Understanding Direct Marketing
posted in Bricks and Mortar Business |You often hear advertising people talking about ‘direct marketing’, but what exactly is it? I’m going to start this article by explaining more about direct marketing, what it is and then eventually explain the best ways you can use it.
Direct marketing in the broadest sense is any sort of marketing that involves a single ‘call-to-action’, that is to say some form of advertising or marketing material that encourages the customer to do one thing which will put them one step close to buying your product. The great benefit therefore, is that after the call to action is completed, you’ll be able to communicate with your customer directly. The most popular type of direct marketing in the past has been the dreaded ‘junk mail’, but the world is changing and now smart marketers are exploring other avenues to catch the interest of their customers.
Overall Strategy
For any marketing strategy, the focus should of course be in maximising ROI (return on investment) – that is to say reduce the cost per acquisition, and try to increase the overall volume of customers you are reaching. Furthermore, another goal you should bear in mind is the development of a brand name – direct marketing if used wisely can provide huge exposure for your brand.
Targeting Audiences
One very important factor in designing your direct marketing campaign is to decide on the audience to target. By targeting an audience properly you’ll have a much clearer idea about their habits and needs. This puts you in a much stronger position to sell your product.
Several important questions to answer when developing any direct marketing campaign are:
* Who..? Who do you think might benefit from your product, and who are you inviting the call-of-action to?
* Why..? What is the main purpose of your campaign. Why do you want people to give you their information?
* What…? What need are you fulfilling that will help your customers’ lives?
* When…? Are you looking for a more immediate response from your reader…or are you providing food for thought and building your relationship?
* How…? What method are you going to use to distribute your marketing material? Printing leaflets, online, telephone? What’s your strategy?
Don’t forget your existing customers
I’ve been discussing some elementary ideas about direct marketing and its use in promoting your business and brand. However, you shouldn’t neglect existing customers at the expense of new ones. Because existing customers already trust you, they’re an awful lot easier to sell products to.
Since it’s going to be January again soon, you might want to use this time to start planning a customized calendar to send to your existing customers.Calendars are great because they’re useful, they can be on a customer’s wall for an entire year and they keep your brand in the customer’s mind.A properly designed calendar can really help your business.
Aglobalworld.com is a company producing international calendar for businesses. Ours is the only truly international planner that includes holiday dates from around the world.
