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Direct Marketing
DISADVANTAGES OF TELEMARKETING
- Poor telephone techniques can defeat the telemarketing strategy.
- Bad personal telephone habits such as vagueness, rudeness, dishonesty and protracted
discussions can frustrate the effectiveness of telemarketing. - Dissension between the field sales staff and telephone sales personnel can arise; adequate
guidelines and coordination should be established. - Rapid turnover of telephone staff can occur because the work can be monotonous, with
people frequently leaving to find more interesting and challenging work. - Poor telephone systems can frustrate the telemarketing strategy.
DIRECT MARKETING THROUGH TELEVISION
Television is used in three ways to market products directly to consumers. These ways are:
- Direct-Response Advertising
- At-home Shopping Channels
- Videotext
DIRECT-RESPONSE ADVERTISING: marketers air television spots, often 60 to 120 seconds long,
that persuasively describe a product and provide customers with telephone number which is toll-free
for ordering or where a customer has to pay for telephone an incentive may be given to encourage
prospect’s call.
AT-HOME SHOPPING CHANNELS: these are entire television channels dedicated to selling goods
and services, which broadcast 24 hours a day. These channels show home shopping programmes, with
the programme host offering bargain prices on various products. Viewers are asked to call a toll-free
telephone number to place order for goods.
Orders are dispatched and delivered within a short time, usually 48 hours.
VIDEOTEXT: the consumer’s television set is linked with a seller’s computer databanks by cable or
telephone lines. The videotext service consists of a computerized catalogue of products offered by
producers, retailers, banks, travel organizations and others. Consumers place orders through a special
keyboard device connected to the system by two-way cable.
DIRECT MARKETING THROUGH PRINT AND RADIO
MAGAZINES, NEWSPAPERS and RADIO can also be used in direct-response selling channels. The
buyer hears or reads about an offer and dials a toll-free number to place an order.