Content

Introduction

Chapter I: Direct Marketing. Definition. How it works

Chapter II: DM Features. Benefits and Tools of Direct

Marketing

Conclusion

References
 Introduction
Direct marketing is the specific targeting of a person or a company with the
objective of selling a product, generating new business, or raising the profile of
an organization or product. It is, as the name implies "direct", so it is specific or
perhaps "sniper" based, rather than "shotgun" based activity such as mail box
drops, magazine inserts etc. These tend to be non-personal, but usually much
larger in number as they typically have a lower hit rate in percentage terms to
the number of items sent out. Direct marketing relies on knowing the name or
names of the people to whom the information is sent, rather than unaddressed or
non-personalized material such as flyers, mail box drops etc.
Due to the low cost availability of computer technology, most direct marketing
today is done with the aid of a database, and uses computer generated letters
and labels for envelopes. It involves offering your product or services directly
to the consumer by means of mail order, brochures, sales literature, Internet etc.
There is no middleman involved - it is a direct link between the supplier of the
product and the user of the product.
The other term that people use is "direct response marketing". This type of
marketing really means getting your sales message out directly to your
customers so that they respond directly to the order or the offer that you have
put before them.
The direct offer is usually made by way of an advertisement of some sort. Many
people use fliers, a sales presentation letter, postcards, brochures, classified
advertisements in magazines, advertisements in newspapers, a television
infomercial, and e-mail and Internet offers.
Chapter I: Direct Marketing. Definition. How it works?
Direct marketing is a type of promotion that entails communicating information
on a product, service, or company directly to the customers. All promotional
information is relayed without intermediaries and any third parties.

Emails, online adverts, flyers, database marketing, promotional letters,

newspapers, outdoor advertising, phone text messaging, magazine adverts,
coupons, phone calls, postcards, websites, and catalog distribution are some
examples of direct marketing strategies. Now, while other advertising methods
aim to educate prospects about a brand’s services or products, direct marketing
solely intends to persuade the recipient to take a specific action. This strategy
achieves this by providing calls to action (CTAs) that prompt the customer to
act.

The success of direct marketing strategies is measured by tracking the

achievement of the goal. Note that when targeted lists of prospects are used,
direct marketing is more effective. Also, picking the appropriate
communication channel for a specific business is necessary for success.

Direct marketing is a form of advertising that specifically targets a person or

company to generate new business, raise the profile of an organization or
product, or make a sale. Direct mail, telemarketing and email marketing are all
popular types of direct marketing.

Direct marketing trades on the greatest of all sales advantages — the

opportunity to communicate directly with your customer to build a personal
relationship. It allows you to reach your target audience with direct messages,
without using traditional, costly advertising methods such as TV, newspapers
and radio advertising.Because they bring you into direct, unsolicited contact
with your customer, direct marketing campaigns are governed by important
privacy regulations. If you are considering a direct marketing campaign, you
need to be aware of these regulations and abide by them at all times.

This guide explains different types of direct marketing, and provides

information on how to make the most of your direct marketing campaign.

How does it work?

The whole objective of direct marketing is to get the customers to respond to

you directly. They do not have to go through another firm "who take a portion
of the profit" but, by responding directly, they are able to obtain a product or
service at a good price and the supplier is able to make a good margin. The
response can be to a telephone service or to a 1800 number, or it may be by way
of an order being posted or faxed to you, or even a coupon sent from an
advertisement in a magazine.

The whole purpose of direct marketing is to get the right message quickly to the
right people so that they can respond with an order straight to you. In today’s
world of increasing competition the public are consistently bombarded with
thousands of different marketing offers, usually through the traditional means of
television or face-to-face. The world has become accustomed to direct
marketing, usually by way of direct mail, and this is increasingly becoming a
way that business is done. Because of people’s lifestyle and the fact that many
people work during the day, time is precious. Purchasing a product through
direct marketing, at a reasonable price, is an option that many people now
embrace simply because they do not have the time to call in to the traditional
stores and shop around looking for what they want to buy.
Direct marketing usually has the following main aims:

• To acquire new customers.

• To capture the attention of busy people - usually with an item

attached/enclosed.

• To promote a new product.

• To invite customers to renew a subscription/service.

• To invite the recipient to a seminar/conference.

In any of the above, the objective is to use the mail piece as a catalyst - that is
something that causes a reaction. In this case to make the phone ring, people to
order a sample of the new product, renew a subscription etc. The offer is
usually very specific - it generally revolves around one product or service,
rather than sending a catalogue with which a reader may get swamped.

What advantages does it have over other activity?

Unlike magazine ads, mailbox drops or the like, with the power of a database,
one can easily test the response to the letter/offer before going ahead with a full
scale promotion and finding that this does not work, or is attracting the wrong
sort of response. This way, adjustments and fine-tuning to the promotion can be
achieved by measuring the results, unlike a scatter-gun approach, which tends
to be all or nothing - e.g. magazine advert etc Provided that the content is
specific and easily readable, you can be assured that the recipient will receive
and read the material, because it is personally addressed. With the capabilities
of today’s direct marketing programs it is possible to personalise the letter in all
manner of ways such as to include details of previous purchases or other
information specific to the recipient of the letter.
It is cost effective. If the right target is reached with the right offer, depending
on the nature of the product/opportunity being presented one can often achieve
the same or better results from a direct mail campaign than a generalized
advertisement. This comes back to defining the objectives of the marketing
exercise in the first place. Unlike scatter-gun marketing activities, because the
actual target is known, it is possible to follow up the mail piece with a
telephone call to reinforce the branding/sales/promotional exercise. It is a

well-known fact that the more ways in which a product/service is promoted the
better the uptake, for example, bill boards coinciding with TV and newspapers
ads etc.

In any direct marketing activity, the response from people receiving the
material will be one of three types:

• Receive the material and respond to same - typically a small number.

• Receive the material and do nothing - the greater percentage.

• The sit on the fence people - those who read the material but are too busy or
need a little nudge to act upon it.

The advantages of direct marketing allow for people to be moved from one
group to another by the persuasive power of a follow up call.

The changes in society

In the world we live in certain things have changed. Competition has increased
tremendously so the fight for customer loyalty is fierce. There are an increased
number of products and services available on the market. There is a huge
mountain of marketing messages being presented all the time, which is causing
confusion to the buying public. Today’s buyer is a lot more knowledgeable and
will only buy that which is a better price or produces a better advantage.
The traditional way of marketing, however, is still strong for many reasons.
Many customers still want to be able to see to someone face to face and discuss
a purchase before completing it.

Chapter II: DM Features. Benefits and Tools of Direct

Marketing

Unique Features of Direct Marketing

Some of the unique features of direct marketing are:

Personal messages: generally the direct mail messages which are designed for
a specific audience are addressed personally to the person concerned and have a
bit of personnel touch to them as compared to all other promotional tools where
a general expression is used.

Customized: as explained earlier most of the direct marketing messages are

customized keeping the target audience into account. They are delivered
directly to the concerned person and a direct response is sought from them.

Up-to-date: direct marketing messages are designed frequently and are sent at
short intervals, so as and when there is a change in the product, a new feature is
added, or a new scheme is introduced, it is brought to the notice of the target
audience with revised messages.

Interactive and instant feedback: direct marketing turns out to be a highly

interactive medium, especially in telemarketing with the help of the toll-free
number and Internet where customers log on to the websites, they can call or
ask for additional information besides the one being delivered directly from the
manufacturer. Customers can also provide their feedback immediately to the
company.

Secrecy is maintained: direct marketing tools provide the manufacturers an

exclusive advantage of keeping their advertising campaign secret from the
competitors as they address their messages directly and personally to the target
audience. In most of the cases the competitor does not gets to know about the
promises being made by the manufacturer to the customers which gives the
manufacturer a competitive advantage.

Economical pricing: direct marketing also provides the advantage of

economical pricing to the customers as the manufacturer in this case can do
away with the middleman so the middleman's commission is saved and the cost
saving is passed on to the customers in the form of reduced prices.

Personalized sales promotion incentives: in addition to advertising on the

web, marketers offer sales promotion incentives such as coupons, contests, and
sweepstakes online and they use the Internet to conduct direct marketing
activities more effectively and efficiently.

Benefits of Direct Marketing

Direct marketing benefits both the customers and the marketers in many ways.
Some of the important ones are listed as under:

 Shopping through direct marketing is a very convenient and trouble-free

experience for customers.

 It saves time and introduces customers to a larger selection of merchandise.

 Consumers can do comparative shopping by browsing through mail
catalogues and online shopping services.

 Direct marketing saves the botheration of travelling long distances, traffic

problems and parking hassles.

 Marketers also benefit from direct marketing as they can give a personal
touch to their communication for their prospective customers.

 Direct marketers can build a continuous relationship with each customer and
can get constant feedback from them.

 Direct marketing can also give the advantage of reaching prospects at the
right time.

 It permits the testing of alternative media and messages in search of the

most cost effective approach.

 It can help marketers in measuring responses to their campaigns to decide as

to which one has been the most profitable.

 Direct marketing also makes the direct marketer’s offer and strategy less
visible to competitors.

Tools of Direct Marketing

The most recent form of direct marketing is online marketing. It uses Internet
technology to attain marketing objectives. It is one of the recent developments
in the field of marketing. It has increased the horizon of the marketers and has
provided them with a broader platform to operate. It can be defined as
achieving marketing objectives through the use of electronic communications
technology such as: Internet, e-mail, E-books, database, and mobile phone.
Direct marketers can use a number of tools for reaching prospects and
customers. Some of the important ones are mentioned as under:

1. E-Mail Marketing

E-mail remains the most important direct marketing tool used for building
customer relationships. E-mail or in other words electronic mail allows users to
send a message or file from one computer directly to another with the help of
Internet connectivity. These are word-of-mouse tools through which consumers
communicate about products with each other. These are being sent regularly by
marketers to their customers announcing sales, discount offers, promotional
schemes and other messages. E-mailers are being used to build a buzz about
products.

Advantages of E-Mail Marketing

There are several advantages of using e-mail over postal direct mail. The
important ones are listed as under:

 It requires no postage or printing charges;

 E-mail is much faster than postal mail. It offers an immediate and

convenient way for generating direct response. Most of the e-mailers have a
link, which if pressed it directly takes the user to the website;

 Email can be automatically individualised to meet the needs of the specific

users;
 Marketers use e-mail for behavioural targeting. It offers a chance for real
dialogue with individual customers, helping marketers develop broad and
deep customer relationship.

Instead of using it to acquire customers, marketers can use e-mails to make

announcements, to send promotional offers, or to communicate anything
important or relevant to their stakeholders.

Disadvantages of E-Mail Marketing

 First and foremost difficulty, is finding an appropriate email lists.

 At times, it is difficult to match a list of email addresses with individual

customers and prospects in a firm's database.

 Another problem observed in the email addresses is frequent change of

address by individual customers.

 The biggest disadvantage of using the e-mail is the difficulty of making it

through a customer's spam filters. Anywhere around 17 to 60 percent of
legitimate mail is caught up in spam filters.

 E-mail needs to be delivered, opened and acted upon in order to work,

which becomes one of the biggest problem with them.E-mail Newsletters
Some of the companies send periodic e-mail newsletters. These are effective
tools for communicating with clients, as they provide detailed news about
the company, its products or other latest developments.

There are various benefits of sending email newsletters, such as:

 They regularly and legitimately promote the company's name to clients.

 They personalize the communication with tailored content.

 They position the company as an expert in a subject.

 They point recipients back to the company website or social media portals.

 They make it easy for clients to pass along information to others.

 They occasionally pay for themselves by carrying small advertisements.

2. Viral Marketing

When recipients forward email to friends, co-workers, family members, and

others on their email lists, they are using word-of-mouse technique. This is
known as viral marketing, which is the online equivalent of word of mouth.
Viral marketing works well if all those who have been forwarded the emails fall
in the target market of the firm. It helps in making their marketing campaign go
viral. The message spreads like fire to millions of people. But the success of
viral marketing is highly unpredictable as there is tremendous competition
online for entertaining and engaging video and contests. At times, some of the
video turns out to be a huge success, while most often it is a disappointment
that a great video could not turn heads off and did not go viral. There is no hard
and fast rule for success in viral marketing. One of the biggest examples of the
success of viral marketing campaign is the success of the song, "Kolavari Di".

3. Use of Mobile Phones in Direct Marketing

Mobile phones are increasingly being used by marketers to send messages

across to millions of people. SMS and MMS and Whats app are being used to
send marketing messages to present and potential customers. Short message
services (SMS) are up to 160 characters text sent by one user to another over
the Internet, usually with a cell phone or a smart phone. It is different from
instant messaging (IM)-short messages sent across users who are online at the
same time with the help of what's App, Twitter or Facebook. Multimedia
message service (MMS) involves multimedia content, but is not commonlyin
use because hand held receiving appliances are generally not MMS capable.
SMS differs from Email because users can receive the message instantly and
inexpensively on mobile phones. SMS uses a store-and-send technology
thatholds messages for only a few days. When users send short text messages,
they are charged either by cell phone minutes or by the message, but the cost is
minimal compared to using the cell phone for a conversation. In addition to
this, accessing SMS is easy because users do not have to open email or other
software to send or receive such messages. Instead, they simply have to type the
message on the phone keyboard and send. This SMS culture is growing rapidly
mainly among children and young people. Marketers have to learn to use the
medium effectively to build relationships with their customers by sending
permission-based information when and where they want to receive it. To be
successful, the messages should be short, personalised, interactive, and relevant.
Various promotional incentives and schemes are introduced to the regular
customers with the help of SMS. Instant messaging (IM) has taken Internet
users by storm. Even though email is the most rapidly adapted form of
communication to date, IM beats the speed of email and maintains all of its
other handy features. Once the user is logged in, he or she can view their
contact list and check the contact's status, whether they are online, off-line,
away or idle. The list updates dynamically as friends and family enter and exit
the online world rapidly. To send an instant message to another user, the user
has to be online. Doubleclicking a name on the contact list initiates a
conversation. A separate window opens in which one can type the message and
send it across. Immediately the response comes from the other side, and this can
result in a conversation. In addition to instant messages, there are other options
available through mobile phones, such as:

1. Chat rooms - in this case, various mobile users can all engage in one
conversation.

2. Hyperlinks - users can send each other active links to websites.

3. Files - using instant messaging each other can send files or Microsoft Word
documents to one another.

4. Talk - with the microphone and speakers attached to a PC, users can talk to
each other over the Internet.

5. Video-conference - With a web camera connected to PC, users can engage in

videoconferencing.

6. Steaming information - Up-to-date news, stock quotes, and other

information can be displayed in the client application.

E-marketing or online marketing is taking the help of digital technologies

which form online channels, such as, web-sites, e-mail, databases etc. to
provide information to the consumers, handle their doubts and queries, procure
orders, receive payments, and deliver goods through courier. Online marketing
consists primarily of the distributing, buying, selling, marketing, and servicing
of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other
computer networks. Through online marketing, only information is exchanged
or an order is placed. Actual delivery of physical products is made through
different delivery systems (like post, Courier, and person) with appropriate
mode of transportation. Goods are delivered to the consumers and the final
payment is collected from them either through credit card or through cash on
delivery.

Benefits of direct marketing

Good direct marketing campaigns focus on promoting a specific product or

service, and call on your customers to act — to receive further information,
register their interest, visit your website, make a booking or a purchase.

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

 provide customers with compelling content they can share with potential
customers

 increase sales.

However, 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.

Making the most of direct marketing

A well-planned direct marketing campaign can take you straight to your ideal
customers. Identifying the benefits of direct marketing will help you stay
focused on getting the most out of your direct marketing campaign.

Target your ideal customers

Using direct marketing allows you to target specific groups of customers with
tailored messages. By taking the time to research and identify the
customers who are most likely to need or want your products and services, you
can focus your marketing efforts where they have the highest chance of
achieving results.A well-targeted direct marketing campaign will also provide
you with an accurate understanding of how your customers are responding to
your product and service offers.

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

Most customers welcome contact from familiar business people who make an
effort to understand their needs and build a personal relationship. You can
increase sales to your existing customers by maintaining reliable customer
records and choosing simple, well-planned promotional tactics.You can also
use direct marketing tactics to re-establish relationships with customers who
haven't returned to your business in a while. Approaching lapsed customers is
an opportunity to rekindle sales, keep your customer records accurate, and find
out why your customers move on.

Improve customer loyalty

Direct marketing helps you build direct relationships with your customers. You
can personalise promotions, letters and offers to create an immediate link with
your customer and increase their personal connection to your business.Many
businesses combine direct marketing and customer loyalty strategies to keep
and build customer relationships (e.g. by sending birthday cards, discount
offers, invites to upcoming sales).

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.If you use effective techniques for sourcing
and finding new customers, you can generate new customer prospects and grow
your sales to new customers.Direct marketing lets you adapt and respond to the
needs of your market, and your business. You can achieve fast and flexible
sales results using direct marketing. For example, 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.

Word-of-mouth is the most powerful form of marketing.  An effective

marketing campaign will provide customers with collateral about your business
that they can easily share with their friends, colleagues and family.  This can
generate new leads for your business.

Test and measure your products and sales performance

Direct approaches provide direct feedback. Direct marketing is also a great way
to gauge your customers' appetite for your products and trial new products or
services.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.

For example, if you mail 100 customers a catalogue with a discount voucher on

the back page and 20 customers bring this into your business to use, the
campaign had a response rate of 20%. By working out the cost of creating and
mailing the catalogue, as well as the profit you made from each customer that
responded, you can assess the success of your direct marketing campaign.

 Learn about responsible and effective direct marketing practices from

the Association for Data-Driven Marketing and Advertising.
 Find out more about the sales process.

 Setting sales targets can be productive.

 Read about how to build your brand awareness and using public relations to

build your customer base.

 Learn how you can monitor the success of your advertising.

 Tips to manage direct marketing challenges

Direct marketing campaigns require careful planning and analysis. While direct
marketing can be a powerful tool for growing your business, it must be properly
considered, and supported by good information and recognised marketing
principles and practices. Consider these tips for managing direct marketing
challenges.

Direct marketing allows you to promote your product or service directly to your

target audience and measure results quickly, but the benefits don't stop there.
Here are 6 benefits of digital direct marketing:

 High segmentation and targeting. One of the great advantages of this type of

marketing is that you can reach your specific audience segments with
personalized messages. If you want to succeed, you should invest time to
research and identify the consumers most likely to convert and thus direct
your efforts to actions that really work.

 Optimize your marketing budget. Addressing online direct marketing to a

specific audience allows you to set realistic goals and improve your sales on
a tight budget. If you properly optimize your direct campaign, you will
 achieve results with only a small percentage of the cost of traditional
advertising.

 Increase your sales with current and former clients. Digital direct

marketing lets you communicate with your current customers to keep the
relationship alive while continuing to bring value. It also allows you to get
back in touch with old customers and generate new sales opportunities.

 Upgrade your loyalty strategies. Direct contact with your customers allows

you to customize your promotions, emails, and offers to create an instant
bond. To maximize results, you can combine your direct marketing methods
with your loyalty program.

 Create new business opportunities. Direct marketing allows you to adapt to

market demands at all times and respond more effectively.

 Tests and analyzes the results. Direct response campaigns give you the
opportunity to directly measure your results. Take the opportunity to
squeeze the most of your tests and make decisions in real time. 
 Conclusion

Poorly planned or delivered direct marketing tactics can offend potential

customers. Identify the customers who you believe are likely to be interested in
your product or service. Build a database of potential customers and work
through your contacts.

Approaching people who have no interest in your products or services can

cause frustration and create negative perceptions about your business. Similarly,
invasive and overly persistent communication tactics can also damage your
reputation.

Direct marketing practices are governed by the Australian Direct Marketing

Association's code of practice and best practice guidelines. Take the time to
learn about responsible direct marketing, and understand your direct marketing
obligations (e.g. you must not contact individuals who have formally asked not
to receive direct marketing).

If you understand the laws relating to unsolicited mail and telemarketing you

can avoid a regulatory breach that would incur serious penalties for your
business.

Effective direct marketing campaigns are well-organised, purposeful and

professional. Your direct marketing approaches are often your first meeting
with your customers. First impressions count. Plan and script your approaches
to customers carefully. Making confusing, poorly targeted or poorly delivered
offers can lose you sales, opportunities, trust and credibility.

Sustainable direct marketing practices reflect well on your business. Many of

today's successful direct marketing campaigns rely far less heavily on paper and
more on electronic delivery.

References

Smith, T. Direct Marketing. Introduction.

Dibb, S., Simkin, L., Pride, W.C. and Ferrell. Marketing: Concepts and
Strategies.

Nagle, T., Hogan, J. and Zale, J., The Strategy and Tactics of Marketing. A
Guide to Growing More Profitably.

Brennan, R., Canning,L. and McDowell, R., Business-to-Business Marketing.

Irvin, G. Modern Cost-Benefit Methods.

Kotler Principle of Marketing.

Rao, V.R. and Kartono, B., "Pricing Strategies and Objectives: A Cross-cultural
Survey."