The overabundance of online advertising is bringing traditional campaigns back into the spotlight. In this article you will find out what Direct Marketing is and if it is a good idea to use it.
What is Direct Marketing?
Direct marketing is how we establish direct contact with our customers. It is called direct because it does not require the involvement of any intermediaries – such as advertising media or mass media. This marketing is based on traditional activities such as mailings, but also on modern ones such as e-mail and social media.
Its purpose is to encourage a specific reciprocal action by your audience and build an ongoing relationship with them, something that you cannot expect from mass media advertising. In a campaign like this, you have the chance to present your offer based on what its benefits are, and motivate the consumers to take action. This leads not only to the purchase of your products, but also to the establishment of trust in your brand and its continued purchase by both new and current customers.
Like any other marketing campaign, Direct Marketing needs you to commit and provide the necessary data to make it work. For this type of marketing, you need an audience base to which you can target it.
Today, marketing activities are inevitable and necessary to any form of business. Why not use a direct form, without third parties?
The channels and tools employed by direct marketing.
How you can structure your direct marketing:
- By conventional mail
It can be used for sending offers, catalogues, gifts, samples. This is one of the most pleasant forms of contact, because packages like this delight the eyes of the customer, who, upon receiving product samples, for instance, will be pleasantly surprised and encouraged to choose your brand when shopping. You can read more about sampling in the following article: ‘How to adapt the sampling method to the type of product?’
- By e-mail
Sending newsletters, special offers, promotions and simply maintaining contact through wishes and tailored messages. It is a form of contact to which you may want to pay particular attention, so that it is as individualised as possible and does not get lost in the maze of the many e-mails people receive on a daily basis.
- By social media
They are most helpful in promoting a brand or product. They can help you reach your target audience and build brand recognition. They can also serve as a communication channel within an already defined audience that subscribes to the profile. We have written about the social media and the ways it works for brand promotion in the following article: ‘How will Influencer Marketing boost your sales?’
- Face to face
The oldest and most trusted form of communication, where the customer is dealing with us as individuals, without the aura that the virtual world brings with it. Nowadays, some companies organise meetings where they present their offer in front of an interested group of consumers, during which they can, for example, give away small gifts.
- Through telemarketing
It is the most popular tool used in direct marketing to establish and maintain contact. It allows you to present offers, research opinions, but also to quickly solve customers’ problems or provide them with the necessary information.
Direct marketing – is it a good option?
Reaching your target customers and motivating them to respond, which translates into an increase in orders, strengthening the company-customer relationship, expanding your customer base and strengthening your position, or building trust and brand awareness – these are just some of the benefits that Direct Marketing can bring you.
Messages that are personalised and targeted at the customer are more effective than the mass advertising formats because they reach the relevant people directly.
In addition, direct marketing gives you the chance to easily measure the results of your campaigns and allows you to react quickly or introduce changes.
One downside of direct marketing is that you must have a target audience base.
What is important to bear in mind when planning Direct Marketing?
The most important thing in building direct marketing is to have a defined and updated database of your target audience. You need to define exactly who your message will be directed at. First of all, build a group of contacts with telephone numbers, postal addresses and e-mail addresses.
Drafting a good template for your message, differentiating whether it is an e-mail or perhaps a telephone contact – the message must be structured, as accessible to the customer as possible, and include an incentive to act. It should be tailored in such a way that it provides a solution to your customer’s problem or meets their needs.
It is a good idea to test this kind of message. Try it with a few different schemes and explore which one brings the best response from customers. Try testing not only the content but also its elements such as images, animations, sending time, call to action (CTA) buttons.
Summary
Counter-intuitively, direct marketing is not at all inferior to other marketing activities and has even adapted to the new media these days. If you are one of the entrepreneurs who know your target audience and their needs very well, then Direct Marketing will work perfectly for you – it will be effective and increase your profits.
Sources:
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/direct-marketing.asp
https://atbconsulting.pl/marketing-bezposredniej-reakcji-direct-marketing/
https://directmail.poczta-polska.pl/encyklopedia-dm/direct-mail-w-prasie/artykul-2/
https://admonkey.pl/direct-marketing/
https://customeritum.pl/o-nas/meritum-wiedzy/direct-marketing
https://funkymedia.pl/direct-marketing-co-to-je.html
https://www.neocraft.eu/artykul/czy-direct-marketing-wciaz-jest-efektywny
