Published June 2004

Use direct marketing to test your proposition

Direct marketing is used by many marketers to generate sales. The same technique also can be used to test your selling proposition, or various elements of an advertising campaign. My mantra is “test before you invest.”

The definition of direct marketing is the delivery of promotional messages directly to prospective customers on an individual basis as opposed to through a mass medium. The most common delivery methods are direct mail, telemarketing and e-mail.

This is a popular marketing tactic because it usually generates fairly quick results and is very easy to measure. Its measurability is why direct marketing is a great testing tool. Before committing (long term) to a promotion strategy or extensive advertising campaign, test various elements to hone in on the most effective message.

Although you can use any form of direct marketing to test your proposition, I’ll use direct mail to illustrate a four-step process. This course of action assumes you are already clear on your advertising objectives.

1. Begin by creating a control message. Use a postcard to communicate the offer you think will work best to attract your target market and motivate recipients to respond. It should include a headline, a graphic or photo, key copy points and a call-to-action with contact information.
2. Next you’ll create a few variations to test against the control message. Determine which element of the control message you want to test, such as the headline, photo or call-to-action, e.g. discount or incentive. Important: you can only test one element at a time; in other words, don’t test a headline on one variation and a photo on another. In addition to the control message you should test two to three variations.
3. Contact a few mail service companies to buy a list of well-targeted prospects within your core market radius. By getting pricing and guidance from three companies, you’ll learn about direct marketing and make an informed decision. The process will be easier if you work with a company that can provide the list, printing and mailing services. You should target at least 1,000 addresses for each variation, e.g. one control and two variations would require a list of 3,000. Another important success factor is to distribute your variations evenly over the entire list, as opposed to by zip code. Each carrier route should have an equal number of each variation.
4. Mail your test pieces and measure the results. Document the number of responses to each variation to determine which version generated the best results. After you’ve tested one element, e.g. the headline, you can choose the best variation, create a new control message and conduct another test on a different element, such as the call-to-action.

Using direct marketing as a testing mechanism can be less expensive than doing focus group studies, and you’ll likely acquire new customers during the test — which will offset your cost. This approach requires a short-term, up-front investment, but is well worth it when you consider the long-term impact of improving your results.

Andrew Ballard, president of Marketing Solutions Inc. in Edmonds, develops brand leadership strategies for businesses and teaches strategic marketing through Edmonds Community College. He can be reached at 425-672-7218 or by e-mail to andrew@mktg-solutions.com.

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