3 Forgotten B's of Direct Response

Are your consumer brand communication efforts short and sweet? In today's hyper distracted world people just don't have the time or attention span for long winded messages. Borrowed from the best practices of direct response are the three B's — brevity, benefits, and bullets. Wether you're marketing a product at retail/shelf, sending an email campaign or a traditional letter package  — the three b's can help cut through the clutter and increase your ROI.

BREVITY 

Brev•i•ty: shortness of duration

Just like effective package design or email marketing — you have a short window of time to grab someones attention — less than 2 seconds. Too much copy tends to suppress response rates in the B2C space — B2B is a different story. The main consideration here is also driven by the price of the product or service — even though a more expensive/complex buy may require more info/detail it still helps to keep it short.  If social media is any pre cursor — blog usage is down among the ranks of consumers as other social media (Facebook + Twitter) signaling short is the way to go.  

BENEFITS

ben•e•fit: something that promotes well being

What's in it for me (WIFM)? Don't we all ask this question when something is being pitched or presented to us. Let's not confuse branding with selling the benefits of your product or services. Too tight of an integration and use of branding causes the WIFM factor to lose its impact and punch resulting in suppressed response rates — branding and direct marketing is a delicate balance.  

BULLETS

bul•let: dot placed in printed or digital matter to call attention to a message

Take a look at the simplicity of bullets as copy and a type treatment and you'll see two very important considerations. Breaking down key selling or communication points into quick and easy to read lines is a lost art. Also, literally utilzing some type of graphic or icon to reinforce copy points will further your cause. A great example is the use of graphic icons in the financial, insurance and telecommunication sectors.

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