Today, direct marketing technology is actively used in many countries of the world. Under it, it is necessary to understand the interactive interaction of the manufacturer with the end user. Why is direct marketing so popular? How long has technology appeared in Russia? What is hard direct marketing? You can find answers to these and other equally interesting questions in the process of reading this article.
Definition of a concept
Direct marketing - This is nothing but a form of advertising that denies all channels of information transfer, except for direct to the end consumer. In other words, under the technology under consideration it is necessary to understand the interaction of an interactive nature between the seller (producer) and the end consumer for the sale of marketable products. It is important to add that direct marketing is one of the main tools of marketing communications. Thus, when a commercial or non-profit organization addresses a consumer directly, excluding intermediaries, direct (direct) marketing.
Direct Marketing Tools
It is important to note that the number of direct marketing services includes SMS mailings, mailing lists, flyers, customer databases, promotional letters, distribution directories, targeted television advertising, street distributors, as well as newspaper advertising aimed at answering. Elements of this list represent direct marketing tools.
It is necessary to add that the technology considered in the article in any case focuses on customers, information and reporting. Thus, the following components are integral parts of a successful marketing campaign: communicating with potential consumers in fact, forming segments, creating analytical marketing campaigns, and identifying performance results.
Distinctive features
Direct marketing is universal form of advertising. Accordingly, it is advisable to highlight specific characteristics that are unique to this technology. Modern scientists give direct marketing the following features:
- The content in the direct marketing databases of non-traditional information that is somehow relevant. This can be an address, phone number, marital status, company history or potential customer’s purchase history. This list is used to determine the interests of the entire audience and identify suitable customers in accordance with the developed product. By the way, the formation of this kind of base, as a rule, becomes a fundamental part of the direct marketing program.
- Direct notification of products for selected customers (see the first paragraph) through mailing, phone calls, installing web browsers and so on.
- The direct marketing tools described in the second paragraph carry out the call of potential customers to action. For example, a particular advertisement developed in accordance with the technology in question requires a potential buyer to call a toll-free number, send a reply letter, or click on a specific link.
- Direct marketing is technology that emphasizes results through tracking and evaluating potential customers, which is completely independent of intermediaries.
Direction of exposure
As it turned out, direct marketing of a company is nothing more than a situation where a manufacturer (seller) communicates directly with the target audience through direct communication with each of its representatives on an individual program. In general, by direct marketing it is necessary to understand absolutely all types of communication with the relevant actors, which are somehow aimed at creating a dialogue.
It is important to note that direct marketing is primarily aimed at individual consumers. It is implemented using a list of potential customers, formed by the employees of the manufacturer. As noted above direct marketing is technology in accordance with which mass communication means are used. The main ones are telephone and mail.
The purpose and objectives of direct marketing
The key goal of direct marketing is to create communication with a potential client, which somehow triggers a positive reaction, and, accordingly, the acquisition of a product or service. Direct marketing is an effective way of influencing a potential client, performing the following tasks:
- Lead generation.
- Filtration of direct marketing entities, that is, the selection of necessary candidates for potential clientele from a large-scale target audience.
- Conversion of selected entities (potential buyers) to real customers.
- The acquisition of new customers.
- Retention of customers and further development of relations with them.
- Formation of the necessary opinions and final decisions on the part of potential customers (imperceptible effect on them).
Direct Marketing: Examples
Today direct marketing is very popular and widespread in all market areas. With great success, it is used in trade and manufacturing, as well as in industry and the provision of certain services. It is important to add that the strategy under consideration is used by large-scale holdings and companies, as well as individual entrepreneurs.
One of the most successful examples of using direct marketing is an American Airlines advertising campaign. She planned to bring information to her own customers about the launch of a new transatlantic flight. It's no secret that many letters of an advertising nature do not reach the heads of organizations, remaining with secretaries. Thus, American Airlines employees decided to designate the company secretaries as the target audience for their message - employees of the American structure sent them brochures, as well as bouquets of flowers. Interestingly, the success of this campaign was overwhelming. Why? Everything is extremely simple: often decisions about ordering airline tickets for managers are made precisely by secretaries.
Direct Marketing Benefits
Direct marketing, like any kind of communication in consulting, tourism or selling a furniture product through a catalog, is not considered an excellent strategy. So, the technique in question has some advantages and disadvantages. The absolute advantages of direct marketing are the following points:
- Possibility of simplified integration with CRM systems.
- Communicative selectivity.
- High performance (due to the individual nature of the offer)
- Confidentiality of information regarding the terms of cooperation.
- Establishing long-term relationships through a dialogue option of communication.
Disadvantages of direct marketing
Among the minuses of direct marketing, it is customary to single out the following points:
- Dependence of the final result on the quality of the formation of the database (when the target audience is illiterate, you can not wait for a response).
- Efficiency only in the case of competent communication (exclusively correct direct marketing is productive).
- The need for quite serious money investments (it is important to know that the services of brokers and agents, sending letters, paying for a call center, broadcasting video materials are not cheap when planning direct marketing).
- The possibility of a negative reaction from potential customers (the very active use of direct communications in tourism and other areas or network marketing often causes annoyance and frustration among the recipients).
Direct marketing application
It should be noted that the most important characteristic of direct marketing is the individual allocation of potential customers to form a dialogue with them (two-way communication). In the case under consideration, the most effective element is the maintenance of promising relationships with a potential buyer, which eventually becomes real. It should be added that today in the world market there is an opportunity to combine an individual approach to each potential consumer with a mass in an advertising campaign. Such an interesting situation occurred due to widespread computerization.
Direct marketing is used exclusively in those segments of the market and when the personal value of a potential client is set at a level close to the maximum. In other words, direct marketing takes place when the likelihood of acquiring a new buyer is high, and the costs associated with direct communication are significantly lower than the obvious benefit from the sale of a marketing object to this buyer.
additional information
Today, some companies completely abandon traditional advertising methods and sell their product through stores and a distribution network. So, they distribute their goods through direct marketing channels (by orders), shaping and always modifying at the same time specialized marketing policies.
Recently, direct marketing has become increasingly used in mass marketing in the market for mass demand products. Many Western experts in this field share the view that very soon direct marketing will significantly increase its own impact on the consumer. This will happen against the background of a significant decrease in terms of the effectiveness of advertising exposure tools. So, direct marketing will become the dominant direction in the field of marketing communications.
Direct Marketing Today
Today in the world market direct marketing is developing three times more intensively than advertising in the media. In addition, it brings twice as much profit. As an additional tool for increasing sales, direct marketing has recently been used in the wholesale binder of the marketing channel (not in terms of buyers, but intermediaries). Thus, the technique considered in the article allows you to fully establish system communication. And a direct dialogue, after all, allows not only to realize the product, but also to form the correct public opinion about it.