In this blog, we are going to talk about direct marketing, what it is, and why it can be an effective tactic for expanding your business. We will explain the three types of direct marketing and the methods employed for each, before examining in more detail the pros and cons of using direct marketing as part of your overall marketing strategy.
What is direct marketing?
Put simply, direct marketing is any marketing communications activity that directly connects a business with customers, either existing or prospective. Direct marketing is highly effective because it can be specifically targeted to certain customer groups, segments, or niches, and the effectiveness of any campaign can be measured accurately, making sure you optimise your marketing budget. Because it is a highly personalised form of marketing, you can tailor any content to the needs of your chosen target market, making it an ideal communication method for customer loyalty schemes and cross selling for example.
How many types of direct marketing are there?
There are three main types as follows:
Face-to-face
This is where a salesperson physically connects with a customer either in their home, their place of work or a third party venue.
Before the invention of the internet and digital marketing, print was the main method of communicating directly with customers and is still popular today because of the opportunities for personalisation, accurate targeting, measurement, cost effectiveness and tangibility.
Digital
Since the arrival of the internet, businesses have become more and more slick at using digital communications to drive home their message. It offers the immediacy of face-to-face contact, without the associated costs.
Within each type, there are several methods of communication including:
Face-to-face:
Door-to-door selling, which is the oldest method of face-to-face marketing, when salespeople sold everything from brushes to books to vacuum cleaners directly to customers in their homes. It still exists today in a limited form for services such as double glazing and conservatories, stairlifts, and some interior design services e.g. sofa covers, blinds and carpets.
Trade Shows and Exhibitions. Industry events where the latest products are on display and new developments and trends are discussed at seminars with invited speakers. This type of face-to-face marketing is normally deployed in industries where products/services are expensive and complicated, and purchases are considered, not impulsive.
Experience Stands. You will often see this type of interaction with customers in supermarkets or at events, where businesses try to create awareness of a new product or service and they actively engage with customers by offering samples, package deals or discounts.
Telemarketing. Not strictly face-to-face, but it still offers person-to-person contact. Businesses can call prospects directly or hire third party agencies to telephone customers on their behalf. It has suffered from bad press (scammers) and GDPR and is costly and time-consuming, especially when handled in-house.
Print:
Catalogues. These are still used today, for example, Cotton Traders, Damart, Coopers of Stortford, Studio Cards and Gifts, among many. Catalogues are personally addressed to the customer, who has time to browse before placing their order via phone, website, or by posting an order form. It is normally invited via request or repeat business i.e. the customer has placed orders in the past.
Leafleting. Leafleting involves engaging a third party agency to door-drop leaflets within a specific geographical location. This method is favoured by local businesses within a given area and doesn’t offer the advantage of precise targeting.
Direct Mail. This involves sending a physical communication or piece of promotional material whether letter, brochure, postcard, package, etc via Royal Mail or a courier service, directly to customers/prospects. It is normally unsolicited and is widely used by commercial businesses and charities because it is cost effective and can be highly targeted, personalised and measured.
At Gecko, we can create a fully automated process to handle your customer communications, producing more than 12,000 items of personalised direct mail per hour. Choosing our automated direct mail services offers you many advantages over trying to handle a campaign in-house.
Digital:
Emails. Can be sent directly to customers/prospects to invite a specific action from them -e.g. visiting a landing page on a website. It can be highly targeted, measurable and cost-effective but has been affected by GDPR laws and can be overwhelming for recipients if they receive too many.
Text. Promotional offers are sent via an SMS text normally with a web link. Although businesses are guaranteed to contact customers, it can be seen as an intrusion. This method is best used for upselling or cross selling to an existing customer base, so has little flexibility. GDPR rules also apply.
Social Media. This method of direct marketing is growing, especially among B2B companies. It happens when customers express an interest or need via a social media channel and businesses respond directly with the product or service that fulfils that need. It is expensive both from a software and personnel perspective, but the leads are already qualified.
Read more about harnessing the power of automation with Gecko and our direct mail services.
What are the pros and cons of direct marketing?
OK, so now we have outlined the different types and methods of direct marketing, what are the advantages and disadvantages of using it as part of your marketing strategy?
Advantages:
Precise targeting based on demographics, geolocation data, customer intelligence and buying behaviour. Read more about targeting in our blog about Partially Addressed Mail
Measurable results through CTAs, landing pages and voucher codes give you the ability to track, measure and record the success of campaigns.
Direct mail and email campaigns allow you to personalise your offering to individual customers. When used with a loyalty strategy, it can help to maximise promotions and upsell or cross sell to existing customers. Personalisation of mail nurtures the relationship between your brand and your customers.
Direct marketing methods are more cost-effective than advertising, allowing you to maximise your marketing budget.
It gives you more space to offer extra information to your customers than you could fit in an advertisement.
Methods are flexible, giving you the opportunity to adapt your strategy according to results.
Disadvantages:
GDPR regulations. You need to understand the law and how it can affect your campaigns. Talk to Gecko’s experts about our direct marketing services and avoid the pitfalls of running a campaign in-house.
Environmental concerns. If you are using paper, it can turn off environment-conscious customers. It is, therefore, important to use responsibly sourced paper that has the appropriate credentials.
Annoyance factor. Both direct mail and email marketing can annoy customers and make them less likely to buy more products from you in the future. This is why it is important to be as targeted as possible. Avoid negative associations for your brand by using Gecko’s Partially Addressed Mail and Intelligent Door Drop services.
Competitor campaigns. If customers receive a high number of direct mail communications or emails, your message may be lost in the ‘noise’. Make sure your communications stand out by using Gecko’s direct marketing services.
Low response rates. Response rates are normally around 1-3%, so again targeting is important to keep costs viable and avoid waste.
At Gecko, we leave no stone unturned to optimise every aspect of your marketing campaigns through our direct marketing services. Call us today to see how we can help you to obtain the desired result for your brand.