Results you can measure.
Direct marketing, or direct response marketing, is a type of advertising campaign that attempts to get the consumer to take action (such as an order, a visit to a store or website, or a request for further information). The marketing communication, or campaign, is to a select group of consumers within an area or demographic. This is especially applicable for trades professionals, since they typically serve only select geographic areas.
Trade professionals should begin with campaigns that have measurable results first. Trades Leader will help you test these available methods, and others, in ways that don’t just find you more business but better clients.
Social Media – Social media is a place where many of your customers come to search, or compare, so it’s good to begin with that.
Search Marketing – Search marketing, either paid or SEO with site optimization, targeting the exact clients you’d like to attract can work extremely well. Customers may have an immediate need, and search engines are the fastest way to find who they need. We begin with the basics, test, and optimize.
Direct Mail – This is more tricky, but for some trades it can yield great things. Services can help find the consumer looking for help with their home.
Content Marketing – Either on your website, or distributed on other related websites, customers are always looking for good information to help. Once you’ve developed trust, offer a call to action leading to your website or phone number.
Lead Generation Portals – Consumers are more savvy now, and know where to find trades professionals. With just a small budget you can communicate directly to the person looking for services like yours. And, if done correctly you won’t just find price shoppers but affluent buyers.
If you serve a community of fixed size, you could exhaust your opportunities for direct marketing. You can only bombard the same audience a limited time before direct marketing activities become excessive and ineffective. However, these direct response methods should be tested prior to branding ads to general audiences.
Make no mistake, marketing is on a sliding scale – ads don’t have to be entirely branding or direct marketing. I’m a huge proponent of content marketing, such as articles on your site and visual media. We’ll show you how to use these marketing channels to brand your company while also displaying a call to action.