Today it seems practically impossible to find a company that does not use a direct marketing tool . It makes sense when you see that they use agile and inexpensive methods to reach customers in a direct and personalized way. The Direct Marketing Association ( www.thedma.org ) defines direct marketing as: “an interactive marketing system that uses one or more advertising media to achieve a measurable response and / or a business transaction at a specific point.” Use different direct communication channels such as: mailing, emailing, mailboxes or telemarketing. These channels allow you to obtain direct, immediate, measurable, interactive and personalized communication with your current or potential customers.
Main direct marketing tools:
-Mailing: this tool tries to send a message about the brand (offer, advertisement, etc.) to a person at their postal address. Different formats can be used, such as letters, brochures, catalogs and postcards.
In an increasingly digital environment, postal mail takes on greater importance when we want our communication to be perceived in a special way by the client, since the message we transmit is carried out by a tangible medium.
-Emailing: it is similar to mailing but this time the message chosen by the brand is sent to an email address. Unlike mailing, emailing is in a digital environment, which translates into a direct delivery not only of text and images, but also of sound and video. Also, at the click of a button and through a link we can take our target group to a site where they can get more information. You can manage your campaigns with tools offered by web hosting companies or with platforms specialized in email marketing. Special care must be taken with mass mailings that customers have not requested, since they obtain very low rates of effectiveness, can be considered spam and also create a bad brand image.
-Buying: it is the direct marketing technique that consists of depositing the brand’s message in the mailboxes of the target audience. The elements most used to convey your message are magazines, brochures, leaflets, brochures and cards.
Mailboxing is normally used when a certain business wants to reach customers that are in its radius of action. Common examples range from supermarkets or appliance chain stores with their advertising brochures highlighting their monthly offers, to cards or brochures of professional services such as dental clinics, electricians, etc.
-Telemarketing: Telephone marketing uses the telephone call as a means of communication with the customer. It is the direct marketing tool that offers greater adaptability and instantaneity, since through a call with the client we can listen to their needs, and instantly offer those solutions that best suit them. Telemarketing can be used to attract new customers, take orders, cross-sell , market research, or even provide customer service and after-sales service to our customers.
In addition to mailing, emailing, mailboxes and telemarketing; Originally the fax was also considered a direct marketing tool, but given its limited use and effectiveness, as well as its probable disappearance in the next few years, I have chosen not to include it in the previous list.
In my opinion, these direct communication channels are a double-edged sword, if you do not make proper use of their tools you can get the opposite effect to the desired one. Who has not been irritated by a phone call at inappropriate hours trying to sell a product that he does not need at all costs? Who has not crumpled up an advertising letter without paying the slightest attention to it? Or who has not marked an email as spam by identifying that the issuer is a trademark that bombards us through mass mailings? Direct marketing has powerful and effective tools, but of course as long as they are used properly.
