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<br><P>Direct marketing includes direct mail, fax, e-mail, telephone, radio, Internet and direct response television advertising. Direct marketing is where you market products directly to the end consumer without going through any middle channel, such as a retail store. <BR><BR>Sometimes it is not possible to have a personal, or face-to-face, relationship with each of your customers. This may be due to cost, or geographic limitations. One of the key ways to communicate with customers and potential customers is by using direct marketing, whether this is as the sole communication method, or to supplement other channels of communication, including face-to-face sales.<BR><BR>Some people mistakenly think direct marketing refers to direct mail, or database marketing, or even refer to telemarketing as a whole separate mechanism. In fact direct marketing incorporates of all of these events.<BR><BR>Direct marketing is the foundation of what we now know as relationship marketing. It is increasingly becoming more electronic, with the use of databases allowing you to keep a hold of who each of your customers really are. Today’s database technology allows you to collect store and analyse information about your customers and prospects to enable increased understanding of their needs and what products and services you should be offering them – much like the old corner store.<BR><BR>As a measurable marketing mechanism, practitioners always want to know what response level can be expected from direct marketing. There is no single answer and “good” response levels may range from 0.01% to 80% for different campaigns, different products, different direct marketing lists and different industries. The success of your individual campaign will be affected by how targeted and integrated it is, and how good you make your offer to customers.<BR><BR><B>Why Use Direct Marketing?</B><BR><B>Cost Effective</B><BR>Direct marketing can be more cost effective than conventional advertising if your target market is relatively small, or if your product or service is complicated and thus requires detailed explanation prior to purchase. While the cost of printing and personalisation of mail packs is expensive for large mailings, the return may justify the means. And today, electronic mail reduces costs by being able to be sent quickly and inexpensively worldwide.<BR><BR>Direct marketing is a cost-effective global marketing tool, as you do not need to pay for channel distribution and retail marketing. Direct mail can be used to sell directly to the end user as well as being an information source and communication tool.<BR><BR><B>Measurable</B><BR>Direct marketing, unlike advertising and public relations, is measurable, and therefore accountable. You may be able to measure responses from a direct marketing campaign from a few days after implementation, depending on the type of campaign.<BR><BR>Additionally, you can easily test direct marketing to find out which method, or combination of methods will work best for you, in that way it is scientific. You can test the response of small amounts of prospective customer in isolated areas prior to launching your direct marketing campaign to a broader market. This enables you to utilise the most appropriate creative and distribution methods for your campaign.<BR><BR><B>Relationship Building</B><BR>Direct marketing can create and nurture long term relationships through personalisation and database management. You can have ongoing and meaningful dialogues with your customers either by mail, e-mail, telephone, fax, or a combination of these methods. Direct marketing messages are targeted and enable you to select those prospective customer who you think will have an interest in the products or services that you sell.<BR><BR>Direct marketing can help to expand your customer base by mailing to lists of prospective customer who are not existing customers and through direct response advertising in the mass media. You can then add those people who respond to your own direct marketing database.<BR><BR>Direct marketing is a good way to keep in regular contact with existing and potential customers over time.<BR>Easy Information Digestion<BR>Direct marketing may be used to divide your message into smaller chunks, or to provide large amounts of information to explain complex products, such as a new financial package.<BR><BR>Ultimately, you cannot tell your whole story in an ad, so direct marketing is a good way to educate prospective customers by providing detailed information. Direct marketing has a greater opportunity to assist in taking prospects through the communications channel of awareness, interest and desire into action.<BR><BR><B>International</B><BR>Direct marketing is not limited by borders, the cost of mailing, faxing or sending an e-mail to a prospect in another country is much less than if you were to travel to meet with prospective customers face-to-face. It is a good mechanism to use to expand your marketing on a regional basis.<BR><BR>If you are utilising direct marketing to approach a larger international audience, be sure that you tailor all elements of your campaign to each specific target segment. Areas that should be tailored include language, graphics, feel and overall message of the campaign.<BR><BR><B>On the Downside</B><BR><B>Negative Connotations</B><BR>Some prospective customer find direct marketing irritating, unfair, deceptive and an invasion of privacy. Indeed it is sometimes suggested that in Asia direct marketing is not accepted to as great an extent as other parts of the world.<BR><BR><B>Expense</B><BR>Direct marketing can be expensive due to the cost of personalising your message for each recipient, and the physical cost of mail and telephone calls. However with the advent of new technologies, including the Internet, this is beginning to change and per person costs are reducing significantly.<BR><BR><B>Time Consuming</B><BR>Some elements of direct marketing can be time consuming to implement when compared with other communication mechanisms. This is due to the number of elements involved that require coordination including the database, creative elements of letters, envelopes, stamping, mailing and waiting for a response.<BR><BR><B>Regulations</B><BR>Privacy regulations in Australia have recently become very strict. Whilst these may differ in each country, as do taxes for the direct sale of goods and services, check out the regulations before you begin.<BR></P>
<P>Penny Young is a Director of Creative Thinking Asia Pacific, an integrated marketing and communications consultancy based in Australia. <A href="http://www.creative-thinking.com.au" target=_blank>www.creative-thinking.com.au</A> This article is adapted from her book Marketing Communications in Practice.<BR><BR>Copyright (c) Penny Young 2002 </P>
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