Target Marketing

You will be automatically redirected to targetmarketingmag in 20 seconds.
Skip this advertisement.

Advertisement
Advertisement
 
 

B-to-B Insights : Make an Offer

The six key components of effective B-to-B offers

August 2008 By Robert W. Bly
Get the Flash Player to see this rotator.
 
How important is the offer in B-to-B marketing?

Answer: Very. I have seen numerous tests in which a simple change of offer has increased the response rate by 25 percent to 900 percent-dramatically improving return on marketing dollars. The best of these B-to-B offers share six common characteristics, and to lift your response rates, your offers should, too.

1. Be unique. The best offers are fresh. When copywriter Bill Jayme wrote the direct mail package that launched New York magazine, he proposed a sweepstakes. Sweepstakes had long been used to sell magazine subscriptions, but none had ever offered Jayme's prize: dinner at Gracie Mansion with New York City's mayor.

Most investment newsletters offer free special reports as premiums. The Sovereign Society, with its newsletter on offshore investing, offered something different: a free Swiss bank account.

Business magazines often offer either discounted subscription rates or standard premiums like special reports, tote bags or calculators. Advertising Age had a successful control where the premium was a ceramic coffee mug. Coffee mugs are nothing special. But this one was imprinted with a mock-up of an Advertising  Age cover. If the subscriber was Jan Smith, the headline on the mock issue of Advertising Age was personalized to read: "Jan Smith Wins 'Marketing Genius' Award."

2. Have a high degree of desirability. An unusual offer only works if it's something people want.

A publisher was selling a loose-leaf service on how to manage Novell NetWare local area networks. Response rates doubled when a new direct mail promotion offered a disk with free software-a collection of utilities for Novell networks.

The 100 percent increase in orders confirmed that these software programs were tools network administrators wanted. The outer envelope teaser read: "Yours FREE!--5 Powerful Programs to Help You Manage Your Novell NetWare Network More Efficiently and Easily--See Inside for Details on This Special Time-Limited Offer."

3. Have a high perceived value, especially in relation to fulfillment cost. Free software has traditionally worked well as a premium; it has a high perceived value in relation to the cost of goods. You know that purchased in a store or online, software packages can easily sell for $49 to $300 or more. Yet a CD with code on it can be duplicated for about $1.

In a promotion tied in with its sponsorship of the Olympics, IBM offered a special IBM Olympic pin as a premium. In reality, the item probably only cost and was worth a buck or so. But the mailer copy hinted that the item could become a collectible, creating an impression of potentially high value.
 

Companies Mentioned:

SPONSORED CONTENT

MORE ON B-TO-B >>

FROM THE BOOKSTORE

Find countless tips and insights from B-toB marketing experts in this collection of articles on how to manage a successful lead generation program. Order more than 6 how-to guides in any combination to receive discounted pricing. The more you order, the bigger the discount. Discounts will be reflected at check-out. 6 - 9 guides - $19.95 each 10 - 39 guides - $14.95 each 40+ guides -- Please call 800-777-8074 (Outside the U.S. 215-238-5482) for custom pricing Business-to-Business Lead Generation Strategies (2nd Edition)

Find countless tips and insights from B-toB marketing experts in this collection of articles on how to manage a successful lead generation program. Order more than 6 how-to guides in any combination to receive discounted pricing. The more you order, the bigger the discount. Discounts will be reflected at check-out....

ORDER NOW

Good, reliable market information, based on good, reliable marketing research, is more important than ever to businesses of every size and description. But nowhere is it more critical than in the business-to-business marketplace. Business to Business Marketing Research

Good, reliable market information, based on good, reliable marketing research, is more important than ever to businesses of every size and description. But nowhere is it more critical than in the business-to-business marketplace....

ORDER NOW

 

SPONSORED CONTENT

MORE ON DIRECT MAIL & POSTAL >>

FROM THE BOOKSTORE

(PDF DOWNLOAD) Who’s not talking about QR codes lately? Since appearing on the US marketing scene two years ago, QR codes have revolutionized the way businesses promote their products and brands. So what exactly is this stamp sized, abstract art-looking module? And how can your business benefit from it? <i>Cracking the QR Code</i> outlines <b>how to seamlessly incorporate QR codes into your marketing campaign</b> by explaining: • How QR codes work and which companies and industries they work for best • How to implement a marketing strategy for QR codes • QR code creative best practices • The future of QR codes and more! Let <i>Cracking the QR Code</i> teach you how to <b>get a passive prospect to take immediate action</b>. See how QR Codes can <b>successfully transform your marketing efforts and increase traffic to your site</b>. Find out how to integrate QR Codes into your marketing campaign and how to track and measure the results. Learn more about the technology that has revolutionized the way businesses promote their products and brands. Read case samples from well-known companies using QR Codes, including: Best Buy, Big Fire Wine, Gap, Calvin Klein, Gap, Home Depot, Time Out New York, World Wildlife Federation, Sibcy Cline Real Estate, and more! <i>Cracking the QR Code</i> helps you navigate your way through this up and coming technology, which has been labeled the <b>“direct link between print and the internet.”</b> In the past year alone, QR codes have skyrocketed in popularity; first quarter 2011 scan rates increased more than 4,500% over first quarter 2010 rates. With numbers like that, it’s difficult to ignore this rising trend in marketing strategy. Don’t get left behind; order your copy of <i>Cracking the QR Code</i> today to learn how you can apply this tool to your business! <u>About DirectMarketingIQ</u> The Research Division of the Target Marketing Group, DirectMarketingIQ (www.directmarketingiq.com) is the marketers’ go-to resource. Publishing books, special reports, case studies and how-to-guides, it opens up a new world to those who seek more information, more ideas and more success stories in order to boost their own marketing efforts. DirectMarketingIQ has unparalleled access to direct marketing data – including the world’s most complete library of direct mail as well as a massive library of promotional emails across hundreds of categories – and producly produces content from the most experienced editors and practitioners in the industry. <b>Note: You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to read Cracking the QR Code, which is in PDF format.</b> Cracking the QR Code

(PDF DOWNLOAD) Who’s not talking about QR codes lately? Since appearing on the US marketing scene two years ago, QR codes have revolutionized the way businesses promote their products and brands. So what exactly is this stamp sized, abstract art-looking module? And how can your business benefit from it? Cracking...

ORDER NOW

(PDF Download) Direct mail, email, mobile, social media, video, search ... the marketing landscape can either be a minefield where mistakes can kill campaigns, or a perfectly integrated mix of channels that maximizes the reach of the message and gives a nonprofit the best chance to capture more donor dollars. <b>In <i>"The Art & Science of Multichannel Fundraising" </i> from DirectMarketingIQ, the roadmap to that "perfectly integrated mix" is thoroughly laid out in over 130 pages -- <u>it's specifically created (and priced) for nonprofits</u>. </b> First, 9 chapters from leading fundraisers give you the latest best practices in multichannel fundraising, including how to: • Choose the right channels for your campaign • Develop creative that works across multiple channels • Revitalize the direct mail component of your multichannel mix • Make sure email plays its increasingly important role perfectly • Seamlessly integrate mobile marketing into the fundraising campaign • Boost your online strategy with social media • Create a multichannel donor renewal campaign • Figure out that you're doing right — via testing and results measurement • Use all the pieces of the multichannel puzzle Second, in 8 robust case studies, find out the secrets behind multichannel fundraising campaigns that worked. About DirectMarketingIQ The Research Division of the Target Marketing Group, DirectMarketingIQ (www.directmarketingiq.com) is the marketers’ go-to resource. Publishing books, special reports, case studies and how-to-guides, it opens up a new world to those who seek more information, more ideas and more success stories in order to boost their own marketing efforts. DirectMarketingIQ has unparalleled access to direct marketing data – including the world’s most complete library of direct mail as well as a massive library of promotional emails across hundreds of categories – and producly produces content from the most experienced editors and practitioners in the industry. <b>Note: You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to read , The Art & Science of Multichannel Fundraising which is in PDF format.</b> The Art & Science of Multichannel Fundraising

(PDF Download) Direct mail, email, mobile, social media, video, search ... the marketing landscape can either be a minefield where mistakes can kill campaigns, or a perfectly integrated mix of channels that maximizes the reach of the message and gives a nonprofit the best chance to capture more donor dollars....

ORDER NOW

 

COMMENTS

Click here to leave a comment...
Comment *
Most Recent Comments: