Direct Marketing

Imagine a scenario where a person receives messages from two different senders. One sends the message directly, and the other sends it through an intermediary. Whose message is more likely to be retained by the receiver? The one that was sent directly to the receiver. It establishes a direct link between the sender and the receiver. When we think of this scenario in a marketing context, we understand the concept of direct marketing. In this explanation, we discuss the core concepts of direct marketing.

Direct Marketing Definition

Businesses use different marketing approaches to promote their product or services and communicate with the target audience. They aim to engage customers with their marketing messages and communicate the created value to them. This can be achieved by establishing an effective communication link between a business and existing/potential customers. This way, businesses can cultivate strong customer relationships and build brand loyalty. To achieve this, marketers can use one of the standard marketing approaches, i.e., direct marketing.

Direct marketing is an interactive form of promotional approach where not only can businesses communicate the messages, but customers can inform them about issues faced during the buying process. Direct marketing fosters two-way communication. It establishes a strong association between customers and a business, giving customers the feeling that their feedback matters. Direct marketing allows companies to reduce response times to customer queries. Therefore, it improves the overall customer experience.

Direct marketing offers a business more control over its messaging. It can create a targeted message and select the correct channels to engage with the customers without worrying about any confusion in the process.

Direct Marketing Examples

Brands use different kinds of direct marketing techniques based on their marketing objectives. Here are a couple of examples of brands that use direct marketing.

Google

Google uses direct mail to promote its services. These emails contain information about the application of the promoted services. Direct marketing helps Google communicate its message to its target audience and promote its services specifically to businesses.

Nestle's Kit Kat

The Kit Kat chocolate brand used direct mail to promote its Kit Kat Chunky Campaign. The mail contained information on how consumers can avail of a free candy bar. The brand could not send its new chocolate bar in the mail because it was too "chunky." Instead, recipients could get a free candy bar by showing the promotional mail they received in select stores. The campaign was a huge success, and the direct marketing approach helped Kit Kat to connect effectively with the target audience.¹

Fig. 1 - Kit Kat used direct mail for its successful marketing campaign

Types of Direct Marketing

There are various types of direct marketing. Businesses select which ones they use based on their marketing objectives. Here are some of the common forms of direct marketing:

• Direct mail – It may be an older, more traditional type of direct marketing, but it can still be effective. The business sends brochures, flyers, etc., through direct mail. It provides an option for companies to customize their marketing material. A business can achieve much more through targeted messaging in direct mail as the audience is also segmented geographically for this type of direct marketing.

• Social media marketing – This type of direct marketing is prevalent in current marketing environments. Big brands allocate enormous budgets for social media marketing because of their broad reach. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter give perfect opportunities for brands to connect with the target audience.

  Check out our explanation of Social Media Marketing to learn more.

• Email marketing – This method is another effective type of direct marketing. Businesses deliver promotional messages to customers directly to their email inboxes. They also use it to send personalized letters or cards to develop strong customer relationships.

• SMS marketing – Short Message Service – SMS is a type of direct marketing used for promotional purposes. SMS marketing aims to build brand awareness and convince customers about business offerings.

  To find out more about awareness in marketing, take a look at our explanation of Brand Awareness.

Fig. 2 - Email Marketing - A type of Direct Marketing

Features of Direct Marketing

The features of direct marketing help differentiate it from other marketing approaches. Here are some of the essential elements of direct marketing.

• Targeted messaging – Direct marketing enables marketers to attract and engage customers with targeted messaging. It means they focus on delivering promotional messages to interested customers. Targeted messaging is more likely to hit the intended audience than general mass messaging.

• Audience segmentation – Marketers segment the audience based on similar characteristics for direct marketing. It allows them to create personalized promotional messages for each segment.

  To learn more about segmentation types, check out our explanations of Market Segmentation and Demographic Segmentation.

• No intermediary – In direct marketing, there is no intermediary. It means businesses are in direct contact with customers through multiple channels. It allows brands to engage with customers the way they want. Since there is no intermediary, they can save costs.

• Customer-oriented – Direct marketing is a customer-oriented marketing approach. Brands identify the preferences of customers and provide tailored solutions to them. It enables a business to connect with the audience on a deeper level.

• Track of performance – Since the business is directly involved in marketing activities, it can easily keep track of performance. As a result, direct marketing helps in optimizing marketing campaigns.

Advantages of Direct Marketing

Marketers use direct marketing because it gives them multiple advantages. Here we discuss the most significant benefits of direct marketing.

• Measurable performance – Marketers can easily measure the performance of direct marketing campaigns. A business is directly involved in the campaigns; therefore, it can directly measure performance. This is essential because it could help in improving subsequent marketing campaigns.

• Increased engagement – Direct marketing could result in increased customer engagement. Marketers establish a direct link with the customers, which could help foster strong customer relationships. Customers exhibit more attention to the messages, which means more engagement.

• Improved customer experience – The direct link between a business and its customers in direct marketing, allowing brands to provide tailored solutions to customers. Direct links could result in reduced response times and smooth communication, improving the customer experience.

• New business prospects – Through direct marketing, companies can gather vast amounts of data on existing and potential customers. This data could attract potential customers and convince and nudge them toward conversions.

• Optimized campaigns – In direct marketing, companies have access to data that could be used to rectify issues from campaigns. They measure performance through set key performance indicators (KPIs), meaning marketers could improve future campaigns. They have a direct link with customers, meaning immediate feedback. These elements of direct marketing demonstrate that businesses can optimize their marketing campaigns by using this method.

Disadvantages of Direct Marketing

Direct marketing gives many benefits to marketers; however, it also has a few limitations. The disadvantages of direct marketing are as follows:

• Invasive – Many people could find direct marketing invasive. For instance, many people receive emails that they do not even open. It could be because they do not find it worth their time, or they are simply uninterested. This kind of mail is often considered junk mail.

• Environment – Direct marketing involves paper-based marketing materials such as brochures. Especially when customers disregard these forms of communication, direct marketing comes with an environmental cost.

• Cost – When direct marketing is not targeted effectively, the resources could go to waste. It would be a waste of resources and costly in the end.