Uncategorized

Benefits and Challenges of a Career in Direct Marketing

Posted by dayat on in Uncategorized

Internet or Direct marketing may be a new term in our dictionaries however it is not a new concept. Direct or Internet marketing is ‘the’ way to send a message to the customer directly through various channels that eliminate the middle men or indirect means to interact with the customer. This has been done since marketing began albeit in undefined ways and now with the advances in technology, Direct/Internet marketing has become the most preferred way to reach the customer directly to promote a product, a service, a company… a message.

Direct marketing is a preferred way of knowing how the intended product PR message is faring with the masses because the responses can be quite immediate. That is why with the increasing competitiveness in businesses and the need to reach out to the customers in a more effective manner, a career in direct or Internet marketing is a very rewarding. Everything depends on marketing and whether a product will sell or not and whether the masses will pay heed to a social awareness message or not, depends mainly on how well it has been marketed.

With the way the world is growing closer… not smaller… closer due to the internet and the ease of being able to find any sort of information online or through other channels like the mobile phone, emails on the internet, advertisements, and many more; sending a message to them directly is not a challenge. What could be better than actually communicating with your customers? The only challenge is that with many direct marketing strategies being used, people thinking of a career in direct marketing may have to resort to their creativity quite often and having that is definitely a plus.

Many people think that direct marketing is not an honest field to have a job in and that is mainly because many big and small companies and even individuals have misused the power of interacting with customers directly and flooded them with constant interactions. This has left a bad taste in customers’ mouths and most of them don’t like being contacted anymore. This makes the job quite difficult… but not impossible.

The thought that a career in direct marketing is not a good idea is right and wrong, based on where you’re looking at it from. If you plan to succumb to the unethical ways for short term but immediate profit by flooding the customers with constant messages and emails, then direct marketing may not be for you however, if you are creative and have a knack of creating relevant and quality communication, then direct or Internet marketing may just be the thing for you because that is what it is all about; effective communication.

With the amount of knowledge we can share today and the level of understanding we have towards various cultures, various age groups, and their demands, direct marketing is the best way to promote a product or a company and used effectively, this can be a very strong tool that may be difficult for the competition to beat.

If a person is interested in pursuing a career in direct or Internet marketing they need to find schools to make sure they learn the right tricks of the trade and understand the basics of this amazing phenomenon. Communication and a basic understanding of how the human mind gets motivated are the two very important tools for a direct marketer however a few other things that will be good to know are:

Mass media
Behavior change therapy
Qualitative and quantitative research methods
Marketing and communications
There are many more courses out there… you just need to find them and make the best of them to be a successful marketing person.

The writer is a freelancer who likes to write on a variety of topics, she has been a life skills trainer and is deeply involved with sharing knowledge with others to help them make informed decisio

The Basics and Tips of Direct Marketing

Posted by dayat on in Uncategorized

Direct marketing is an approach to product marketing communications that doesn’t employ contemporary marketing channels. This ultimately means that deals are done directly between the manufacturers and customers without involving channel intermediaries such as distributors, retailers and wholesalers. It is a strategy commonly employed by electronic manufacturers and banks in dealing with their clients directly. Brands that employ distribution channels target marketing communications towards distributors, retailers and consumers, while directly market brands communicate directly with clients. Direct marketing may employ tools such as direct mail, mobile telemarketing services, and voicemail marketing among others.

Marketing directly has been found to be the most cost effective avenue and form of marketing. By the use of direct mail, telemarketing services, email marketing and leaflets drops, the system allows you to focus on customers with utmost accuracy unlike the majority of marketing techniques. It is distinguished in a number of ways. Firstly, direct mails are sent to clients. This comes in an array of ways including email addresses, web browser cookies and mobile messaging. Secondly, marketing directly aspires to drive a precise call to action. In this case advertisements may give free call lines to clients for information. Careful preparation prior to the approach is however necessary to achieve utmost investment, achieve adequate response rates and to avoid contacting individuals who don’t desire receiving a direct mail in direct marketing.

The process of marketing the things directly presents with an array of different approaches. They comprise of traditional methods like telemarketing services, mail shots and modern approaches that include mailing lists, mobile messaging and social media. The most appropriate of these approaches will ultimately depend on the customers targeted, the information to be passed across and the response you wish to generate.

For most companies direct mail has proved to be affordable, manageable and therefore mostly employed. These are companies that lack effective and adequate expertise and capital to utilize electronic direct marketing approaches. Direct mails are cost effective and are likely to generate more client responses unlike majority of direct marketing approaches. Direct mail focuses information directly into the hands of the customers that require it. It is therefore very effective once well planned and coupled with high quality mailing list.

It allows you to aim at a specific group of clients especially with the use of direct marketing leads. The use of these leads ensures that you focus your time and energy on the endeavors that matter to your business. They enable you to communicate adequately with clients, increase your sales and to grow your business. Leads in addition allow you to focus the right amount of resources where they are likely to produce results, gauge the success of advertisements and other campaigns, and most importantly to test your marketing. Direct marketing leads hence increases the sales of your business to existing clients, builds client loyalty, reestablishes failed customer associations and generates new business ideas.

Marketing is not always a cheap task, but with direct marketing lead

Different Types of Direct Marketing Lists

Posted by dayat on in Uncategorized

Direct marketing delivers your marketing message directly to a group consumers or businesses on a personalized level (such as a telephone call or via a personal email message). It’s a form of marketing that provides the recipient with a direct call to action. The following are the three main types of direct marketing.

Mailing Lists
Direct mail is one of the most common forms of direct marketing and an essential part of an integrated marketing campaign. Companies promote their products and services with a provocative mailer. Direct mail campaigns provide your prospects with a tangible piece of mail to read at their leisure. Direct mail campaigns are extremely effective and when they are personalized and customized to a specific target audience can have great response rates.

Telemarketing Lists
Telemarketing is the process of calling prospects on the phone to promote your products or services. This can be done using your own sales staff or by subcontracting out to a call center. Telemarketing is vital in creating brand recognition, building customer relationships, nurturing leads and of course, closing sales.

Even with its bad reputation, telemarketing still plays an important part of any direct marketing campaign. Telemarketing is personal and interactive, and capable of providing an immediate response. As effective as telemarketing is, you need to be sensitive to your prospects’ willingness to receiving unsolicited phone calls.

Telemarketing campaigns work best when the telemarketing lists are highly targeted, with accurate data that matches your current customer’s profiles.

Email Lists
Email marketing is an effective way of reaching out to new prospects or following up with existing customers. Email marketing is extremely versatile, and you can easily customize your marketing messages to various market segments, or for prospects in different stages of the sales funnel.

Email marketing can be used to nurture customer relationships, provide company and product information, drive website traffic and to promote direct sales. The emails can be as elaborate or as simple as needed.

Most people check their emails on a daily basis, making email a very effective marketing method for your business. However, email marketing should be used responsibly, and it is extremely important to have your customers’ consent before sending emails.

The most successful direct marketing campaign will use a mix of marketing methods. Repetition is very important in any type of marketing efforts. The more you can get yourself out in front of prospects, the greater the chance of being remembered. Try a direct mail campaign with a telemarketing follow-up or an email blast in conjunction with a direct mail campaign. A Multi-Channel campaign also allows your prospects multiple ways to communicate back to you.

Regardless of the method, the key aspect in any direct marketing campaign is the ability to target the marketing message to a specific audience. With properly defined target market, you can deliver your message directly to those who have a greater probability of purchasing from your business. This allows businesses of all sizes focus their marketing budget and resources where they’re most likely to get results.

It’s very important, before starting any direct marketing campaign, that you understand the different regulations governing each method of communication. The responsibility is yours to make sure you are compliant. Legitimate list brokers and managers should be able to confirm that the lists they are providing comply to the various rules and regulations. If you are uncertain, do not hesitate to ask.

Prospects Influential Inc. is a team of experienced direct marketing list brokers with access to over 70,000 direct mail lists. We provide targeted direct mailing lists to both B2C and B2B companies, from large corporat