Direct Marketing

What is Direct Marketing?

—  One-on-one communication in which offers are tailored to the needs of narrowly defined segments.

—  According to Chris Fill, a best selling author on marketing communications, describes direct marketing as: “Direct marketing is a strategy used to create a personal and intermediary free dialogue with customers. This should be a measurable activity and it is very often media based, with a view to creating and sustaining a mutually rewarding relationship.”

—  Company may have a strategy of dealing with its customers 'directly,' for example banks computer manufacturers (such as Dell)

Direct Marketing is Not New

—  Direct marketing is not new; many companies have sold their products direct to the public for many years.

—  Direct mail through the post or even mail order catalogues have been around for a long time and are all a form of direct marketing.

—  Direct marketing became an important force in the UK in the 1950.

—  Today the scope of direct marketing has expanded dramatically largely due to the use of the telephone and in particular the use of the internet.

Not all Direct Marketing is IT Driven

—  However not everything in the modern direct marketing world is IT driven.

—  Some of the more traditional direct marketing methods are still employed and are still effective; door to door selling for example is still widely used by many companies.

—  Modern direct marketing is by no means all ‘hi tech’, but as with many other areas of marketing and business in general it is tending to move in that direction.

—  The development of direct marketing overtime:

The Objectives of Direct Marketing

•          Direct ordering.

•          Providing information.

•          Visit generation.

•          Trial generation.

The use of Direct Marketing using different Media

                Telephone Marketing

—  Telephone marketing has been used as a direct marketing tool for many years, although mainly in business-to-business marketing.

—  Many routine reordering situations can be handled over the telephone without the need for an expensive personal visit.

—  Many services, such as banking, are now offered over the telephone and customers can give instructions to pay bills and get a balance on their account by using special access codes.

—  Many companies use the telephone as part of a direct marketing  programme.

—  Telephone marketing can be divided into incoming and out-going call marketing.

—  the prospect makes the call to the marketing firm, usually in response to a direct-mail advertisement or direct response television advertisement giving a ‘free-phone’ or ‘toll free’ telephone number.

—  The call is logged and often recorded. The caller is then followed up by an outgoing telephone call sometime later or sent information through the post. They may even arrange to have a personal visit, from a kitchen surveyor for example.

—  The advantages of telephone marketing are as follows:

—  Cost savings: Telephone selling provides a customized means of communications.

—  Supplement to a personal visit: Professional sales people use a system of ‘differential call frequency’ to plan their visits to customers.

—  Gaining market intelligence: Marketing firms can speak to their customers on a regular basis, not only to maintain relationships but also to ask questions about their needs and wants and purchasing intentions.

—  Supplement to direct mail and other advertising: Many direct mail and other forms of direct-response advertising, on the television, press or radio for example, will carry a ‘free phone’ or ‘toll free’ message. This enables the prospect to make telephone contact at no cost to them. The prospect can make an immediate commitment to purchase whilst the advertising message is still fresh in their minds.

Direct Mail

                What is direct mail?

—  Direct mail is considered by some to be an advertising medium, but by others to be a quite separate element of the marketing communications mix. Direct mailing is the use of the postal service to distribute a piece of informative literature or other promotional material to selected prospects.

—  Direct mail is a method of communicating a message directly to a particular person, household or firm.

                Uses of direct mail

—  To help define it more fully, it is appropriate to deal with direct mail to consumers and businesses separately.

—  Consumer direct mail

—  Selling direct: If a company has a convincing sales message, any product or service can be sold by direct mail. It is a good medium for selling a product directly to the customer without the need for middlemen.

—  Sales promotion: Direct mail can send promotional messages – ‘money off’ vouchers, special offers, etc. to selected targets. This can be a useful way of encouraging people to visit a shop or exhibition.

—  Follow-up mailings: The company’s name can be promoted to the customer by following any kind of sales activity with a mailing, e.g. checking that the customer is satisfied with their purchase or reminding them that their car is coming up for its annual service. Customers can be kept informed of new developments, latest products and improved services.

—  Business Direct Mail

—  Business markets are made up of closely defined, discrete groups of individuals. These groups may not be best reached by mass advertising media. Direct mail can be used to accurately identify different market sectors and provide messages appropriate to each sector. Some of the more common uses in this context are:

—  Product launch: Often the launch of a new industrial product or business service entails getting the message across to a small, but significant, number of people who will influence buying decisions

—  Dealer support: Direct mail makes it easy to keep dealers, retail outlets, franchise holders, etc, more fully informed of tactical marketing promotions and plans.

—  Conferences and exhibitions: Business and trade conferences and exhibitions are well-established means of communicating with potential customers and business colleagues.

—  Marketing research/product testing: Direct mail can be used for marketing research, especially amongst existing customers.

Direct Mail as part of the promotional mix

—  In both consumer and business markets, direct mail must fit in with a company’s other promotion efforts. For example, a television or press campaign can reach a broader audience, and raise the level of general awareness of the company and its products. If such a campaign is added to a direct-mail campaign aimed specifically at groups of people or companies most likely to buy, or to people particularly wanted as customers, the effectiveness of the overall campaign can be significantly raised.

References

Marketing made simple by Paul & Geoff