A form of advertising in which physical marketing materials are provided to consumers in order to communicate information about a product or service. Direct marketing does not involve advertisements placed on the internet, on television or over the radio. Types of direct marketing materials include catalogs, mailers and fliers.
Direct marketing removes the "middle man" from the promotion process, as a company's message is provided directly to a potential customer. This type of marketing is typically used by companies with smaller advertising budgets, since they cannot afford to pay for advertisements on television and often do not have the brand recognition of larger firms.
Philip Kotler & Gray Armstrong: Direct marketing consist of direct communications with carefully targeted individual consumers to both obtain an immediate responses, and cultivate lasting customer relationships.
American Direct Marketing Association: Direct marketing is an interactive form of marketing using one or more advertising media to affect a measurable response and or transaction at any location.
Benefits of direct marketing:
Direct marketing gives you the opportunity to promote your products and services directly to the customers who most need them. A good direct marketing campaign will:
· help you build relationships with new customers
· test the appeal of your product or service
· tell you which marketing approaches reach your target market
· increase sales.
Direct marketing campaigns require careful planning and a clear understanding of responsible direct marketing practice. Being aware of the benefits and challenges of direct marketing will help you use direct marketing effectively as follows:
Making the most of direct marketing
A well-planned direct marketing campaign can take you straight to your ideal customers.
Target your ideal customers
Using direct marketing allows you to target specific groups of customers with tailored messages.
Market on a budget
Direct marketing that is targeted to a specific audience can help you set realistic sales goals and improve sales results on a tight marketing budget. Businesses can run effective and purposeful direct marketing campaigns at a fraction of the cost of broadcast advertising.
Increase sales to current and lapsed customers
You can increase sales to your existing customers by maintaining reliable customer records and choosing simple, well-planned promotional tactics.
Improve customer loyalty
You can personalize promotions, letters and offers to create an immediate link with your customer and increase their personal connection to your business.
Create new business
When using direct marketing you can communicate directly with your chosen target market and this should give you a better sales success rate than communicating to the mass market, many of whom may not be interested in your products and services. e.g. you could use a direct marketing campaign to:
· boost sales of a particular product
· run out discontinued stock
· renew stale sales figures
· increase customer contacts
· directly follow-up on a promotion.
Test and measure your products and sales performance
Direct marketing also allows you to test new markets, review sales results, measure the effectiveness of your sales and advertising tactics, and easily make adjustments to your campaign. Each time you run a direct marketing campaign you should monitor and review the results, using this information to improve the success of your next campaign.