Direct marketing is a form of advertising where an organization communicates directly to customers through various media including the delivery of mobile text messages, email, websites, online advertising, database marketing, leaflets, catalog distribution, promotional mail, and television advertising , targeted newspapers, magazines, and outdoor advertising. Among the practitioners, it is also known as direct response .
The prevalence of direct marketing and the undesirable nature of some communications has led to laws and regulations such as the CAN-SPAM Act, which requires consumers in the United States to be excluded from participation.
Video Direct marketing
Popularity
A 2010 study by the Direct Marketing Association reports that in 2010, marketers - commercial and nonprofit - spent $ 153.3 billion on direct marketing, accounting for 54.2% of all advertising spend in the United States. Measured against total US sales, this advertising spending generated about $ 1.798 trillion in additional sales. In 2010, direct marketing accounted for 8.3% of total US gross domestic product. In 2010, there were 1.4 million direct marketing employees in the US. Their collective sales efforts directly support 8.4 million other jobs, totaling 9.8 million US jobs.
Maps Direct marketing
History
Meeting the demands of consumer revolution and middle-class wealth growth that helped drive the Industrial Revolution in Britain, 18th-century entrepreneurs and pottery producers Josiah Wedgwood pioneered many of today's marketing strategies, including direct marketing.
In the 19th century, Aaron Montgomery Ward believed that using direct product sales techniques to customers at an attractive price could, if carried out effectively and efficiently, revolutionize the market industry and therefore be used as a model for marketing products and create customer loyalty. The term "direct marketing" was created shortly after Montgomery Ward's time.
In 1872, Ward published its first mail-order catalog for its mail order business at Montgomery Ward. By purchasing the goods and then reselling them directly to the customer, Ward then moves the intermediary in the general store and, for the benefit of the customer, drastically lowers the price. The Direct Mail Advertising Association, a forerunner of the current Direct Marketing Association, was first established in 1917. The third-class bulk postal level was established in 1928.
In 1967, Lester Wunderman identified, named, and defined the term "direct marketing". Wunderman - considered the father of contemporary direct marketing - is behind the creation of a toll-free 1-800 number and many loyalty marketing programs including Columbia Record Club, magazine subscription cards, and American Express Customer Rewards program.
Benefits
Direct marketing appeals to many marketers because the outcome, positive or otherwise, can be measured directly. For example, if a marketer sends 1,000 requests by mail and 100 responds to a promotion, marketers can say confidently that the campaign leads directly to a 10% conversion. This metric is known as the 'response rate', and this is one of many quantifiable success metrics used by direct marketers. In contrast, general advertising uses indirect measurements, such as awareness or engagement, as there is no direct response from consumers. Result measurement is a fundamental element in successful direct marketing.
One significant benefit of direct marketing is that it allows to promote products or services that consumers may not know about. Products or services with good value propositions, matched with attractive offers, backed by effective communication, delivered via an appropriate direct marketing channel and targeting relevant customer segments can result in very cost effective acquisitions. Relative to other distribution channels (say retail) direct marketing as a practice basically depends on proposition, offer, communication, channel selection and target customers and become less dependent on brand strength. While direct marketing capability is proven to produce measurable results, most companies continue to use general advertising or branding to market their products or services.
The internet has made it easier for marketing managers to measure campaign results. This is often accomplished by using certain website landing pages that are directly related to promotional materials. Call-to-action will ask the customer to visit the landing page, and the effectiveness of the campaign can be measured by taking the number of promoted promotional messages and dividing it into the number of responses. Another way to measure results is to compare the projected sales or leads generated for a particular term with actual sales or leads after a live advertising campaign. Some companies use conversion rates as a key metric while others use revenue as a key metric.
The role of copywriters and other creatives
Copywriters write words that motivate readers, listeners, or viewers to take the actions that marketers want them to take. Copywriters in direct marketing are called direct response copywriters. These copywriters have specialized expertise based on proven direct marketing techniques. The goal is to motivate prospects to take certain actions. Copywriters in general advertising and branding focus on making current and potential customers feel a certain way about a product or service. Graphic designers, web developers, and other creatives also play an important role in successful direct marketing.
Challenges and solutions
While many marketers recognize the financial benefits of targeted awareness raising, some direct marketing efforts using certain media have been criticized for producing low quality leads, either because of poor messaging strategies or because of poorly compiled demographic databases. This poses a problem for marketers and consumers, because advertisers do not want to waste money communicating with consumers who are not interested in their products.
The success of a direct marketing campaign, in terms of how many times the desired response can vary between the best vs. the worst of the following parameters, depending on:
- List or targeting (best targeting can generate up to 6 response times, compared to worst targeting) Offer
- (best offer can generate up to 3 response times, compared to worst bid)
- Timing (the best time for a campaign can generate up to 2 response times, compared to worst time)
- Ease of response (the best/much offered way to respond can generate up to 1.35 times the response, compared to the less-friendly response mechanism))
- Creativity (most creative messages can generate up to 1.2 times the response, compared to the least creative message)
- Media is used. The media/media used to convey messages can have a significant impact on the response. It's hard to really personalize DRTV messages or radio. Someone can even try to send personalized messages via email or text messages, but high-quality envelope letters and high quality mail will usually have a better chance of generating a response in this scenario.
In short, choosing the best of all the above parameters can generate up to 58 times more responses, compared to choosing the worst of the above parameters. Addressing this helps to allay marketers' concerns.
Some of these issues have been handled by direct marketers using individual "out-of-the-way" lists, variable printing, and more targeted list practices. In addition, to avoid unwanted delivery, members of the marketing industry have set up a preference service that gives customers more control over the marketing communications they receive through the mail.
The term "junk mail", referring to unsolicited commercial advertisements sent through the post office or directly stored in consumer mailboxes, can be traced back to 1954. The term "spam", meaning "unsolicited commercial e-mail" , can be traced back to March 31, 1993, although in the first few months it was just accidentally posted messages so often on UseNet that repetition effectively drowns the normal conversation flow.
To address unwanted email or spam concerns, in 2003, the US Congress enforced a Pornographic and Non-Applicant Control (CAN-SPAM) Attack Attack to curb unwanted email messages. Can-Spam gives recipients the ability to stop unwanted emails, and assign severe penalties for violations. In addition, ISPs and email providers have developed an increasingly effective Email Filtering program. This filter may disrupt the delivery of email marketing campaigns, even if the person has subscribed to receive it, because legit email marketing can have the same benefits as spam. There are various email service providers that provide services for legitimate opt-in emailing to avoid being classified as spam.
Consumers have expressed concerns about the privacy and environmental implications of direct marketing. Responding to consumer demand and increasing business pressure to improve the effectiveness of reaching the right customers with direct marketing, the company specializes in direct ads targeted for great effects, reduces waste advertising budget and improves the effectiveness of marketing messaging with better geographic information, delivering advertising messages only to customers interested in the products, services, or events offered. In addition, members of the advertising industry have been working to adopt stricter codes of online-targeted advertising.
Channels
Any media that can be used to communicate to customers can be employed in direct marketing, including: Email marketing
Sending marketing messages via email or email marketing is one of the most widely used direct marketing methods. One reason the popularity of email marketing is relatively cheap to design, test, and send email messages. It also allows marketers to post messages all the time, and to measure responses accurately.
Online tools
With the expansion of digital technologies and tools, more direct marketing takes place through online channels. Most online ads are delivered to focus groups of customers and have trackable responses.
- Display Ads are interactive ads that appear on the Web in addition to content on Web pages or Web services. Formats include static banners, pop-ups, videos, and floating units. Customers may click on an ad to respond directly to a message or to find more detailed information. According to research by eMarketer, spending on online display ads rose 24.5% between 2010 and 2011.
- Search: 49% of US spend on Internet advertising is used to find, where advertisers are paying for prominent placements between lists in search engines each time a prospect enters a relevant search term, allowing ads to be sent to customers based on their indicated search criteria. This paid placement industry generates over $ 10 billion for search companies. Marketers also use search engine optimization to drive traffic to their site.
- Social Media Sites , such as Facebook and Twitter, also provide an opportunity for direct marketers to communicate directly with customers by creating content that customers can respond to.
Mobile
Through mobile marketing, marketers engage with potential customers and donors interactively through a mobile or network device, such as a mobile phone, smartphone or tablet. Mobile marketing message types include: SMS (short messaging service) - marketing communications are sent as text messages, also known as text messages. MMS (multi-media messaging service) - marketing communications are sent in the form of a media message.
In October 2013, the Federal Telephone Consumer Protection Law prohibits contact with a person by cell phone without prior written consent for all phone calls using an automated or voice-recorded phone call system to deliver telemarketing messages to wireless numbers and home lines. Existing business relationships do not provide exceptions to these terms.
Mobile App: The smartphone-based mobile app contains several types of messages. Push Notifications is a direct message that is sent to the user automatically or as part of a campaign. They include transactional, marketing, geo-based, and more. Rich Booster Notice full of HTML Push Notifications. The mobile app also contains Interactive ads that appear inside the app or mobile app; Location Based Marketing: marketing messages sent directly to mobile devices based on user location; QR code (quick response code): This is a 2D barcode type with encoded links accessible from the smartphone. This technology is increasingly used for everything from special offers to product information. Mobile Banner Ads: Like standard banner ads for desktop webpages but smaller to fit on a mobile screen and run on the mobile content network
Telemarketing
Another common form of direct marketing is telemarketing, where marketers contact customers over the phone. A key benefit to a business is an increase in lead generation, which helps businesses increase their sales volume and customer base. The most successful telemarketing service providers focus on producing more qualified "high" prospects that are likely to be converted into actual sales.
In the United States, the National Do Not Call Registry was created in 2003 to offer consumers the choice of whether to receive home telemarketing calls. The FTC created the National Do Not Call Registry after a thorough review of Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR). The do-not-call provisions of TSR include any plans, programs, or campaigns for selling goods or services through interstate telephone calls.
The 2012 modifications, which come into effect on October 16, 2013, state that prior written consent will be required for all calls/texts sent/performed autodial and/or recorded to the mobile; and for pre-recorded calls made to residential land lines for marketing purposes.
Furthermore, consumers who do not wish to receive telemarketing calls previously recorded may "opt out" to receive the call by calling a phone number (must be provided in a pre-recorded message) to register their non-calling call request. Terms do not include calls from political organizations or charities.
Canada has a National Do Not Call List (DNCL). In other countries, this service is voluntary, such as the New Zealand Names Removal Service.
voice mail marketing
The marketing of voicemail arises from the prevalence of private voice mailbox markets, and business voice messaging systems. Voice mail marketing provides a cost-effective way to reach people directly, by voice. Abuse of consumer marketing application of voice message marketing generates "voice-spam" abundantly, and encourages many jurisdictions to enact laws governing the marketing of consumer voice messages. Recently, the company has used assisted voicemails (apps where previously voicemailed messages are guided by the callers directly) to achieve the personalized business-to-business marketing previously reserved for telemarketing. Since assisted voicemails are only used to contact businesses, it is exempt from Do Not Call rules in place for other forms of voice mail marketing.
Voice mail courier is a form of voice mail marketing similar to business-to-business and business-to-consumer applications.
Send a fax
Fax sending, where faxes are sent to many recipients, is now less common than in the past. This is partly due to laws in the United States and elsewhere that govern their use for consumer marketing. In 2005, President Bush signed the S.714 law, the 2005 Trash Fax Prevention Act (JFPA), which allowed marketers to send commercial faxes to those with established business relations (EBR), but implemented several new requirements. These requirements include providing opt-out notifications on the first page of the fax and making the system accept any allowance at any time of the day. About 2% of direct marketers use faxes, mostly for business-to-business marketing campaigns.
Coupon
Coupons are used in print and digital media to get responses from readers. An example is a coupon the reader receives by mail and taken to a store check-out counter to receive a discount.
Digital Coupons: Manufacturers and retailers make online coupons available for downloadable and printable electronic orders. Digital coupons are available on corporate websites, social media outlets, text, and email notifications. There is an increasing number of mobile phone applications offering digital coupons for immediate use.
Daily Deal Sites offers daily and online offers every day, and is becoming increasingly popular. Customers sign up to receive discount and offer notifications, which are sent daily via email. Purchases are often made using special coupon codes or promotional codes. The largest of these sites, Groupon, has over 83 million subscribers.
Direct response marketing
Direct Response Marketing is designed to generate immediate responses from consumers, where each consumer (and purchase) response is measurable, and is associated with an individual ad. This form of marketing is distinguished from other marketing approaches, especially since there is no intermediary like retailers between buyers and sellers, and therefore the buyer should contact the seller directly to purchase the product or service. Direct response marketing is delivered through various media, including DRTV, radio, letters, print ads, telemarketing, catalogs, and the Internet.
Direct response letter order
The order of letters in which the customer responds by sending a completed order form to the marketer. The direct response to email orders has become more successful in recent years due to exposure to the internet.
Live response TV
Direct TV marketing (commonly referred to as DRTV) has two basic forms: a long form (usually a half-hour segment or long hours describing the product in detail and is usually referred to as infomercial) and a short form, which refers to a typical 30 second or 60 second ad which asks for a live response from viewers (usually to call a phone number on the screen or go to a website). TV response marketing - e.g. infomercials - can be regarded as a form of direct marketing, because the response is a call to a given on-air phone number. This allows marketers to reasonably conclude that the call is caused by a particular campaign, and allows them to get the customer's phone number as a target for telemarketing. One of the most famous DRTV advertisements is for Ginsu Knives by Ginsu Products, Inc. from Rhode Island. Some aspects of advertising, such as its use, add items to offer and many copied satisfaction guarantees, and are considered part of the formula for success with short-form, short-response TV ads (DRTV).
Form of direct response marketing on television including short form standard television commercials, infomercials and home shopping networks. Short-form direct-response ads have a duration ranging from 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Long form infomercials usually last 30 minutes. A branch of infomercials is the home shopping industry. In this medium, items can potentially be offered with a reduction in overhead costs.
Direct response radio
On the live response radio, the ad contains a call to action with a specific tracking mechanism. Often, this tracking mechanism is a "call now" prompt with a toll-free phone number or a unique Web URL. Ad results can be tracked in terms of calls, orders, customers, leads, sales, revenue, and profits resulting from the delivery of those ads.
Direct response magazines and newspapers
Magazine and newspaper ads often include direct reply calls, such as toll-free numbers, redeemable coupons in brick and mortar stores, or QR codes that mobile devices can scan - these methods are all forms of direct marketing, because they bring immediate action and measurable from the customer.
More direct response media
Other media, such as magazines, newspapers, radio, social media, search engine marketing, and email can be used to get responses. A survey of large companies found e-mail as one of the most effective forms of direct response.
Direct mail
The terms ads , or direct mail , are used to refer to communications sent to potential customers or donors via postal services and other delivery services. Direct mail sent to customers based on criteria such as age, income, location, profession, purchase pattern, etc. Direct mailings include ad circles, catalogs, free trial CDs, pre-approved credit card applications, and other unsolicited merchandising invitations that are sent by mail to home and business. Bulk mailing is a very popular promotional method for businesses operating in financial services, home computers, and the travel and tourism industry.
In many developed countries, direct mail represents a significant amount of letter volume so special tariff classes have been established. In the United States and Great Britain, for example, there is a mass mailing rate that allows marketers to send emails at much lower rates than regular first class rates. To be eligible for this tariff, marketers need to format and sort mail in a certain way - which reduces the handling (and therefore costs) required by the postal service. In the US, marketers send more than 90 billion direct mail sheets per year.
Advertisers often filter out direct mail practices into targeted submissions, where emails are sent following database analysis to select recipients deemed most likely to respond positively. For example, a person who has shown interest in golf may receive direct mail for a product related to golf or perhaps for goods and services appropriate for the golfer. The use of this database analysis is a type of database marketing. The United States Postal Service calls this form of "advertising letter" (short for acceptance).
Insert media
Another form of direct marketing, media inserts are marketing materials that are incorporated into other communications, such as catalogs, newspapers, magazines, packages, or bills. Coop or distributed mail, where marketing offers from several companies are sent through one envelope, is also considered an insertion medium.
Outdoors
Out-of-home direct marketing refers to a variety of media designed to reach out-of-home consumers, including billboards, transit, bus stops, bus benches, antennas, airports, in-flight, in-store, movie, campus/high school, shopping malls, sports facilities, stadiums, taxis - which contains calls to action for customers to respond.
Direct sales
Direct sales are product sales through face-to-face contact with customers, either by having salespeople approaching prospects in person, or through indirect means such as Tupperware.
Grassroots/community marketing
Distribution door to door
Ethical behavior
The ICC Consolidated Advertising and Marketing Code relates to all overall direct marketing activities, regardless of form, media or content. It establishes ethical standards of conduct to be followed by marketers, practitioners or other contractors who provide services for the purpose of direct marketing or in the media.
Offer
The fulfillment of any obligation arising from direct marketing activities should be fast and efficient.
Each time a bid is made, all commitments that must be fulfilled by marketers, operators and consumers must be made clear to consumers, either directly or by reference to the conditions of sale available to them at the time of bidding.
Presentations
When the presentation of the offer also displays products not included in the offer, or where additional products need to be purchased to enable consumers to use the offered product, this must be made clear in the original offer.
High pressure tactics that can be interpreted as harassment should be avoided, and, marketers should ensure that they respect local culture and traditions to avoid any offensive questions.
Right of withdrawal
If the consumer has the right of withdrawal (the right of the consumer to resend any goods to the seller, or cancel the order for the service, within a certain time limit and thereby cancel the sale), the marketer must notify them of the existence of this right. , how to get more information about it, and how to train it. Where there is an offer to supply products to consumers based on "free checks", "free trials", "free consents" and the like, it must be made clear in the offer that will bear the cost of returning the product and the procedure to return it should be as simple as possible. The deadline for return should be clearly disclosed.
Marketers identity
Marketers and/or operators' identity and details of where and how they can be contacted should be provided in the offer, enabling consumers to communicate directly and effectively with them. This information should be available as a permanent reference that consumers can keep, through separate offline documents, online documents, email, or SMS; should not, for example, appear only on the order form that the consumer asked to return. At the time of delivery of the product, the full name of the marketer, address and telephone number must be supplied to the consumer.
Respect consumer wish
Where consumers have indicated a desire not to receive direct marketing communications by logging into a preference service, or in other ways, this should be respected. Marketers communicating with consumers internationally should, if possible, ensure that they take advantage of the appropriate preferences service in the market where they handle their communications and respect the consumer's desire not to accept such communications (see also General Provisions, section 19, data protection and privacy Where the system exists, enabling consumers to indicate the desire to not receive unsent emails (eg mailbox stickers), this should be respected.
Responsibility
The overall responsibility for all aspects of direct marketing activities, regardless of type or content, is held by marketers. However, responsibility also applies to other participants in direct marketing activities and which needs to be taken into account. As well as marketers, these may include: operators, telemarketers or data controllers, or their subcontractors, who contribute to activities or communications; publishers, media owners or contractors who publish, send or distribute offers or other communications.
See also
- Artificial intelligence marketing
- As seen on TV
- Customer relationship management
- Direct marketing association
- Field marketing
- Distribution of leaflets
- Private marketing
- Street Marketing
- Transpromosional
References
External links
- Media related to direct marketing on Wikimedia Commons
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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