Getting your message the undivided attention it deserves.

Getting viewers to take immediate action

If you want people to do something, to take action - immediately or soon after your communication - then you need a direct response ad, mailer, TV commercial, or video infomercial.

One of the first things you want to do is define exactly what action, or series of actions, you want readers, viewers or clickers to take. Such as:

Click to a Web site, get info, then order
Call to talk to a salesman
Fax a coupon with an order form
Visit a store before the sale ends
Mail a form for a free CD

Next you want to figure out what you are going to offer the viewer or reader. What can you give them to do what you want them to do?

Keep in mind that the offer will be the most important factor determining how many people will respond to your ad.

The effectiveness of an offer, how well it will work, is determined largely by it's strength and relevance to the target market.

Below are comparison of offers by relative strength:

A savings of 50% is stronger than 10% off.

A free product sample is usually stronger than free information.

A free CD is stronger than a free download, right? Maybe not - because the free download is immediate, and the CD might take a day or two to arrive.

Stronger offers don't have to be more expensive. They can be more creative instead.

The other question to be asked is "How important or valuable is the offer to the audience?" The offer of free dinnerware to a largely male audience is doomed because men won’t find the offer significant to them so make it relevant.

If the offer is not particularly attractive, or if you just want to give your response rate a kick, you can add an incentive, such as:

Win $1,000,000
10% of your purchase price to charity
Win a hand-full of gold and jewelry
Free camel rides for kids of all ages
Win a month on a luxurious tropical island

Ask yourself: "How compelling is the offer to the target audience? Will they want it at all? A lot? Or just a little? Is the offer worth the effort I'm asking? If so, have I explained why it is worth their time and effort?" People are busy with many demands on their time, so make an offer they can't refuse.

Invest creative time exploring imaginative offers, as well as different ways to express those offers.

Use copy and visuals that focus on support for the offer. Give readers rational or emotional reasons to accept the offer. These reasons focus on the behavior we want, reasons to take up the offer.

Develop the relationship between the information offered and the product itself and embrace it in a story if you can.

Direct response success is determined along the lines of:

40% Media

The quality of your mailing list, the demographics of your TV, radio or Web audience. 40% Offer

Tthe strength and significance of the offer to the target audience at the time they get it. 20% Mix

Such as the creative concept, production values, or brand recognition.

The Power of a Passionate Consumer

Call it what you want - Word of Mouth, Buzz, Consumer-Generate Media, Social Networking, or User-Generated Content - there may be nothing more powerful than the testimony of a passionate consumer.

The kcmillerfamily posted a video on YouTube to let parents know about the importance of a 5-point harness car seat. The powerful video is a tribute to their son, Kyle, who was killed in a car crash while sitting in a seat belt booster (not a 5-point harness). In the video, they claim seat belts are known to fail and a 5-point harness would have saved their son; they specifically identified the Britax Regent as the car seat to buy. Babies R Us were sold out of Britax Regent and the sales staff commented "you must have seen that video". USA Baby had the same response as did the on-line stores. Everyone was sold out of the Britax Regent - and every retailer knew about the video. Britax themselves admitted the video had taken them by surprise and they would be out of stock for at least 4 to 5 months. Britax was not equipped to respond to the positive buzz in the marketplace.

Why was the Miller family video so powerful?

It has high perceived legitimacy. With its raw, intense emotion, the legitimacy of the video was never in question. People even reached out to the family through caring and thankful comments on YouTube. The Miller family's emotion broke through the Internet clutter and disengenuous marketing efforts to establish a real and honest conversation with parents of toddlers.

The important child-safety message generated a high propensity to share. Could you really be a good friend if you did not share this safety message with your friends? On YouTube, there have been 1,969,427 views and 1,304 comments since October 26. This video is one of the top videos viewed in the People & Blogs category.

The video drove viewers to take immediate action to purchase a Britax Regent for their toddler. After viewing the video, what loving parent could justify not purchasing that car seat? Viewers are called to action at 3:17 into the video, "The investments you make TODAY are the only thing that will be there to save your child when an accident happens." Thus, every retailer and online merchant was out of stock for at least 4 months.

While perceived legitimacy is important, high propensity to share and the drive to take immediate action are essential for Word of Mouth to have dramatic impact, good or bad, on a business.

Some things to consider for your business:

Don't fool yourself and think you can control it.

The consumer is in control - and will be in more control in the future. Make plans and be prepared for it.

Consumers are wielding ever increasing power.

They'll shape the brand, message, and customer experience. How engaged are you in actively monitoring consumers and understanding the "buzz" in the marketplace? Do you have "listening posts" on the web that constantly gather feedback and input?

Have agile processes.

Processes should be in place that can respond quickly to changes brought on by a single customer. How would your supply chain and manufacturing react to product demand similar to Britax? Would a run on your product take you by surprise? Do you have alternatives in place to engage highly motivated consumers…especially if you cannot fill their demand? Can your business respond as an integrated system, or do you simple let PR handle consumer comments?

LBV will drive viewers to your offer, so be sure to use the above guidelines to trigger an immediate response.