Direct Response Marketing

Advertising whereby the only connection the consumer has to the product is the advertising and the only way a consumer can act on the advertisement or commercial is to return a coupon or make a phone call. Direct-response marketing is geared to eliminate an intermediary in the purchase process. It can utilize a wide range of media, from matchbook covers to print or radio and television, although it is typically conducted through the mail. In direct-response marketing, the effectiveness of the marketing is directly related to the amount of sales. Thus people who specialize in it are very knowledgeable about the correlation between positioning an advertisement in a publication and the resulting audience responses.

Direct-response marketing is a form of marketing designed to solicit a direct response which is specific and quantifiable. The delivery of the response is direct between the viewer and the advertiser, that is, the customer responds to the marketer directly. This is in contrast to direct marketing in which the marketer contacts the potential customer directly. In direct marketing (such as telemarketing), there is no intermediary broadcast media involved. In direct-response marketing, marketers use broadcast media to get customers to contact them directly. It is direct-response marketing because the communications from the customer to the marketer are direct, this differentiates it from simple direct marketing in which the communications from the marketer to the customer are direct, but do not allow for instant feedback.

Like direct marketing, direct-response marketing seeks to elicit action. It is inherently accountable since results can be tracked and measured. Furthermore, direct-response campaigns perform best if the underlying strategies and tactics are highly competitive.