite my unsteady condition, to one of the most beneficial things direct marketing has seen.

One good source of ideas is called getting on with it. There is such a temptation to look at that accusing blank screen or sheet of paper and go and do something else. But the mere act of writing gets you going.

• Trollope used to get up every morning very early - I think at 5:30 - and write for 3 hours before going to his job at the Post Office.


• Richard Strauss used to be shown to his study by his domineering wife with the admonition. "Richard, go and compose."


• Sheridan had not written the last act of "The Rivals" on the Friday before it was due to open. They locked him in a room with paper, ink and bottles of port until he did so.

But as I said, the demon drink is neither the ideal nor the only way to get ideas. Many people find exercise helps. I have had many of my better thoughts when riding my bike or walking my dog when I had one. Beethoven also enjoyed long walks. Mozart liked to play billiards.

Some years ago a French businessman lamented the growing practice in France of taking showers rather than baths, which he believed better for getting ideas. Victor Ross, former chairman of The Reader's Digest, Europe, responsible for some of the most effective direct marketing innovations, has a theory about this.

He says these methods encourage the circulation of the blood to the brain. Another example he gives is shaving. Many people report having had good ideas when shaving.

In the film I mentioned, David Ogilvy, with one of his wonderfully frank and old-fashioned turns of phrase, said that things sometimes came to him when "at stool". That's a form of exercise, too. Come to think of it, it's also where I was when I had the idea for this. I guess you could call it straining for ideas.

Best,
Drayton

P.S.  This is number 42 of Drayton Bird’s 101 free helpful marketing ideas.  You can sign up on the link below for the rest.

—————————————–

Website: www.draytonbird.com / www.eadim.com

Click here to get 101 free helpful marketing ideas. Marketers from all over the world think they’re a pot of gold.

The Drayton Bird Blog – please do not visit if you are easily offended.