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NEWSLETTER
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Volume 20, 2002
InfoWorx... The Tiger Woods of Direct Response Television...
Ashley Skin Nutrition™ - A Lesson in Follow Through
Whether we're learning to swing at a golf ball, softball or tennis ball, coaches emphasize the importance of follow-through. We swing to make contact with the ball and hit it. But to have the best swing, we must continue the swing after making contact with the ball. This extension of form is called follow-through. Take a look at the stars in each of these sports to see how they've mastered the follow-through in their swings.
In Direct Response TV, follow through a critical a part of the "swing". Infomercial production companies help you make direct contact with your prospects and hopefully get a "hit". Companies such as InfoWorx create the excitement and viewers decide to call for your product. But the process does not stop there. The success of Ashley Skin Nutrition™, for instance, offers an excellent example of the importance and value of follow through in Direct Response TV. Ashley's Skin Nutrition™ anti-aging, anti-wrinkle, anti-acne products are now found on TV in a brand new long-form infomercial as well as on the Internet. Ashley's path to success holds important lessons for entrepreneurs and marketers wishing to use the power of TV to drive sales.
The follow-through in Direct Response Marketing is called Fulfillment. Fulfillment consists of two separate functions: the Call Center and the Fulfillment house that does the shipping. These activities represent the tail of the dog. They come after all the planning and concept work is done for the TV production and after all the recruiting of the best personalities and the actual production, editing, placement and airing of the spot. The call center is where the sale is closed and the orders taken. It's a critical point in the process. A misstep here, such as a poorly prepared telemarketing crew can mean that all the work to plan, produce and air the infomercial as well as the calls generated by the ad could lead to unfulfilled sales. The process breaks down and sales are lost.
The Fulfillment function has to work well on many levels. The Fulfillment company must be efficient at packing and shipping large numbers of orders to single addresses; it must offer reasonable rates and turnaround. The call center must handle the order-taking process in a friendly and professional manner and it must realize its mission of turning calls into sales. This last function offers opportunities for creativity. Designing "offers" that can be made on the phone to callers can be a very important way to maximize orders.
InfoWorx created the initial Ashley Skin Care DRTV campaign. They recruited a well-known female soap opera star to star in the successful ad. Working on the Ashley campaign, Ron Perlstein of InfoWorx crafted three different scripts that represented three distinct offers that were then used by the Call Center. Perlstein trained the call center staff in the proper use of these scripts.
Each offer was crafted to allow callers to select from a variety of price points with a variety of 'upsell' and 'backsell' possibilities.
Remember, the call center serves many of the same functions as your sales force. Callers believe the people answering their phone calls represent your company. They expect them to have answers to common questions and the telemarketers are the ones who close the deal. "The strong and clever offers we developed for Ashley were clearly the key to capitalizing on all the calls we got for this product line", says Perlstein. "Callers love having a variety of options that fit their budgets and we were able to offer them very attractive additional products with their orders. The training of the Call Center staff really paid off. We really nailed it!"
Perlstein helps select top notch Fulfillment houses and then works with them to support their efforts at every step in their process. "Because this is where the rubber meets the road, we cannot afford to leave anything to chance," says Perlstein. We oversee every phase of fulfillment from crafting offers that optimize upsells and backsells, training phone staff, taking orders, packing, shipping and customer service. It's all part of the 'follow through' and we know our job is not complete until we've successfully delivered the product to the consumer."
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