DRTV telephone response vital for success

Cyber City Teleservices has explained why companies should ensure they include a freephone telephone number on DRTV adverts to maximise return on investment (ROI).

Many people may not have realised that recent Superbowl was the first-ever to include a direct response television (DRTV) advert.

America's biggest sporting event has for many years been the pinnacle for mainstream advertisers who pay small fortunes for brand awareness campaigns during the many commercial breaks American football offers.

For those of us on this side of the Atlantic, the first DRTV advert during the Superbowl may sound inconsequential but it does symbolise an upturn in DRTV in both long and short form, which is also being mirrored in the UK.

Lower advertising costs, the expansion of digital television and the need for marketing departments to prove a ROI are all boosting demand for DRTV.

Since DRTV first started in the UK in the 1980s, the way it has been done has changed and not always for the better.

Forward-thinking companies are now adopting what is being termed a DRTV 2.0 approach, learning from the mistakes and the successes of the past 20 years.

The growth of the internet has led many companies to simply advertise their website without a phone number.

While it is certainly true that many people do visit websites as a result of a television advert, the lack of a telephone number limits the number of responders the advert will receive and reduces the conversion rate.

It is often difficult to get accurate figures, but there is evidence that around 80 per cent of people who visit a website do not follow through to become a customer for whatever reason.

If the same low conversion rates were being achieved by a call centre, marketing managers around the country would not be happy.

Another mistake often made by DRTV advertisers is that they do not approach it in the same way they would with any form of direct marketing.

In today's economic climate, the need to show a ROI is greater than ever and to maximise this, you need to constantly test different approaches.

This means anything from using different channels, different offers, different times of the day for the advert to appear, different calls to action or even different sizes for the telephone number being advertised.

Any direct marketing professional experienced in DRTV will be aware of the methodologies least likely to work but will still suggest different approaches to find the ones that do work.

The other common mistake has been to use automated systems to handle the phone calls.

The figures showing this is a mistake speak for themselves.

A recent study by Direct Response revealed that 70 per cent of new customers will hang up if the phone is not answered within 25 seconds and 80 per cent of callers will hang up if they get through to an answering machine.

A report by a leading call centre news portal found that 82 per cent of British customers would rather speak to an offshore call centre agent than to an automated system and of the remaining 18 per cent, most had no preference.

Although advertising costs on television are now far more competitive, there is still no excuse for wasting 80 per cent of the responders who want to do business with you.

Long-form infomercials now make little or no profit on the initial sale they make, so the up-sell or future sales are even more important than ever and automated systems have never been able to up-sell to a customer.

Marketing managers can be excused for reverting to automated systems because it is often difficult to find a call centre that wants to take on the business.

99 per cent of call centres say that they do DRTV response and 99 per cent of call centres don't do DRTV response.

Many call centres have been known to take on DRTV campaigns but have found it difficult to make any profit out of the business.

DRTV can only work in a call centre if it's done on significant scale.

The way that the advert is constructed is also very important and the proposition is far more important than the creative.

With strong competition in the production sector, it can now cost a lot more than you may think.

A powerful proposition that can be powerfully articulated in a very short space of time is key to successful DRTV.

There are now plenty of companies who can produce adverts with costs in the GBP1000s rather than 10s of GBP1000s.

The choice of media is also very important.

If possible, try to choose a channel or a programme with an audience who are likely to be receptive to your offering.

Smaller satellite channels now offer excellent value for money.

10 60-second adverts on some satellite channels now cost in the GBP100s rather than the GBP1000s making it easily comparable with print advertising without even considering the extra credibility a television advert gives to your brand.

The conclusions are simple.

TV advertising can be a cost-effective form of marketing, but finding the way that works best for your organisation is crucial.

Do not be lured into the idea that advertising a web address is the solution.

A freephone number, backed by a strong call to action and then answered by a live agent, will receive far more sales and a much easier return on your advertising investment.

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