Why is Direct Marketing Important?
Reaching Your Audience in 2020
During this time in the world, a lot of priorities have changed for customers and companies alike. Social distancing is a factor in almost any interaction we will have moving forward as members of society, including in our business transactions. Just because people are home more often and seeing advertisements and commercials, does not mean they will be more likely to buy. Customers may not feel comfortable leaving their homes to go shop at a store or confident learning about new products online. Direct marketing is a way to ease their discomfort and also boost their confidence in their decisions.
What is Direct Marketing?
Direct marketing is an approach to interacting with customers without a middleman. We interact with them all the time ranging from the person handing out samples at the mall to the emails we get on a daily basis. Direct marketing introduces a situation in which a customer can interact personally with a representative and create a unique solution, fitted specifically to them and that’s what makes it generally so valuable.
So, Why Is Direct Marketing Important?
As stated before, direct marketing has evolved in a way that could be very advantageous to many companies and corporations moving forward, as well as to the customers they want to reach. Here’s a list of 5 ways direct marketing is extremely valuable in 2020.
- Direct marketing provides a comfortable experience for the customer. No longer do people have to leave their homes for certain services and risk exposure to whatever they want to avoid. An example would be a simple water subscription service. Clean drinking water is undeniably a necessity but many people may not have access to it. Many bottled water companies have started subscription services to provide for these people if they do not feel comfortable leaving the house during lock down.
- Tailors an experience to each customer individually. Whenever someone buys a product from one of these interactions, they will most likely attribute it to the presentation of the marketing as opposed to the product itself. Every time, it’s because they felt comfortable with the representative and that said representative was solving a problem they may have had or preventing one from coming later. These representatives are not salespeople. Salespeople will sell you what you already have. Marketing representatives can’t get away with this since it’s their job to capture your attention so they sell you what you need.
- Helps companies reach new customers. As consumers, we have all got that one product we swear by and would not betray loyalty to because of our experiences with said product or brand. Direct marketing allows consumers to experience new brands and products first hand, possibly swaying their business your way. Not only is this new exposure for the brand, but also business for the representative.
- Brings new accountability to customer service. When the representative is responsible for leaving the customer with an enjoyable experience, they also will do their best to represent the brand positively. This is another area where these representatives differ from salespeople. Representatives carry the name of the brand on their person proudly and will sell on value because they believe in the product. Salespeople will not care so much about the interaction as they will get paid regardless of the customer’s satisfaction.
- More feedback for your business. With direct marketing, the exposure of a brand and its target audience expands exponentially past the doors of their store. Because of this, they will receive more feedback that is valuable for their marketing moving forward. New forms of data will become clear such as the types of customers who interact with a product, past experiences with a company, and many more. The representative will then tailor their approach to account for this data, making it a win-win scenario.
What does this mean for the future?
The future of sales interactions and business is unclear, especially in America with the emergence of online shopping and new technologies like 5G making communication easier. The only thing that is obvious, is that things will be changing. As entrepreneurs we need to be aware of these changes and the solutions that already exist. Direct marketing is one of those solutions. Please look forward to expanding with us and learning how to stay on top in this ever changing climate.
Written by Quentin Hardy
