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What is a lead? Aside from being the lifeblood of a direct response campaign, a lead also is the lifeblood of a business. Yet leads aren't always treated that way.
How a marketer counts and captures a lead makes all the difference in the world to a campaign's results. So the question is: Why not count and capture all the available lead volume that one can? It is surprising how many companies consistently just don't take the time to do so.
Direct response campaigns pass or fail based on the lead volume they generate, and a growing number of consumers now use the Web to gather more information on products and services they see marketed on television before they make purchase decisions.
Knowing that consumers are going to find the product or service offered in the direct television spot on the Web anyway, it is in a marketer's best interest to make this process easier—as well as to direct consumers where it wants them to go, enabling the company to count and capture consumer information, too. Instead, companies often allow consumers to search the Web, only to arrive at a homepage that's not optimized to help them easily find the product or service they just saw on TV. In the end, this lack of planning represents a lost opportunity, a lost lead and a potentially lost sale.
It's imperative for marketers not only to make products and services available whenever and however consumers want, but to be able to count and capture all available leads to optimize the campaign.
It's All About the URL
One way for marketers to accomplish this is to use a unique Web address in a DRTV commercial, directing consumers to a specific landing page or microsite. This allows the capture of data so the DRTV-generated Web lead volume can be properly attributed back to the DRTV campaign. The result is twofold: It enables the lead to be properly counted while also prequalifying it as part of the follow-up sales process.
Marketers can see dramatic improvements in results simply by allocating the known DRTV-generated Web leads to the bottom- line results of their DRTV campaigns. Unique Web addresses and product landing pages help marketers capture potential customers' information and give DRTV proper credit for the leads.
It is important to note, however, that using a unique Web address is not just about slapping the address on a spot. It is about using the address properly to account for all lead volume that is attributable to DRTV or other media—using a unique, memorable address and displaying it prominently and with equal importance as the phone number, if the model allows.
A DRTV commercial generally displays a phone number at the bottom of the screen throughout the duration of the spot. Including a unique Web address along with the phone number allows consumers to choose the option that best suits their needs. Furthermore, the more memorable the Web address, the more likely consumers will use it and the higher the lead volume will be.
Using one unique address across a DRTV campaign at least will provide the basics in attributing lead volume and capturing a prospect's information. However, to take this a step further, marketers should consider using multiple unique addresses across stations and creative executions, allowing each URL to source the lead back to its point of origin. In doing this, one creates a more cost-effective DRTV campaign—because it is possible to manage the campaign's effectiveness from not only the phone leads it generates, but leads generated by the Web as well.
For example, the graph on page 75 illustrates the effects of attributable lead volume to a DRTV campaign for a new product test from a well-known insurer. As the graph shows, there was a dramatic improvement in DRTV results once some of the Web lead volume was tracked back to the DRTV campaign. What's important here is that the marketer got a more accurate read on the performance of its DRTV spot, allowing it to make an informed decision about this channel's role in its media mix for this product.
Work Those Landing Pages
To further enhance a program, custom landing pages serve as vital tools for any high-visibility DRTV campaign. Landing pages allow the development of specific time-based, product-focused marketing in a flexible, dynamic manner outside of the parent Web site, which can be confusing if it offers more products and services than the DRTV campaign advertises. When consumers use the unique Web address, they expect the advertiser to deliver on the promise of more information or to begin the order process in a clear and consistent manner.
Consider this: According to MarketingSherpa's "Landing Page Handbook," improving landing pages can increase conversions by 40 percent or more. And marketing automation software company Marketo finds optimized landing pages can lift conversion rates by as much as 200 percent.
If these Web pages are designed, programmed and implemented effectively, the campaign stands to have a higher conversion rate and could yield a greater return on investment. In addition, landing pages should be synergistic with the creative used in the DRTV campaign so the end user has a seamless experience.
So before your next DRTV campaign, remember: Attributing Web site lead volume to a DRTV campaign will make a tremendous difference in the life of a DRTV campaign, product or service, and ultimately, a business.
Len Zappolo is executive director, media services at DMW Worldwide, a full-service direct response advertising agency with offices in Wayne, Pa., and Plymouth, Mass. The ECHO Award-winning agency provides strategic planning, creative, database management, broadcast, media, production, fulfillment and Internet marketing. Zappolo is responsible for overseeing all media including television, radio, out-of-home, alternative media and interactive. He can be reached at (610) 407-0407 or via e-mail at lzappolo@dmwdirect.com.
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