322 CHAPTER17 MANAGINGDIRECT ANDON-LINEMARKETING
resentatives and agents to carry out the direct-selling task. In addition, many consumer
companies use a direct-selling force: insurance agents; stockbrokers; and distributors
working for direct-sales organizations such as Avon, Amway, Mary Kay, and
Tupperware.Direct Mail
Direct-mail marketing involves sending an offer, announcement, reminder, or other
item to a person at a particular address. Using highly selective mailing lists, direct mar-
keters send out millions of mail pieces each year—letters, flyers, foldouts, and other
“salespeople with wings.” Some direct marketers mail audiotapes, videotapes, CDs,
and computer diskettes to prospects and customers. The company that produces the
Nordic Track Cardiovascular Exerciser advertises a free videotape showing the equip-
ment’s uses and health advantages. Ford sends a computer diskette called “Disk Drive
Test Drive” to consumers who respond to its ads in computer publications. The
diskette’s menu provides technical specifications and attractive graphics about Ford
cars and answers frequently asked questions.
Direct mail is a popular medium because it permits target market selectivity, it
can be personalized, it is flexible, and it allows early testing and response measure-
ment. Although the cost per thousand people reached is higher than with mass media,
the people reached are much better prospects. The power of a well-designed direct-
mail piece to garner contributions can be seen in a recent campaign for WFYI, an ail-
ing public TV-radio station in Indianapolis. The results of a pair of startlingly graphic
support pieces, created by the ad agency Young and Laramore for WFYI, outpaced all
internal projections. The capital improvement campaign raised $3.5 million in its first
9 months, when the 5-year goal was $5 million. Only 500 pieces were mailed, so the
average per piece return was $7,000.^8
Three newer forms of mail delivery are fax mail,sending announcements of
offers, sales, and events to fax machines or computers set up to receive faxes; e-mail
(short for electronic mail), sending a message, file, image, or Web page electronically
from one user to the e-mailbox of another individual (or to groups); and voice mail,
leaving voice messages on recipients’ voice mailboxes.
In constructing an effective direct-mail campaign, successful direct marketers
follow the five steps shown in Table 6.5.Catalog Marketing
Catalog marketing occurs when companies mail product catalogs (full-line merchandise
catalogs,specialty consumercatalogs, or businesscatalogs in print, on CD, or on-line) to
selected mail or electronic addressees. The Direct Marketing Association estimates
there are currently up to 10,000 mail-order catalogs of all kinds. Catalog marketing
has gotten a big boost from the Internet—about three-quarters of catalog companies
also do business on-line. The Lands’ End Web site (www.landsend.com), for example,
gets 180,000 e-mail queries a year, surpassing the firm’s print-mail response.^9
The success of a catalog business depends on the company’s ability to manage its
customer lists so carefully that there is little duplication or bad debts, to control its
inventory carefully, to offer quality merchandise so that returns are low, and to project
a distinctive image. Some companies distinguish their catalogs by adding literary or
information features, sending swatches of materials, sending gifts to their best cus-
tomers, or donating a percentage of the profits to good causes. Other firms invite cus-
tomers to view their Web-based catalogs for more information or to check on product
availability.