Marketing Communications

432 CHAPTER 13 DIRECT MARKETING

Addressable media

Addressable media are media by means of which it is possible to communicate individually

with each customer or prospect. The most important addressable media are e-mail, direct

mail, telemarketing and catalogues.

Direct mail

Direct mail includes written commercial messages, personally addressed and sent by mail.

A direct mailing usually consists of an envelope, a sales letter accompanying a brochure and

an answering card. The pros of direct mail are the selectivity, the opportunity to personalise

messages, flexibility in the use of very creative ideas, and the ability to communicate fast,

target specific groups and customise messages and offers. The con is that the response to

mailings is usually rather low. This is due to the ‘clutter’ and the resulting ‘junk mail’ image

of direct mail.

Postal companies are facing major challenges^33 with the increasing digitisation of com-

munications and business processes, the liberalisation of the letter mail market and the global

economic crisis. At the same time these represent opportunities to grow and develop the

business successfully:

   Substitution of letters by e-mail. With the increased use of electronic media, accelerated by

the intensified cost pressure, the volumes for traditional letter mail products around the

world have been stagnating and even decreasing. A study carried out on behalf of the

European Commission concludes that the trend towards declining postal volumes will

continue, especially in Western European markets. On the other hand, the market for

direct marketing and the continuous increase in the number of households tend to provide

a positive impetus for growth (Figure 13.4).

   Full liberalisation of the European letter mail market as of 2011. The liberalisation process

in other industries (e.g. telecommunications or utilities) has taught us that former mono-

polies generally lose market share. In the postal sector, market share losses strongly depend

on the particular regulatory environment and competitive market situation. Usually, the

national postal providers maintain a high market share in their respective domestic markets

(about 90% in Germany and Sweden). This is due to the high fixed costs (investments and

operating expenses) when entering a new postal market.

   Ongoing boom in online shopping. In particular, the B2C parcels business has posted

ongoing growth due to the boom in online shopping.

   Customers demand enhanced convenience. E-commerce has high demands on availability

and service and on delivery speed and precision. The key issues for logistics are now

reliability, efficiency and customer-friendly services.

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