EXAMPLES OF DIRECT MARKETING

Recently, Keith Norris, the Chief Executive of the Direct Marketing Associate (DMA) defined direct marketing as, “a database-driven, one-to-one marketing structure.” Confused? Well, perhaps a better way to define direct marketing though may be through the use of examples of direct marketing.

Suppose you own a business that sells automobiles – cars, trucks, vans and SUV’s. You have an active database of customers that have purchased from you in the past and you know who your customers are – who purchased a car, who purchased a truck, and so on. You then develop specific communications to the different segments of that database. That is one of the examples of direct marketing – a database-driven, one-to-one marketing structure.

Direct marketing is all about finding out your customers individual needs, and then finding ways to meets these needs. Such as a luxury goods seller that knows you fit into a certain income bracket or a toy manufacturer that knows from their database that you have children, or even grandchildren.

Another one of the examples of direct marketing is when you receive a letter from a charity organization or a political group seeking donations. Typically, these letters are derived from a database that lets them know that you fit into the same demographics as their target market. These mailings are usually tailored specifically to you, with your name strewn throughout the letter.

These examples of direct marketing all focus on one thing – customization. The marketer is trying to maximize the return on his direct marketing dollars by selecting those on his list that are most likely to respond based on certain predetermined criteria. They then take this criteria and produce a targeted direct marketing campaign.

As Keith Norris recently stated, “Whatever your definition of direct marketing, these days I think they’re one and the same – totally integrated and focused on really connecting with customers.” And these examples of direct marketing prove that Keith Norris is correct.