What is Direct Marketing, and How Can Brands Use It?

Did you know there are two types of marketing?

There’s mass marketing—and then there’s direct response marketing. 📺 ✉️

When you think of marketing, mass marketing probably comes to mind–it’s ads, billboards, and anything else designed for a huge audience.

On the other hand, direct marketing is designed for and delivered to a specific customer persona. You can still send it to tons of people–volume isn’t the defining factor. It’s how personalized you make your marketing.

In this article, we’ll discuss what direct marketing is, how it works, different direct marketing options, and–best of all–how to figure out whether or not it’s a good fit for your business.

Let’s get started!

What is direct marketing?

In direct marketing, brands communicate directly with potential customers.

You might do this through email, phone calls, SMS, direct mail, or targeted online ads. We’ll talk more about direct marketing channels later in this article.

However, any direct marketing definition is better understood if we also discuss what it’s not.

Direct marketing does not use middlemen like TV stations, radio stations, or generic digital advertisements. That’s because when you run a direct marketing campaign, you’re not trying to raise awareness of your brand or send out a generalized message.

No, you’re trying to generate some kind of interaction.

You might be asking for a response, or you might be hoping to make a sale. Either way, you’re measuring the success of the interaction by whether or not the potential customer took the action you hoped they’d take.

If you’re new to direct marketing, no worries–we’re about to get SUPER practical and explain how this works in real life.

How does direct marketing work?

Instead of spending hours laboring over ad copy or getting the perfect creative, direct marketing forces you to focus on creating personalized campaigns.

You’re not separating yourself from consumers. You’re going right to them, into their inboxes and feeds. Yes, you’re probably sending several emails, texts, or mailers simultaneously, but you’re crafting something that feels like it was written just for them and asking them to respond.

You can do this by inserting unique information–like their name and the city where they live–somewhere in your message. If it fits your branding, you can also use a more personal tone to make the message more compelling. And, of course, you’ll use a direct call to action.

Direct marketing is usually done through the written channels we just mentioned–email, text, mail, etc. But there’s an interesting new trend to personalize videos using AI. Companies like SendSpark is one example of a company leading the way in creating scalable solutions for direct marketing with videos.

However, video still isn’t widely used for direct marketing, so it’s hard to use it to give you examples of it. So, instead, let’s look at how direct marketing is traditionally done using the following channels:

Direct marketing examples

You might think direct marketing is hard, but there are SEVERAL types of direct marketing to choose from. In this section, we’ll explore them all!

Email marketing

How to use it: Send personalized emails to a targeted list to promote your products, offer discounts, or share updates.

Direct email marketing is good for: Nurturing leads and maintaining customer relationships.

You probably use this already–most brands do! You’re sending many emails simultaneously (you’re not writing each email to each potential customer). Still, the personalization and the fact that it’s delivered to their inbox makes it a direct marketing channel, not a mass marketing one.

SMS marketing

How to use it: Send personalized texts to customers who have expressly permitted you to message them about sales, waitlist items, new releases, and more.

SMS marketing is good for: Creating engagement, driving sales, and getting quick feedback.

Social media marketing

How to use it: Engage directly with potential customers through posts, ads, and direct messages based on their past behavior.

Social media direct marketing is good for: Running highly targeted campaigns, like retargeting ads.

Catalogs

How to use it: Send a physical or digital catalog to potential customers to show them your entire range of products and entice them to buy.

Catalogs are a good choice for: Driving direct sales or leading customers to an online store.

Direct mail

How to use it: Send physical promotional materials, like postcards or brochures, directly to your audience.

Direct mail is good for: Local campaigns and creating tangible connections.

In-person direct selling

How to use it: Send sales representatives to interact with potential customers, door-to-door or at events.

In-person sales are good for: High-value or complex products that require detailed explanation.

Telemarketing and cold calling

How to use it: Have salespeople call potential customers to promote your products or services.

Telemarketing is good for: It’s not good for much. Having phone support for customer service or sales is a good idea, though!

Advantages and disadvantages of direct marketing

As you’ve probably figured out by now, direct marketing has some AMAZING strengths–but you shouldn’t spend your entire budget on it. Let’s talk about the advantages and disadvantages of direct marketing, so you know when it’s a good time to use it and when you should opt for advertising.

Advantages

The advantages of direct marketing include:

• Targeted reach allows you to focus on specific demographics and direct your energy and finances toward people who are more likely to make a purchase.
• Personalization increases engagement and conversion rates.
• Measurable results are the norm because you can track and analyze every campaign to determine your ROI.
• Cost-effectiveness, because direct marketing is usually more affordable than large-scale advertising campaigns.
• Immediate feedback when you ask for responses. You’ll know if you’re hitting the mark or need to try something else.

Disadvantages

But, there are disadvantages too. Like:

• Privacy concerns. Customers sometimes find unsolicited and highly specific communication intrusive–which can backfire.
• Competition. Channels like direct mail are oversaturated, making it difficult to stand out.
• Initial cost: Although it’s less expensive in the long run, starting requires a hefty investment in data and tools.
• Limited reach because you can only get so specific with so many people.
• Finally, there is the potential for a low response rate–even if you do your research, target the right people, and craft a fantastic message, you can’t guarantee that a direct response marketing campaign will get the results you’re looking for.

Conclusion

If you’ve read this far, you’ve probably realized that you’re already doing direct marketing in one way or another as you grow your brand. You might be doing email marketing, text campaigns, or targeted ads.

Telemarketing? I mean, you’re probably not using that! I included it because everyone knows it, but I don’t think it’s still a thing. I sure hope it isn’t, anyway. *Shudder*

No matter what your current direct marketing mix looks like, I hope this article has inspired you to think about how you can communicate more directly with your customers. Maybe you’ll try a new method or tweak a system you already have in place!

And, of course, direct marketing only works if you’re bringing those leads in somewhere else–so you’ll want to keep running ads and growing your business in other areas, too!

What’s your favorite direct marketing channel?