Tools of Direct Marketing: Direct mail, Catalogues, Direct response Media, Internet, Telemarketing

Direct mail: It is referred to a message sent to the prospective buyers through mail. It can be an announcement, offer, reminder, products (pre-approved credit cards, etc.), etc. It advertises the organisation, and its product and services. Marketers need to shortlist the buyers carefully and send the messages accordingly. Most of the organisations get the benefit of lower rates when the mails are sent in bulk. The organisations get the details of buyers when they visit store.

Catalogue marketing: The organisations send details of their products in the form of a catalogue to the potential buyers. These can be in the form of a print media or even a CD or an online link.

Telemarketing: It involves reaching the potential customers over the phone to sell the product and services. To run a successful telemarketing campaign, the organisation has to rely on well researched customer data. The customer’s profile should match the product which the customer may buy. This is a tool that is gaining lot of significance as it reduces the cost of personal selling, and is considered reliable on following up on direct marketing campaigns. For example, after sending a catalogue or an offer via direct mail, telemarketing representatives do follow up calls to remind as well as influence buyers to buy the product or service. The organisations need to ensure that the telemarketing representatives are well trained on products as well as soft skills.

Direct Response

Direct response is a type of marketing designed to elicit an instant response by encouraging prospects to take a specific action. Direct response advertisements must trigger immediate action from prospects, since the goal is to generate leads quickly. In contrast to traditional marketing, which aims to raise brand awareness and promote brand image long term, direct response shows ROI immediately. 

Marketers can leverage direct response on any numbers of channels, including TV, print, radio, email, digital and social. Each direct response campaign should have a specific goal sign up, share with contacts, register, etc. and, in exchange, provide prospects with an irresistible offer.

Internet marketing/ online marketing: Internet today is accessed for everything from reading news, buying merchandise, communication, information, relationships, etc. This gives a great opportunity for marketers to reach the masses directly and individually. Search Engine Optimisation is done on large scale to ensure prominent listings in the search results on internet. Display Ads like pop-ups and pop-downs give opportunity to buyers to respond directly to the message. Social media sites like twitter, facebook, etc. are a great medium to directly reach the buyers. Direct mail, newspapers, etc. hardly give an opportunity to marketers to interact with buyers. Internet or e-marketing gives ample opportunities to interact directly with buyers.

Mobile marketing: The marketers try to reach out the prospective buyer via messages on their mobile phones like SMS, MMS, push notifications, mobile APS, etc. When a mobile user opens a certain APP, he/she may receive various notifications, ads, etc. promoting certain products. The APPs (Application) automatically detect a person’s location information and displays relevant promotion message. Organisations strive to make this tool as efficient and effective as possible. If the user is inclined to explore or buy a certain product, he/ she should face minimum hassle for the same.