Our Web prevalent life has caused many Marketers to forget a basic tenant of success in Direct Response: The Goal is to Maximize Profitability, not to Minimize Costs. Generating conventional Inbound Calls plays a key role in ensuring success and profitability in Direct Response Marketing.

1. 7 Reasons Why Calls
Drive Top Profits in
Direct Response
Written by Eddie Treizman.
Eddie is the Director of Strategic Partnerships at Dial800, a
Marketing Optimization firm helping companies run more
profitable Direct Response campaigns.

2. In the History of Direct
Response Marketing there's
a clear divide:
Before the Internet Era and
After the Internet Era

3. " Our Web prevalent life has caused
many Marketers to forget a basic
tenant of success in Direct Response:
The goal is to maximize profitability, not
to minimize costs.

4. Should Marketers Still Care About
Getting Calls?
Before the Internet Era "Call Now" was the Call-to-Action used in DR.
After the Internet Era, the "Drive to Web" strategy has predominated as
the focus for many advertisers.
Fast deployment times and low costs are key benefits of the Web.
Cultural and social habits have shifted the relationship between
corporations and their customers from being "Service Dependent" to
being "Self-Service Oriented".
One can use the Web to research and buy almost anything...So why
should marketers spend money on Inbound Phone Calls as a channel?

5. Here are seven unique benefits that
“good old fashioned” calls still
provide to increase the profitability of
Direct Response campaigns:

6. 1. Strong Buying Intent Increases
Close Ratios
A person who calls demonstrates a strong
desire to either clarify information or buy the
product or service...NOW.
This is in contrast to the less committed action
of visiting a web page.

7. 2. Lower Perceptions of Risk or
Complexity
When people shop for products or services of a
personal nature, they are concerned about the long
lasting impact it will have in their lives. Therefore,
they will be more likely to do an inbound call than a
web submission to inquire about any concerns.
For example, in Financial or Health services the
personal touch of a phone conversation is key in
building the trust needed to close the sale.

8. 3. Develop Demographic Profiles for
Lead Qualification and Revenue
Optimization
Nowadays, it's possible to create real time
Personalized Caller Profiles from public data
even before the call is connected to a Live
Agent.
Callers can be queued and presented with
different offers based on their conversion
potential. This reduces talk time, costs per call
while optimizing revenue per call metrics.

9. 4. Build Brand Reputation and
Higher Lifetime Customer Value
A "safe and positive human-based interaction"
can have greater long term value to a Brand
than the actual individual transaction
conducted with that customer.
Building trust in a brand after a great "Live
Agent" buying experience, will increase
revenues from upsells or continuity offers.

10. 5. Multiply Media Effectiveness
from Referrals
American consumers expect flawless and secure
operations from a website. They have also learned that
receiving good service over the phone is something they
can not take for granted anymore. Very few will share with
the people they love and care that they had a "flawless
ecommerce experience they should check out".
In contrast, well-trained and competent agents can
connect and transform callers from only being "Buyers"
into long term "Loyal Brand Advocates" that will be
compelled to share their experience with others.

11. 6. Reduce Concerns of Customer
Service Responsiveness
First impressions are fundamental in business
transactions.
Knowing that you can "talk to someone" if
there's an unexpected problem with a
purchase assures skeptical consumers.
Submitting a Web complaint and being forced
to wait for an email response "within 24-48
hrs." is not acceptable to many.

12. 7. Ease Concerns of Online Fraud
Certain demographic segments have higher
concerns than others about the safety of online
transactions and their private data.
Depending on the specific industry and perception
of risk, consumers may prefer to share personal
information (financial, health, etc) and their credit
card number over the phone.

13. IN CONCLUSION
Keep in mind these final thoughts:
• How much can it cost me in lost profits not having an
effective Inbound Phone Channel?
• Doing business with you should be easy for your
consumers. Let them buy wherever, however and
whenever they want.
• Use multiple channels to maximize revenue potential
and brand loyalty, not to minimize marketing costs.

14. HOW TO CONTACT EDDIE
Email: eddie.treizman@gmail.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/eddietreizman
Twitter: twitter.com/EddieTreizman
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Eddie Treizman is the Director of Strategic Partnerships at Dial800, a
Marketing Optimization firm helping companies run more profitable
Direct Response campaigns. He enjoys blogging on LinkedIn about
various thought provoking topics. Unless otherwise noted, all
statements or opinions made reflect only his personal views.