Direct marketing

Definition

Direct Marketing is an interactive marketing system that uses one or more advertising media to effect a measurable response and transaction at any location.

This definition emphasizes a measurable response, typically a customer order. Thus direct marketing internet business is sometimes called direct-order marketing.

Today, many direct marketers see direct marketing as playing a broader role, that of building a long term relationship with the customer. Direct marketers occasionally send birthday cards, informational materials or small premiums to select members in their customer base. Airlines, hotels and other businesses are building strong customer relationships through frequency award programs.

The benefits of direct marketing

Direct marketing benefits customers in a number of ways. Consumers report that home shopping is fun, convenient and hassle-free. It saves time and also introduces them to a larger selection of merchandise. They can do comparative shopping by browsing through mail catalogs and online shopping services and can order goods for themselves or others. Industrial customers also cite a number of advantages, they particularly like learning about available products and services without trying up in meeting salespeople.

Sellers also benefit. Direct marketers can buy a mailing list containing the names of almost any group, left handed people, overweight people, millionaires, and so on. Then can personalize and customize their messages.

Customer databases and direct marketing

A customer database is an organized collection of comprehensive data about individual customers or prospects that is current, accessible and actionable for such marketing purposes as lead generation, lead qualification, and sale of a product or service or maintenance of customer relationships. Database marketing is the process of building, maintaining and using customer databases and other databases for the purpose of contacting and transacting.

Major channels for direct marketing

Direct marketers can use a large number of channels for reaching prospects and customers. These include face-to-face selling, direct-mail marketing, catalog marketing, telemarketing, Television and other direct response media, kiosk marketing and online channels.

Face-to-Face Selling

The oldest and original form of direct marketing is the sales call. Today most industrial companies

depend heavily on a professional sales force to locate prospects, develop them into customers and grow the business. Or they hire manufacturers representatives and agents to carry out the direct selling task. Additionally, many consumer companies use a direct selling force, insurance agents, stockbrokers and those working part or full-time for direct sales organizations such as Avon, Amway, Mary Kay, Tupperware, Herbalife, DXN.

Direct-Mail Marketing

Direct marketing internet business involves sending an offer, announcement, reminder or other item to a person at a particular address. Using highly selective mailing also, direct marketers send out millions of mail pieces each year letters, flyers, foldouts and other salespeople with wings. Some direct marketers mail audio tapes, video-tapes and even computer diskettes to prospects and customers.

Direct mail is a popular medium because it permits high target market selectivity, can be personalized, is flexible and allows early testing and response measurement.

The three new forms of mail delivery appeared in the 1980s:

1. Fax mail - Fax machines enable one party to send a paper based message to another party over telephone lines. Todays computers can also serve as fax machines. Fax mail has one major advantage over regular mail. The contents can be sent and received almost instantaneously. Marketers have started to send fax mail announcing offers, sales and events to prospects and customers with fax machines. Fax numbers of companies and individuals are now available through published directories. However, some prospects and customers resent receiving unsolicited fax mail, which clutters their machines and consumes their paper.

2. E-mail - E-mail (electronic mail) allows users to send a message or file from one computer directly to another. The message arrives almost instantly but might be stored until the receiving person goes to his computer, inputs his password and retrieves his messages. Marketers are beginning to send sales announcements, offers and other messages to e-mail services sometimes to a few individuals, sometimes to large groups. As people begin to receive more e-mail messages, including unimportant ones, they may look for an agent software program to sort out the more important messages from those than can be ignored or discarded.

3. Voice mail - Voice mail is a system for receiving and storing oral messages at a telephone address.

Catalog marketing

Catalog marketing occurs when companies mail one or more product catalogs to selected addresses who have a high likelihood of placing an order. Using catalogs, Avon sells cosmetics and general mills sell sports shirts. Several major corporations have acquired or developed mail-order divisions, but there are also thousands of smaller enterprises in the mail catalog business, typically issuing catalogs in specialty goods areas, such as consumer electronics, lawn and garden equipment, womens wear, household wares and so on. An increasing number of business-to-business marketers are sending their catalogs on CD-ROM to prospects and customers.

Telemarketing

Telemarketing has become a major direst marketing tool. Effective telemarketing depends on choosing the right telemarketers, training them well and providing incentives to perform. Telemarketers should have pleasant voices and project enthusiasm. Women are more effective than men for many products.

Online channels

The most recent channel for direct marketing is composed of online channels.

Online marketing

An online marketing channel is one that a person can reach via computer and modem. A modem connects the computer to a telephone line so that the computer user can reach various online information services. There are two types of online channels:

Commercial online channels - Various companies have set up online information and direct marketing internet business services that can be accessed by those who have signed up for the service and pay a monthly fee. The best known online services are CompuServe, America online and Prodigy. These online channels provide subscribers with five main services information, entertainment, shopping services, dialogue opportunities and e-mail.

Internet - The internet is a global web of some 45,000 computer networks that has made instantaneous and decentralized global communication possible. Originally established to facilitate research and scholarly exchanges, the internet is now available to a much broader audience, some 25 million people. Users can send e-mail, exchange views, shop for products and access news, food recipes, art and business information. The internet itself is free, through individual users may need to pay a commercial service to be booked up to it.

Online marketing channels

Marketers can conduct direct marketing internet business in four ways by creating an electronic storefront, participating in forums, newsgroups and bulletin, placing ads online and using e-mail.

Placing ads online - Companies and individuals can place ads on commercial online services in three ways. First, the major commercial online services offer an ad section for listing classified ads, the ads are listed according to when they arrived, with the latest ones heading the list. Second, ads can be placed in certain newsgroups that are set up for commercial purposes. Finally, ads can be put on online billboards; they pop up while subscribers are using the service, even though they did not request an ad.

Using E-mail - A company can encourage prospects and customers to send questions, suggestions and even complaints to the company, using the companys e-mail address. Customer service representatives can respond to the customers in a short time via e-mail.