Direct marketing

What is direct marketing?

Direct marketing is a type of marketing that seeks to communicate directly with a target audience, in order to obtain a measurable reaction.

One of the most used methods for direct marketing, for example, is the email marketing, through which an email is sent to the consumer to get a reactionWhether it's a purchase, filling out a form, or visiting a website.

Types of direct marketing

The different types of direct marketing are as follows:

• Advertisements: place an advertisement or advertising banner in any medium, whether in newspapers, magazines, websites, among others. This is usually the most widely used type of direct marketing.
• Coupons: offer benefits to the consumer, for example discounts, in order to secure a customer, obtain their data or check if an ad is having the expected impact or not.
• Mailing: advertise through emails.
• Telemarketing: selecting target consumers and contacting them by phone, in order to receive a reaction, usually a purchase.
• Cards: send an advertising brochure to all homes in a target area.

Goals of direct marketing

Direct marketing has two main objectives:

1. Get bigger leads, which may be partners or sponsors, and contribute to the development of the organization.
2. Build customer loyalty, get a consumer to repeat the purchase of a product or maintain its permanent purchase.

In addition, direct marketing not only attracts new customers, but also provides relevant information about a product: its benefits, characteristics, any promotion or offer, and shipping conditions.

In this way, from direct contact with customers, companies can improve their products and satisfy the consumer.

Advantages and disadvantages of direct marketing

Direct marketing has both advantages and disadvantages.

Advantage

Some advantages of direct marketing are:

• It concentrates on a target audiences, so the results are accurate.
• Sales can be confidential and personalized.
• Develop a good communication between the client and the company.
• It is a marketing strategy that it is not visible to the competitors.

Disadvantages

Some disadvantages of direct marketing are as follows:

• The databases may be out of date and therefore not reaching 100% of the wanted public.
• It can be considered SPAM by the consumer, which generates a negative effect.
• The costs are higher because mail services, telephone services, internet and others are used.
• There is a lack of security in the catchment and storage of consumer data.

Direct Marketing Examples

Here are some examples of direct marketing:

• A internet service company seeks to publicize a new product, so it sends an email to all its users to advertise it.
• A new Pizza shop It seeks to make itself known in the neighborhood where it is located, so it makes 1000 brochures and distributes them to nearby homes.
• A political party wants to publicize its political proposals, so it makes phone calls to communicate it to people.