Historically invented to support the dynamics of mail-order sales, direct marketing has since managed to prove its effectiveness for any type of product or service. At the service of transactional marketing, in web-to-store for example, like relational marketing , through the sending of an annual catalog, direct marketing includes the selection of the file of recipients, the creation of support and the sending message online or by mail. Well thought out and well executed, the best campaigns manage to move us, entertain us and get us to act. State of affairs…
Direct marketing, definition
The “direct” side of direct marketing carries the idea of a relationship without intermediary between the sender and the recipient of the message , contrary for example to a traditional commercial circuit where distribution plays a role of mediator with consumers (of promoter and logistician as well).
According to this meaning, direct marketing designates a set of techniques made available to a brand or a sign, which jointly implement contribute:
To bring a commercial offer to the attention of the target public, by post or digitally.
To include in this offer the means, for the targeted consumers, to respond to the solicitation, for example by using a reduction coupon or by participating in a contest.
The challenges of direct marketing: reaching consumers without invading them
Direct marketing primarily seeks to elicit action from a target audience . This can be to obtain a visit to a store or to your website, to trigger a physical or online purchase, to encourage a request for a quote, to encourage contact, to provoke a request for an appointment. you…
A direct marketing campaign can therefore be based on your brand in order to bring it to life, to provoke consumer attachment , or more directly to communicate about your products and services with a view to boosting sales. But before convincing consumers, you must first be able to reach them.
If you are looking to retain your customers , you surely know how to get in touch with them: because they already frequent your sales sites and are most often registered in your listings. It is necessarily more complicated if you want to get new customers! You will then necessarily have to go through an external source to identify potential customers before you can encourage them to come and consume your products and use your services.
Different vectors and distribution channels can then be used to reach your targets according to your intentions: telephone, e-mail, sms… Their use will depend on different criteria such as your commercial objectives, your targets, the nature of your offers, the time of year…
Today, the main challenge of direct marketing is to be able to capture the attention of increasingly solicited consumers. In this, the marketing mix is a good way to reach your audience without falling into an overabundance of messages on the same channel.
Indeed, it is by broadcasting your messages simultaneously through different channels that you have the best chance of reaching your audience without giving them the impression of inundating them with messages . And you have many solutions for this!
The revival of direct marketing
The exploitation of the numerous behavioral data collected by brands and retailers (big data) and the use of artificial intelligence bring direct marketing fully into modernity ! Targeting, writing messages and the choice of channel are gaining in perspective, to marry communication strategies more and more closely.
The offer in terms of distribution channels has also gained a lot thanks to the digital transformation. Without the traditional vectors, mail and telephone, completely giving way, digital vectors have proven their effectiveness.
- Today, the distribution of a direct marketing campaign can take five main channels:
- E-mailing , for targeted and quickly implemented actions.
- SMS marketing , for instant activation actions.
- Based on geolocation, a direct marketing campaign by sms is a powerful tool for creating traffic.
With the possibility of sending a catalogue, brochure or a sample , the mailing enters the heart of households and allows effective recovery.
Couponing . By post or by mailing, or even by text message, sending a discount coupon to be used at checkout is a recognized means of activation.
The telephone . Implemented by direct approach professionals, cold calling relies on the quality of interactivity. Most often considered intrusive, this technique still retains a few followers.
The fundamentals of a successful direct marketing campaign
Whatever the vector used, the identification and delimitation of the target determine to a large extent the success of a direct marketing operation. Care should be taken to check the reliability of the composition of the file – in particular the recent nature of the information and the fact that all the necessary contact details are included.
