The digital revolution requires omnichannel marketing for marketing success. There is one strategy that often gets overlooked, and that is direct marketing.

Contrary to popular belief, direct marketing is not about the direct mail channel. It's about direct response and its ability to generate leads and close sales regardless of the channels used.

Strong websites create demand for the product and find a way to start a conversation about the product with site visitors. Direct response dominates the Internet generating leads and making special offers to close the sale.

The Importance of Integrating Direct Response

Knowledgeable direct marketers optimize the sales ability of direct mail, landing pages, email, websites and broadcast. It is important to note that omnichannel marketing occurs whether planned or not. The majority of direct mail respondents check out the company's website before responding. This is particularly true of lesser known companies, products or services.

All communications from the company must speak with one voice, one brand, and one primary selling proposition. Acquisition results suffer when the offer is unknown to the inbound telemarketing team or the landing page does not reinforce the selling message.

Digital agencies, general agencies and in-house marketing teams often do not understand the critical direct marketing strategies that propel response in omnichannel marketing.

Testing is a Fundamental Direct Response Strategy

Testing drives direct response success. Tracking responses by channel determine the most effective acquisition offers. All things are testable when compared to a control marketing position. Properly structured tests incorporate a control that assures proper analysis of the results. The control eliminates all of the variables.

Experienced direct marketers know how to structure tests for projectable results with scalability. They set up tests to determine what specific treatments lift response rates and sales conversions.

Direct response professionals test at every opportunity. They know that long term success means always trying to beat your most successful effort.

Tap Into the House File To Target the Best Prospects

Novice marketers squander future growth for short-term sales. They neglect the opportunities to invest in the learning available from the company's house database. Direct marketers maximize the effectiveness of their campaigns by matching the characteristics of their own customers to find like individuals when targeting prospects.

In turn, direct response creative people create messaging and graphics that work best specific segments of their target markets. Recent customers receive a different message than prospects. And previous inquirers receive yet another treatment. Effective direct response creative work requires database segmentation for email, direct mail and other targetable channels.

Direct Response Expertise Must Permeate the Entire Marketing Team For Successful Omnichannel Marketing

Some companies do not separate direct marketing strategists from direct marketing channel specialists.

Make sure the people you rely upon for successful acquisition understand how to use direct response copy, offer development, and relational databases to increase response.

Do not view direct marketing executive roles as media channel specific. Such people know the best direct marketing strategies for all channels.

Strong direct marketers create customer buying experiences that maximize lifetime value.

Intense attention to CRM runs deep within all competent direct marketers. This capability supersedes software knowledge. This type of professional asks what, when, why and how customers respond to maximize the company’s ROI. A seasoned direct marketer knows how acquisition methods influence long term retention.

Great direct marketers gather data, analyze it and test hypotheses.

They strive to understand customers’ behavior patterns and what they will likely respond to. They understand the company's customer relational database and become leading customer advocates.

Seek direct marketing talent and develop it in your marketing team. Your asset will include broad-view strategists at the top rather than pure tacticians who look at all channels with an open mind.