Marketing Communications

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Marketing Communications
Direct Marketing

INFLUENCE OF ELECTRONIC MAIL ON DIRECT MARKETING

The advent of electronic mail systems has changed the mailing procedure. Instead of hand delivery mails,
more direct marketers now use electronic mailing system. Three new types of electronic mail delivery
are now commonly used, such as:

1. FAX MAIL: Fax machines enable one party to send a paper based message to another party
   over telephone lines. The message contents can be sent and received almost instantaneously.
   Marketers use fax mail to announce offers, sales events to prospects and customers through
   fax machines. Fax numbers of companies and individuals are now available from published
   directories but some prospects and customers may dislike receiving fax mail without prior
   notice from the marketer.


2. E-MAIL OR ELECTRONIC MAIL: allows marketers to send a message or file from one
   computer directly to another computer. The message arrives almost instantly and may be
   stored until the receiving person retrieves the message from his computer. Some e-mail
   programmes, offer notification feature which announces the arrival of new messages. There
   are software programmes to sort out the more important messages from those which can
   be ignored or discarded.
   Marketers use this system to publish sales announcements, offers and other messages.


3. VOICE MAIL: is a system for receiving and storing oral messages at a telephone address.
   Telephone firms sell this service as a substitute for answering machines. The person with a
   voice mail account can check messages by dialing into the voice mail system and punching
   in a personal code. Marketers have set up programmes that can dial a large number of
   telephone lines and leave the selling message in the recipient’s voice mail boxes.

Direct mail marketers can construct an effective direct mail campaign by deciding on campaign
objectives, target markets and prospects, offer elements, means of testing the elements and measures of
campaign success.

DIRECT RESPONSE MARKETING

The direct marketer runs an advertisement in a newspaper, magazine or on radio or television, describing
the product and the customer can write or phone for the product. The direct marketer chooses those
media that maximize the number of orders for the amount paid for the advertisement. This strategy is
more useful to specialty retailers dealing in a specific product market such as records, tapes, books and
small appliances.