Direct marketing comes in a variety of forms. It is on

Marketing communications can be classified into personal and impersonal methods. Conventional advertising is classified as impersonal and of course selling is personal and involves some form of interaction with a prospect, referred to as a dyadic relationship. This interaction can be at a distance, over the telephone for example. However, most personal selling is carried out on a face-to-face basis and this dimension is a key strength of personal selling. Selling was the focus of the previous chapter, and it was discussed that it is more expensive on a cost per contact basis, but sometimes there is no substitute for a personal approach. Consumers benefit from direct selling because of the convenience and service it provides, including personal communication, demonstration and explanation of products to a higher standard than in conventional stores or through printed media. Home delivery by the salesperson who took the order provides even further satisfaction. This is different from conventional shopping, and cuts out the need for marketing intermediaries, thereby saving customers money.

Post Office/Royal Mail statistics show a continuing rise in the annual volume of direct mail and in the number of organisations using it for business and consumer communication. A number of factors account for this increased use and acceptance of direct mail as a communications medium. Of the most significant is the increased fragmentation of media:

Direct marketing techniques are constantly being improved, and developed and new innovative media are likely to be developed in the future. At present, the main methods employed within the direct marketing industry are the use of the telephone, direct mail, the internet, direct ‘face to face’ personal selling and direct response advertising using television, radio and newspapers, trade journals and magazines. The industry is being driven by a desire for greater accuracy and economy in marketing operations and by developments in IT that can be applied to direct marketing. Database marketing in particular has revolutionised the way organisations use direct marketing and has increased efficiency in areas like direct mail and telephone marketing. Direct marketing is not solely driven by IT. Some traditional methods that were used in 1917 when the Direct Marketing Association was founded in the USA, are still being used successfully, particularly face-to-face direct personal selling. However, these techniques have benefited from the information revolution in terms of retrieval of customer information and improved targeting. Direct marketing is a major force within marketing and is likely to increase in future.

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