DIRECT CONNECT QUARTERLY - Your Direct Connection to Direct Response Industry Experts! Converting Viewers Into Customers: 2waytraffic gets TV viewers to call, Direct Response: The Hope for Recessionary Woes? By Rick Petry, Putting the Trust Back in Per Inquiry Advertising By By Scott Richards, Making a Successful Short Form Direct Response Spot What Will Make The Phones Ring? DRTV 101 By Kristy Pinand-Dumpert, Understanding Web Searcher Behavior and Search Engine Optimization By Shari Thurow, direct response marketing, direct response, direct response ads, direct response agency, direct response agencies, direct response copywriter, direct response tv, direct response companies, direct response media, direct mail advertising, direct response television, direct marketing, direct mail marketing, direct mail response, direct response advertisers, direct response media buying, direct response radio, direct marketing agencies, advertising agency, direct marketing agency, ad agency, direct marketing services, direct response company, direct response ad, drtv advertising, direct mail, direct advertising, media buying, direct marketing advertising, television advertising, direct response copywriting, marketing and advertising, direct marketing companies, advertising agencies, direct response campaign, direct response consulting services, direct mailing lists, direct marketing consultant, drtv, media buying agency, direct marketing company, creative direct response, advertising, radio advertising, direct response advertisement, copywriting, direct response marketing company, magazine advertising, direct response print, direct mail copywriting, direct marketing strategy, media planning and buying, direct mailing, newspaper advertising, marketing, direct mail response rates, media planning, direct marketing campaign, direct response technologies, advertising copywriting, direct mail response rate, promotional advertising, advertising strategy, advertising campaign, advertising company, direct marketing association, direct response services, business marketing, direct response uk, direct television, direct response communications, direct response group, direct response magazine, direct response commercials, direct response copywriters, subliminal advertising, direct response industry, direct response interactive, direct response campaigns, direct response clients, subliminal messages advertising, direct response rates, advertising ads, marketing advertising, grey advertising, advertising techniques, direct response firms, direct response promotion, direct response commercial, direct response inc, direct response business, creative advertising, direct response sales, effective advertising, direct response market, public relations advertising, advertising awards, advertising strategies, advertising commercials, alcohol advertising, billboard advertising, advertising media, print advertising, advertising companies, commercial advertising, direct response rate, advertising examples, product advertising, brand advertising, advertising branding, advertising firms, advertising communications, advertising costs, advertising in india, interactive advertising, advertising campaigns, advertising planning, chicago advertising, advertising industry, global advertising, advertising sales, advertising research, outdoor advertising, worldwide advertising, advertising cost, business advertising, advertising advertisement, pr advertising, advertising communication, promotion advertising, market advertising, advertising rates, toronto advertising, advertise advertising, consumer advertising, statistics response

Putting the Trust Back in Per Inquiry Advertising

By Scott Richards | Dial 800 | 800-342-5800

One of the oldest and most effective forms of direct response marketing has been the “per inquiry” (PI) model of advertising. PI advertising has been around decades before Google popularized the model online. Simply put, with PI advertising, the advertiser pays only for qualified responses. What constitutes a “qualified response” has always been the tricky part.

While technology has changed, the core model of PI advertising has not. Therein lies the problem. The success of Google’s online advertising platform can be attributed, in part, to its tool, which brought a degree of transparency to the process.

For PI advertising to take it to the next level, the industry needs to go even further beyond the high benchmark that Google has set.

Yet for PI advertising to take it to the next level, the industry needs to go even further beyond the high benchmark that Google has set. What is needed is a neutral player without any conflict of interest to act as an intermediary.

Call centers have a primary job to answer calls and are measured by their close ratios. Therefore, call centers are not an unbiased, independent source of verification. Since reporting fewer calls increases call centers’ closing ratio, it would be in their interest to report less calls to increase their closing ratio. Radio and television stations naturally want to report as many leads generated as possible, thus they are not a disinterested party.

SOFTWARE IS A GOOD START

The only way to establish credibility and trust in the PI advertising industry is software, which accurately reports on responses with the ability to slice and dice according to what is negotiated between a client and agency. The software should record and archive all phone calls for verification purposes. Multiple filters should allow the user of the software to segment based on deal criteria. For example, unique calls that last one minute or more and haven’t called in the past 60 days. This may be the agreed definition of a “unique caller” between the client, agency and media source (the TV or radio station).

Log-ins are created for clients, agencies and radio/TV stations so all parties can access the information in real time. No party can actually change or tamper with call records. Data is reported directly off the telco switches, ensuring 100-percent accuracy. Complete transparency improves confidence in the process.

Thus, clients only pay for truly qualified responses, which improves their sales efforts and conserves their budget. Confidence in the system increases the likelihood of clients to advertise more, benefiting agencies, radio/TV stations and call centers. The industry as a whole will benefit from improved verification and trust: a true win-win situation.

Scott Richards is president of Dial 800, a leading marketing optimization response software firm. He can be reached at 800-DIAL800 (800-342-5800).

THIS ISSUE'S ARTICLES

Direct Response: The Hope for Recessionary Woes?

Putting the Trust Back in Per Inquiry Advertising

Understanding Web Searcher Behavior and Search Engine Optimization

Converting Viewers Into Customers: 2waytraffic gets TV viewers to call

Making a Successful Short Form Direct Response Spot What Will Make The Phones Ring? DRTV 101

NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTION

Name:
Email:
Phone:
	\|

If you would like to contribute to DirectConnect, click here.