What is Direct Marketing ?

Direct Marketing Process

Direct marketing is the process involved in the selling of goods and sen-ices without the aid of wholesaler or retailer and such activities include direct response advertising, advertising for leads which sales people can follow through to achieve sales. Direct door-to-door selling is also part of direct marketing process.

Direct marketing uses various media such as direct mail, publications, television, radio and computer network Direct marketing is being increasingly used to replace mail-order business.

Definition of Direct Marketing

The Direct Marketing Association of U.S.A has defined direct marketing thus:

DIRECT MARKETING is an interactive marketing system that uses one or more advertising media to effect a measurable response and, or transaction at any location, with this activity stored on database. A critical evaluation of this definition indicates an emphasis laid on a measurable response such as typical customer order. This makes direct marketing to be sometimes, called DIRECT ORDER MARKETING.

Direct marketers use this process to build long term relationship with customers by occasionally sending birthday cards, informational materials or small premiums to selected members among st their customer. For example: hotels, airlines and some other businesses through frequent award programs, use this procedure to create and maintain strong customer relationships - such process is referred to as DIRECT RELATIONSHIP MARKETING.

Points of direct marketing

-Direct marketing consists of any marketing that relies on direct communication or distribution to individual consumers, rather than through a third party such as mass media.
-The call to action is a common factor in much of direct marketing.
-The effectiveness of direct marketing is easier to measure than media advertising.

How direct marketing works?

Unlike traditional public relations campaigns pushed out through a some party like as media publications or mass media , direct marketing campaigns operate by-self or independently to directly communicate with target audiences.

In direct marketing, companies cast their messaging and sales sto ries by social media, email, mail, or phone/SMS campaigns. Although the number of communications sent can be massive, direct marketing often attempts to personalize the message by inserting the receivers name or city in a prominent place to increase engagement.

The call to action is a crucial part of direct marketing. The receiver of the message is urged to immediately act by calling a toll-free phone number, sending in a reply card, or clicking on a link in a social media or email promotion. Any response is a positive indicator of a prospective purchaser. This variety of direct marketing is often called direct response marketing.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Direct Marketing

Direct marketing is quite possibly the most well known and viable marketing devices to set up a direct association with an intended interest group. Direct marketing has its allure, especially to organizations on a tight spending who can't stand to pay for TV or Internet publicizing campaigns. Particularly as the world turns out to be progressively associated through advanced stages, web-based media turns into a powerful method to market to clients.

The fundamental downside with direct marketing, in any case, is the profile-raising and picture constructing that accompanies an outsider certifying your image. For instance, albeit an organization may pay for a supported article in The New York Times, this can extraordinarily upgrade a brand's picture and can help "do what needs to be done" with clients who will confide in an evidently fair source or outside assessment.

By its inclination, the adequacy of a direct marketing campaign is simpler to gauge than different kinds of publicizing, since brands can investigate their own examination, track exceptional source codes, and change systems viably without going through a go between. The organization can gauge its prosperity by the number of shoppers settle on the decision, return the card, utilize the coupon, or snap on the connection.