Response Magazine - December 2008

Pair

BY BRIDGET MCCREA

says Barnthouse, who ex-
pects online sales to over-
take toll-free telephone sales
for DR marketers at some point.
“We get closer to that every year,
with about 40 percent of people
buying online right now rather than
calling in.”
There’s also a touchy-feely aspect
to the online buying experience that a
phone operator can’t provide, according
to Barnthouse. “People feel a closer rela-
tionship with you if they’re on your Web

site,” he says, “than they do when they’re talking to someone on the phone who they know probably doesn’t work directly for the company.”

Jim Barnthouse, associate vice president at Livemercial Inc., in Valparaiso, Ind., says the reasons for creating an online presence to compliment a DRTV campaign are compelling. For starters, it’s relatively cheaper than selling products in a brick-and-mortar retail store. And, it provides an easy platform for doing what DRTV does best: educate consumers, through demonstrations, testimonials and other tools, about the key features and benefits of the product.

“If people want to know more about a product these days, they’re going to look for it online,”

Catching On

Brands have caught onto these benefits, with most of them using the Web to augment their DRTV efforts. “They know that everyone has to be online these days,” says Barnthouse. “In fact, if you saw an infomercial on TV – and if you then went online and couldn’t find the company’s Web site – you probably wouldn’t have much trust in the product or the company. Put simply, if you aren’t online, you aren’t taken seriously.”