Direct Marketing – Types and Benefits

Find out all about direct marketing along with some of the most popular types and advantages.

You must have come across a few or many personalised marketing messages online and offline that often persuade you to perform an action. 

It may be a special discount just for you or as less incentivised as signing up for an email newsletter. 

And most likely, you respond to it, too! Because you are already familiar with the brand’s offerings, and probably prefer personalised communication than spammy ads. 

This is an example of direct marketing. 

Let’s explore more about direct marketing in detail. 

1. What is direct marketing?
2. Types of direct marketing
3. Benefits of direct marketing

What is Direct Marketing?

Direct marketing refers to the promotion of a product or service directly to the customer without any third-party means. 

Typically, the customer responds according to Call to Action (CTAs) buttons used in the direct promotional message. The CTA could either ask them to buy the product, complete a survey, or scan a QR code for a special discount or any promo offer. 

The reason for communicating directly is to get an instant, uninfluenced response or opinion from them. When messages are communicated directly, it is easier to deploy targeted campaigns. 

Here, marketers generally do not communicate with those who are not in the marketing funnel. Instead, they deploy customer segmentation and reach out to those who are genuinely interested in the product. 

That’s how direct marketing efforts become more accurate to analyse and measure. Along with that, it plays a vital role in nurturing relationships with customers. 

So you can say that direct marketing requires these components

• Targeting those who are interested in the brand
• Customer segmentation to personalise messages through inbound marketing tactics across the marketing funnel
• Testing and monitoring how they respond to the marketing efforts on social media, emails, and offline means

Types of Direct Marketing

Here are some popular types of direct marketing. 

Email Marketing

One of the best cost-effective ways to reach customers directly is email marketing.  

According to Campaign Monitor, 81% of all emails are read on mobile devices.

So direct marketing emails can include

• Newsletters
• Promotional offers
• Ads for business emails
• Triggered emails using email marketing tools

Check out the top free email marketing courses

Direct Mail 

This offline version of direct marketing leverages postal services to communicate with a targetted group. 

This format is quite common in the automobile industry. But it is not limited to it. 

In fact, direct mail campaigns can have a higher return than online advertising, according to MailChimp. 

Direct mail includes

• Postcards
• Catalogues
• Flyers

SMS

While emails are used by almost every business, there has been a decline in email open rates in the past couple of years. Now, this is where SMS fills the gap.  

SMS marketing follows a similar plan as an email marketing strategy, but the focus is on short, concise information. In email marketing, you can use long-form content also. 

Benefits of Direct Marketing

Direct marketing can be equally beneficial for businesses and buyers. 

Better Customer Experience

Direct marketing can provide many opportunities for revenue growth. For example, if a premium product is sold at a lesser price to a highly interested audience, they are more likely to purchase it. 

And since, this product has no discount in the real market but only to those who have signed up for, let’s say, the email newsletters, there is a feeling of entitlement for the customer.  It also saves the customer the expense, no matter how little the price difference it is. As the product will be available at a discounted price for a specific group, the business is likely to generate more sales within a short span of time. 

New Opportunities

One of the many benefits of direct marketing is that you can measure your direct marketing efforts more accurately. Based on the performance, you know if a particular channel works for your target audience for your next marketing campaign. 

Faster Buying Process

Direct marketing through emails and SMS can simplify the buying process for the customer. This is much more convenient and faster than going through the conventional means of researching the specifications of the product through blogs and press releases. 

Parting Thoughts

So these are some of the most popular types and benefits of direct marketing. If you want to apply these concepts for your business, consider taking up some marketing courses.