What is direct marketing and what are its advantages?

Direct marketing is a type of marketing that involves direct promotional communication with the target audience. It is usually carried out through a variety of channels, both digital and non-digital, including email and newsletters, catalogue marketing, banner advertising, mobile marketing and social media.

1. Email marketing: Direct email marketing allows you to send offers, advertisements, reminders or other types of messages to an individual whose specific email address you have, using your own or third-party databases.
2. Catalogue marketing: This method has been widely used for a long time, but with the rise of the web, catalogues have migrated to the internet and are going digital.
3. Banners: This type of direct online advertising has been around for a long time and is one of the oldest forms of online advertising. It seeks to attract the attention of users and promotes interaction with all of them, as most of them are clickable
4. Mobile Marketing: This form of direct marketing involves sending promotional material to users on their mobile devices, informing them about the best offers and products.
5. Social networks. Thanks to the constant evolution and growth of networks such as Twitter, Instagram or Facebook, as well as the birth and development of new social channels such as TikTok, Clubhouse, or Pinterest, online direct marketing has achieved unsuspected levels of acceptance and commercial success. The use of social network marketing has allowed to establish better and more lasting relationships with customers, regardless of whether they are already active customers or just potential ones. Through the networks, real-time relationships are a fact that benefits both parties, since it promotes a two-way relationship of mutual satisfaction. In many cases it is enough to give an opinion on a topic or give "I like" for any user to feel identified and begin to follow you.

Direct marketing vs. indirect marketing

While direct marketing involves exact communication with individual customers, indirect marketing involves all marketing techniques that are transmitted to audiences randomly.

With direct marketing, companies can reap the benefits much faster. Moreover, the gains can be easily measured, particularly if the marketing campaign was well thought out and well received by the audience. On the other hand, indirect marketing techniques require a long time before a company realises the gains.

what are the main advantages of direct marketing?

1. Unlike mass advertising that is sent to all types of customers, direct marketing is ideal for those customers who have an interest in the products or services you offer.

2. Communication is personal and direct, which generates greater trust and openness on the part of the recipient.

3. More targeted messages can be sent to particular customer segments based on categories such as demographics or buying behaviour. The more targeted your campaigns are, the more successful they will be.

4. Direct marketing campaigns are quite measurable and you can track the success of each campaign, which can then help you plan future campaigns and get feedback on your products, services and pricing.

5. Optimise your marketing budget- with digital-focused direct marketing you can set real targets and improve sales on a tight budget.

6. Improve loyalty: You can increase your results by combining digital direct marketing with your loyalty programme. If you are in direct contact with your customers, you can personalise your emails, promotions and offers to create an immediate bond.

7. New business opportunities - online direct marketing allows you to continuously adapt to market needs and respond much more effectively.

5 ways to improve your direct marketing strategy

• Make your customer databases your most valuable asset. It is essential to keep your lists clean and up to date at all times, as the communication you have with each contact will depend on it.

• Look for buying patterns in your database. With data such as past purchases, it is possible to deliver a personalised message to the recipient.

• Integrate different channels: Creating a unified omni-channel strategy across multiple channels will allow you to reach your target audience with the right message at the right time.

• Include a call to action - itcan be to visit a website, to call for more information, to request a quote, to view a demo, to subscribe to a form, to download an ebook, etc. Test and optimise.

• Test and optimise- to keep growing your results you need to make changes and measure each one.

Remember that using direct marketing can help you establish a more personalised and direct communication with your potential and current customers and develop your inbound marketing strategy to the maximum.