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What is Direct Marketing?
Home » Advertising & Marketing » Direct Marketing » What is Direct Marketing?Posted by Your Guide on October 16, 2005 3:15 PM
Direct marketing is unique to other forms of marketing in that it communicates directly to consumers through a one-to-one relationship and seeks to create an immediate action on the part of the audience. By marketing directly to the end user, direct marketing doesn’t typically utilize distributors and wholesalers as traditional or general marketing might. Rather, direct marketing utilizes one or more media in seeking a response and/or transaction. Direct marketing, also known as database marketing or direct response, uses direct mail, fax, telephone, website, e-mail and even face-to-face sales in order to persuade customers to order.
Direct marketing has been steadily increasing in popularity since the 1970s. While instances of direct marketing go back as far as the late 1700s, its use among businesses has increased exponentially since the advent of the database. The database – or target audience list – is what makes direct marketing unique. No other form of marketing relies as heavily on the database for churning business leads or mailing lists. Whether it is for creating customized call lists, improving catalog response rates, sending profitable e-mail blasts or large direct mailings, the database is key.
In addition, another distinctive aspect of direct marketing is its intricate blend of disciplines. By combining information technology, copywriting, design, analytics and sales, direct marketing is truly a hybrid. Direct marketers, by nature, are well-balanced individuals who appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of each discipline represented on the project team. Direct marketers seek a “give-and-take” from each individual contribution in order to reach the optimum mix of creative, database and sales offer. It’s the combination that makes it a success.
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