Persuasive communication: the direct marketing strategy!

We have already seen how it is essential to identify the target group and the buyer personas at the basis of marketing strategies. Persuasive communication , therefore, needs to promote content that is suitable and reflects the wishes of those who are depicted as customers. But what is the way to reach them directly and efficiently?

In the marketing sector, and especially digital marketing, the answer is unique and concrete: direct marketing. This technique is often reduced to a superficial explanation according to which direct marketing indicates an old type of communication that includes the traditional paper announcement by post, but in reality there is much more to know.

Direct marketing is closely related to an important concept, namely content marketing. The clearest definition is proposed by the Direct Marketing Association :

“Direct Marketing: an interactive marketing system that uses one or more direct-to-consumer means of communication to produce measurable responses and/or transactions”.

It is worth firmly answering the question:

What is Direct Marketing?

Wanting to make a correct translation, we could say that direct marketing is nothing more than a type of direct response and that it includes all those forms of promotion and/or communication that have the explicit purpose of reaching the identified public, without necessarily making use of any of intermediary.

To underline the factor of immediacy we think about the definition made by the Chartered Institute of Marketing which we gladly report here:

“In direct marketing, all activities that make it possible to sell a good or service or to transmit a message by mail, telephone, e-mail or other direct means.”

Direct marketing is therefore very transmedial because it is able to implement communicative approaches with more traditional means (telephone, mail, etc.) but also modern ones. It is important to reiterate, on this occasion, that the absence of intermediaries and direct contact with the public is a crucial point.

According to scholars , the origins of direct marketing must be sought by taking a long leap into the past . It would seem that as early as 1700, for example, catalogs were circulating which had the aim of increasing the trade of the shops. The term was actually coined in 1958 by Lester Wunderman, now considered the father of direct marketing.

The Direct Marketing interactive system essentially involves the use of direct communication and sales channels that have the aim of reaching customers to communicate product information in a precise way.

The usability of these channels lies precisely in the fact that they allow the company to carry out the entire purchasing process by interacting directly with the consumer/prosumer without resorting to commercial intermediaries.

On the basis of this, it must be said that over the years the non-store retailing formula has developed in the distribution sphere, which implies a retail system, without having to refer to specific points of sale with fixed location.

Direct marketing channels want to reach the target group directly. Direct marketing is to all intents and purposes a formula belonging to persuasive communication.

The distinctive features of direct marketing

A prerequisite for direct marketing is big data analytics. In marketing , the collection of customer data is an important element because it is what strengthens the methods of persuasive communication. The verification and organization is done to then create a detailed marketing database ( customer database ), i.e. an archive consisting of:

• static data (names and personal details),
• dynamic data all other information.

Thanks to this well-stocked database, the company is able to interpret and understand from a commercial point of view all the information that characterizes the attitude and behavior of customers. But what are the fundamental characteristics of direct marketing? We can easily highlight 4 of them: selectivity, personalization, interactivity and measurability.

Selectivity: especially refers to the message! The company studies how to make its own communication, remembering that the public of interest has already been pre-selected on the basis of the information obtained from the customer database.

Personalization: makes the message addressed to the customer unique and original, because a selective and individual contact is established (for example as in one-to-one marketing)

Interactivity: it is realized in the actions of the process. The recipient carries out all those activities (request for information and test samples) which turn into a precise behavioral and commercial response (purchase of the product).

Measurability: it is the possibility of measuring user responsiveness. It can be considered a plus of direct marketing but above all it is the resource that also includes the other 3 factors just described. In direct marketing, the responses obtained tell how the persuasive communication acted and what kind of stimuli it aroused.

Direct marketing channels

In this article, we have repeatedly highlighted the ability of direct marketing to reach a precise target and to establish a direct and personalized dialogue with it. With direct marketing you get 2 results: get an immediate response and establish a strong lasting relationship, for this reason we also talk about relationship marketing.

To this end, it is worth looking at some of the activities that fall under direct marketing such as: direct mail, catalog marketing, telemarketing, direct-response marketing and online marketing.

Persuasive communication with direct marketing proceeds linearly on certain channels that involve direct contact such as: direct sales (typical of shops or door to door), catalog or mail order sales, buying and selling over the telephone (telemarketing) , sale of products through traditional media (teleshopping) and sale via the Internet (e-commerce sites).

Since there are many forms of direct marketing , it is appropriate to divide the direct marketing channels into two macro-categories:

1. Mail order, catalog or telephone sales: which encompasses the traditional method of selling thanks to the postal service, distributing advertising messages and providing detailed catalogs that customers can browse, to evaluate and choose the products to order. With the Internet there is above all a type of sale defined as telemarketing because it consists in the use of the telephone.

2. Direct response advertising: direct response advertising is of a different type which not only uses the classic media but above all the new media. It is usually verifiable when the company advertises its products to make them immediately available…

It should be noted that the mass media are still able to create a type of interactive communication, introducing the use of the telephone, the e-mail address and the website.

What is Direct Response?

In this regard , it is appropriate to deepen the theme of direct response advertising. Online retail is part of the latter, i.e. online retailing which allows customers to compare and purchase products online.

In fact, in online advertising, a form of direct response is often used: display advertising which has the task of receiving responses. Unlike classic radio or television advertising, which aims to strengthen the company's brand image, the purpose of direct response advertising is to solicit the proactivity of customers.

Direct marketing (direct marketing) is a form of advertising that involves the delivery of an immediate and personal message, among the most famous examples of direct marketing (with digital and non-digital channels) we have:

• E-mail
• Calls on the phone
• Coupon
• Catalogues
• SMS and MMS

Why is direct marketing successful?

Successful direct marketing is really ideal for all those customers who demonstrate a clear interest in a company's products and/or services. But what are the reasons? Mainly we can say that among the reasons there is certainly the ability to create a personalized message , where the customer is the protagonist and thinks he is the only one who has received it.

In fact, the persuasive communication of direct marketing is aimed at effective segmentation because it is aimed at people who have already been identified as potential buyers. Among the qualities of direct marketing we continue to underline measurability: necessary to carry out future campaigns.

In the direct marketing strategy marketing campaigns are nothing without the collection of a contact list. It is essential to update the customer database to provide information on a person's buying behavior.

Among other things , an accurate database is capable of expanding cross-selling and up-selling opportunities. Basically, to establish real connections with consumers it is essential to know customers, to know what they do and what they prefer to buy.

In conclusion, in order to plan strategies and campaigns on channels, companies need to make personalized communication , with detailed customer prospects, monitoring the communication process of direct marketing.