Direct Marketing Solutions
Today, direct marketing solutions account for 15 percent of all retail sales worldwide. The term “direct marketing” was originally coined by Lester Wunderman. Hailed as a marketing genius, he perfected direct marketing solutions that transformed the advertising industry worldwide. In his own words he “learned to make advertising pay”. Lester pioneered a number of firsts: He masterminded bound-in subscription cards for magazines, founded the first "virtual store," introduced pre-printed newspaper inserts and persuaded Time Inc. to use an 800 number to sell their magazines. Lester has been a key player in instigating an evolution from mass audience general advertising to database-driven direct marketing solutions.
Probably the most commonly used direct marketing solution is mail, this involves marketing communications being sent directly to customers using the postal service. The second most common direct marketing solution is telemarketing, in which marketers contact consumers by phone. Other forms of direct marketing solution include; email marketing, broadcast faxing, voicemail, marketing couponing, direct response television marketing, and direct selling.
The key features of direct marketing solutions that differentiate it from other promotional activities, is that the method of transmission engages directly with consumer. There is no intermediating media in this process. Another vital aspect of a good direct marketing solution is its emphasis and focus upon driving purchases that can be accredited to a specific "call-to-action." This facet of a direct marketing solution promotes a greater emphasis on the evaluation of marketing feedback from activities, such as the continuous evaluation of feedback from customers, this provides a useful measurement that can be used to continuously improve ongoing and future marketing actives. Direct marketing’s immediate correspondence with the consumer, makes its techniques far easier to evaluate and understand than non direct methods. In contrast, measurement of other marketing media can be less reliable.
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