Direct marketing is a marketing strategy by which a company directly reaches a selected group of consumers through a medium. This allows you to promote your products and services with the people who need them most.
Direct marketing has several advantages: for example, consumer conversion is measurable and you can easily figure out where to improve; the average success rate is higher than traditional advertising because the customer already knows you and is potentially interested in your product; and finally, you can maintain constant contact with your customers and promote brand loyalty.
Now that you know what direct marketing is, discover 8 examples to put it into practice right away and grow your online business.
- Email marketing
- Direct response ADV
- Social media marketing
- Marketing via SMS
- Push notifications
- WhatsApp Business
- Retargeting
- Telemarketing
- 6 tips for direct marketing
- Get the most out of direct marketing
Email marketing
Email campaigns are sent directly to the customers database. Some companies send weekly newsletters to keep their customers informed of activities, while others offer special promotions. This is a good way to establish and strengthen relationships. In addition, there are tools to track and measure open rates, click-throughs, and conversions.
Direct response ADV
The goal of this kind of advertising is usually to encourage potential customers to take immediate action; in fact, the main elements are calls-to-action, such as forms to fill out or buttons with CTAs to press. Obviously, each action generates a benefit for the customer, such as a discount coupon, an attractive offer, or the chance to obtain free content such as a pdf or participation in a webinar.
Social media marketing
Social media marketing is the use of social media to promote a product or service. This lets companies interact directly with customers, share relevant brand updates, and advertise special offers online.
Statistics reveal that social media is used by 57.6 % of the world’s population, you will understand that the inclusion of social media in your marketing strategy is critical.
Marketing via SMS
SMS marketing is an easy and inexpensive way to send promotional messages to customers. You can use SMS marketing to inform customers about upcoming product launches, remind them of an appointment, or even provide tips on how to best use the products you are selling.
The global average open rate for SMS is 98 %. This means that SMS marketing has a wider reach and a higher open and response rate than many other traditional marketing channels.
Push notifications
If you own an app (as a brand), you cannot miss the opportunity to do direct marketing with push notifications. Push notifications are messages sent to everyone who has your app installed and opted in to receive notifications.
It is a great tool to promote the user-experience and have excellent engagement with your audience.
WhatsApp Business
The world’s most widely used messaging app allows business owners like you to chat with the customer database in real time, but also send auto-reply messages and provide a product catalog. It is therefore a perfect tool for promoting your business.
Retargeting
Retargeting is a form of online promotion that allows you to intercept users who have expressed interest in your website without finalizing a purchase. You can do retargeting through various platforms such as Google Ads or Facebook.
Telemarketing
Telemarketing involves calling potential customers on the phone to convince them to buy your product or service. Companies that run telemarketing campaigns have a sales department that contacts customers to close the sale.
The great advantage of telemarketing is the real-time response: if a customer is interested in your product, you will know right away.
6 tips for direct marketing
Here are the steps to take to do direct marketing in 2022:
- Acquire customers. Your main goal should be to acquire customers, such as increasing your database for email marketing or increasing the number of your followers on Instagram.
- Define the goal. What is your goal? Sell more products, acquire leads? If you know what you want to achieve, it will be easier to decide on the right strategy.
- Identify buyer personas. Speak directly to your target audience and choose the right tone of voice, only then can you hit the nail on the head.
- Find out the touchpoints. What are your customer’s motivations for buying a product? Use and discover its touchpoints and focus your sales communication on that.
- Write persuasive copy. Rely on persuasive writing to engage and convince your potential customers to take action.
- Analyze and measure. Use all the tools at your disposal to measure and understand what worked and what didn’t, so that you can best adapt your direct marketing strategy.
Get the most out of direct marketing
The goal of direct marketing is to provide products and services directly to the customers who need them most. Since there is no middleman, you can actively interact with your audience and establish long-term relationships. To achieve this goal effectively, plan carefully and clearly understand the benefits and challenges of direct marketing.
