Why Direct Marketing Isn’t Dead

September 4, 2020 - 4 minutes read - Contributed Posts, Marketing Trends

In the digital age, many marketers think that more traditional marketing methods are no longer useful. In fact, these classic methods, like print and direct marketing, still have a place in your marketing mix and can help you to reach a different range of customers. If you’ve got your digital strategy down, here’s why you shouldn’t overlook direct marketing. 

The word ‘digital’ is an excuse to label anything new, not old

Digital has been around in marketing for a while now and is used to describe anything that has evolved from analog. It’s used most for anything to do with computers, the internet, or mobile phones. It is also applied to email, websites, search, and social media. 

Digital has now become part of lots of different technologies, including the cloud, big data, and AI. 

As marketing looks forward, we often forget the principles of direct marketing, which brings the selling and marketing influence closer to the consumer. Digital offers an interactive experience. It’s about building journeys to influence purchase and building long term loyalty. These can be applied to both analog and digital technology. 

If you’re aiming to drive a consumer response towards a sale, then you’re direct marketing, whether you’re sending out a direct mail with Action Mailing & Printing Solutions, or sending out an email newsletter. 

The marketing funnel is dead, and consumers can now discover, engage with a brand, and purchase in one experience.

In the traditional linear marketing funnel, direct marketing sat near the end of the process.

You needed to be aware of a brand first and were then enticed by direct marketing to interact if you wanted to learn more, such as filling in a coupon or clicking to register. 

With advances in technology, the linear funnel journey has been blurred. Customers can become aware of a brand, interact with it to find out more, customize a product, and buy on the spot. 

A customer could also find a hashtag, a QR code, or other interactive digital elements out in the real world too, such as on beermats, clothing, or posters. This is known by lots of terms in marketing, including augmented reality, suggestive selling, social selling, and content marketing. 

All of this is aimed at bringing selling and marketing influence much closer to the consumer. It’s all direct marketing, just in a different format. 

As brand and direct marketing strategies evolve and become more focussed on the consumer, it’s important for your business to relook at the structures that you need to deliver that strategy. 

If you have a mix of product, channel, and target audience teams, based on out-dated structures, then you aren’t going to deliver on your marketing strategy. If you’re making use of marketing technology and data-driven systems, but they aren’t giving you actionable insights from the reports, then you might be missing out on key opportunities. 

Make sure you are structured in a way that allows you to deliver on your marketing strategy, and make use of the new direct marketing. 

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Tags: digital marketing, Direct Marketing, Marketing Methods, marketing tips, marketing trends