Einsteining Direct Response

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October 7, 2011
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Einsteining Direct Response

Albert Einstein“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” – Albert Einstein

One of the great minds of modern science summed up the secret to cracking the code of direct response radio advertising with his approach to understanding the laws of space and time – patience and the curiosity to keep turning the problem over and over until you solve its riddle.

“You’ll always have the chance to give up, so why do it now?” – Michael McDonald

Pop vocalist Michael McDonald buried this inspirational lyric in a throwaway track on a Doobie Brothers album.  It’s an encouraging sentiment, but for direct marketers funding a losing campaign, the “Why do it now?” answer is often “We’re hemorrhaging money!”

The solution is often to scale back the buy to a minimum maintenance level where you can clear the same schedule on the same property (or properties) every week, while generating enough call volume or web traffic to yield viable and valuable data.

Then you can tinker with the variables:

  • What could be doing differently in our call center to convert leads?
  • How can we tweak our website to close more sales?
  • Factoring in where we see the consumer disconnect, what can we say differently in the radio commercial to better manage expectations and shepherd a prospect through the sales process?
  • Is there a creative angle we should test that will resonate with one segment (e.g. women) of our total prospect universe?

Any one of these variables can create the subtle nuance that turns red ink into black.  The key is to stay in the game long enough to get to the finish line.  You’ve already paid your dues by failing.  Now gather the right partners and experts to break down what went wrong and identify the paths most likely to get you through to profitable media ratios you need to continue on radio and scale your spend.

If you don’t do it, your competition will.  And that’s where Einstein’s patient, persistent and dogged approach to problem solving really pays off.  On the bottom line.

Mark Lipsky is the President and CEO of The Radio Agency. Please follow The Radio Agency’s Blog “Sounding Board” by subscribing to the email or RSS links above. Visit our website TheRadioAgency.com