The failure was to determine whether or not the target audience could (or couldn’t) find the critical code. The failure was to offer information and deliver something else.
So having spent unknown amounts of money on offer development, design and execution, list purchase, printing and mailing, the likely result is a major thud in the market.
I’ve seen companies spend hundreds of thousands of dollars developing offer and direct mail campaigns and then decide to forgo passing the materials and response channels past the target audience to ensure comprehension and to allow them to point out such obvious errors of execution as I observed.
Companies that do so may or may not achieve higher response rates. Doing market research cannot ensure a campaign’s success. Market research can point out obvious flaws in execution such as the above and can provide feedback on the attractiveness of the offer. And market research can help optimize the potential for the campaign’s success.
If your business uses direct marketing, my experience is that working closely with product and service managers to ensure they receive appropriate customer feedback to pay large dividends. Tell them about my experience (and I’m confident you can find many of your own—unfortunately, they are everywhere). Partner with them to develop more powerful marketing for your company.
Thanks for reading, Dr. Bob
