Introduction
To be successful, it is considered that a marketer should provide the right item in the right time, price and place. This means that the marketer needs to produce exactly what people want, take this to the place of their convenience, when it is needed and sell it at an appropriate price to the customers. Though this is a truth that a marketer needs to know if he has to be successful in the industry he serves, hard work and determination is required. The marketer must set out on a mission to find out what customers desire, know the areas they prefer for shopping and the time they do their shopping (Stan, 2009).
Then the marketer must strive to produce this product at a cost that will be reflected in the price acceptable by the consumer. With this in mind the marketer cannot produce a product he desires and hope to sell the item to the consumer if the consumer is not interested in the product. From this discussion, it is clear that the success of a product or a company is not based on the features of the product itself but it is based ability of a business to meet the needs of the customer. Therefore customers are assets to a business and investment made to reach them is highly justifiable. The best way to reach customers is through direct marketing.
Direct marketing involves creating awareness of a company’s products using means that relate to the target customer on one on one basis. This can be achieved through various means such as telephone, direct mail and email using mailing lists which include the following types; opt-in, assembled, in-house, subscription card holder lists (Thomas, 2002).. Effective communication is also very important. It is through this marketing communication that a company can connect to its existing and potential customers. Strategies also need to be put in place to ensure successful execution of the direct marketing plan. The marketer on his side should exhibit certain qualities which should help him to win over the target market. These qualities include passion, accountability, ethics, simplicity and self driven.
Direct Marketing in Relation to the Customer
One advantage of direct marketing is the immediate feed back on the success or failure of the product in the market. Different from other forms of marketing the measurability of its effects is can be done immediately. This method is the most effective way of reaching the target customers. The met6hod is also widely acceptable to customers because of the way it create the feeling of importance in their minds (Stan, 2009). This is because they consider themselves to be special to justify the company’s action of singling them out of the crowd. This method can be employed with greater success to sell new products by the company, promotion of extra product features and to increase the sells of the existing products. However this method is very expensive due to the costs needed to reach each customer and therefore requires proper planning and investment.
For success in direct marketing method, a product should have a number of characteristics. The product should have features that are quite unique and which are not readily available in the local market. The product should involve least shipment cost and should have easy packaging. This product should either meet the needs of a wider market or the needs of a specific niche that is highly specialized. To justify the direct marketing activity, the product must have a high markup and the potential for profit should also be high. The product should be consumable therefore leading to continued business.
To be successful the starting point for direct marketing should be the old customers in the company’s database (Thomas, 2002). This can be achieved through establishment of communication between a company and those customers who had not been in touch with the company for a long period of time. One way of doing this can be through discount coupon which offer bargain to the customers. The motivation derived from this is able to bring business to the company by creating acceptance of the product in the mind of the customer.
Another way to approach this is by offering special offers to customer on special occasions such as during birthday celebrations. This attention can motivate a potential customer to consider buying a product from the company. Incentives should also be given to existing and potential customers in cases where a marketer needs to carry out a market survey which requires their polls. The incentive should be in form of a bill (Bird, 2007). The marketer however should avoid various mistakes which create frustrations and poor execution of the direct marketing plan. The marketer should not try to market the product to every one in the economy. Instead to be successful, the marketer should segment the market and identify the target which he wishes to address.
Direct marketing involves connecting with customers on one on one basis. Therefore connecting with everyone increases costs for the company which may not translate to higher markup to match. The messages responses to the customers’ queries may also be very general and therefore fail to connect on a personal basis with the customer. Through a marketer is required to be aggressive in order to be successful, in direct marketing what is important is to get the product needed by the customer, indentify the right customer and offer the bargain in the most appropriate way that can convince the customer (Smith, Chris, Pulford, 1999).
The marketer should not force the product to the customer but rather he should offer assistance to the customer on the matters surrounding the product. For example, to increase calling revenues, a mobile phone service provider can offer discount on calls made at a given time especially the off peak hours. By doing this the service provider is able to increase the network usage during off peaks and in return increase her revenue without employing measures that may create conflict between them and the customers. In direct marketing, the marketer should understand the particular needs of that market segment.
Some markets settle on the features of a product what others settle for the value which can be derived from the product. Therefore effort should be done to understand the market and therefore to come up with the appropriate measures to market the product. For instance, an Iphone can be marketed in different segments of a market using various marketing strategies. To business community features of the phone may be important to them as compared to students who may need the phone for communication purposes (Regis, 1993). In the world where most businesses are using direct marketing to reach their customers, the image portrayed by the marketer has psychological effect on the target market. In trying to create the right image, the marketer should first identify the target customer and characteristic of the customer. Doing this, helps identify the values held by the customers therefore designing acceptable direct marketing strategies.
Customers call for unique products and services. Being unique in the direct marketing strategies may also help to win the customers to the product. Therefore in direct marketing, the marketer should not try to imitate a competitor because by doing this, the customer may fail to differentiate the products on offer. Mass marketing calls for creative ideas in order to establish preferences for the brand for future selling (Meisner, 2006). Contrary to this, direct marketing calls for promotions and offers to customers in order to generate immediate sell. The marketer should also establish mechanisms to effectively handle and respond to the queries of the customers.
The success of direct marketing also hinges on the effectiveness of communication between the marketer and the target market. Therefore the marketer must employ the best medium and means of communication which will help them to relate their product to their target market. Some of the mediums of communication may include telephone and mails. The most effective and cost conscious mode in this case is the use of mails. Different forms of mailing lists are suitable for different groups of people (Martin, O’Malley, Maurice, Patterson, 2004). In developing the mailing lists, the marketer must consider their effectiveness to reach the target market and the costs involved.
The marketer can create the in-house list that should include current customers and potential customers. This type of list is considered important because it contains the names of those the business had done business with before and those doing business with the company (Hackley, 2005). The marketer can also exchange the list with other none competing direct marketers with a related product. The exchange of the customers’ details can be costly to the company if they had promised confidentiality of such information to the customer.
A direct marketer can also use the op-in list which gives them the right to send information to individual e-mail addresses as authorized by the owner of the email address. This kind of mailing list is most effective in the online direct marketing.
The opt-in mailing list helps marketers to generate online business effectively and at low cost (Varey, 2002). The subscription list involves subscription for a particular product, service or information by an individual or organization. The subscription can either be online or in the form of mail and can be used for subscription of products such as magazines and journals. The direct marketer can also make use of the assembled list which can be compiled from publications such as business directories (Baker, Saren, 2010). This mailing list is highly effective on business to business direct marketing but inappropriate in the case of direct marketing targeting consumer products. On the other hand, the response list can be compiled from the list of customers who had previously conducted business with the company online or through direct mail.
E-mail marketing is a form of direct marketing. This form of marketing offers new opportunities to direct marketers at relatively low costs. Before deciding on the use of the e-mail for direct marketing, the marketer should first seek to understand how the concept works. Through this understanding, the direct marketer can exploit the opportunities offered while minimizing the risk that the use of e-mails can have to the business. Direct marketing through e-mails can take the form of correspondence, newsletters, materials intended for promotion among others (Kimmel, 2005). The marketer is able to send mass emails to many people at the same time with the only problem being the possibility of the email being treated as a spasm.
Customers are considered as investment to the business. This philosophy is justified by the costs a company incurs in trying to win the loyalty of its customers. It is also the existence of customers in the market that justify the existence of a particular business (Stephenson, Thurman, 2007). Therefore a company should itself to have privilege to serve its customers and not the other way this knowledge helps businesses to be successful in service to their customers. However, to be successful in direct marketing calls for marketing plans and strategies to execute this plans (Pelsmacker, Maggie, Joeri, 2010). An effective plan lays down procedures and policies of marketing and the accepted language that employees should use to the customer while marketing the product.
The phrases that employees should use should be written down and employees should be encouraged to learn them for effective direct marketing activities (Bischoff, 2005). By doing this the employees can develop a manner of speaking about issues of concern to the company. For example a company may involve itself in a direct marketing using direct mail. If the company’s products do not sell, the company should establish policies to address the issue. This can be achieved through establishment of a policy that requires verification of orders and the date required for shipment (Roberts, Michelle, Robert, 2000).The policy should address delays, lost products and replacements. Booking orders and verification of these orders can be done through the telephone. This calls for the sales representatives to be aware of the procedures laid down by the company and the regulations that should be followed. Employees should be encouraged to use the same kind of phrases when addressing customers through the telephone.
Customer service is important in direct marketing. This helps to address issues of concern from customer, create a good public relation and can also be a source of important information for future planning (Kennedy, 2006). It also helps to increase customers’ satisfaction and build customers’ loyalty on the company’s products. Therefore before trying to embark in the direct marketing campaign, a company should first establish an appropriate customer service department to deal with customers queries (Robert, 1998). This department should listen to complains arising from customers on issues such as delays in product delivery, defective products and general inquiry on the product usage. This department should have staffs members who are able to understand the feelings of the customer.
The members of this department should be willing to genuinely assist a customer to solve problems encountered while trying ton use the product or the service offered by the company. They should also seek to understand the needs of the customers who contact them and provide such information for future planning, product or service development and direct marketing activities (Kennedy, 2006). They should also put on efforts to know the level of satisfaction of customers from the solution on product features. An effective customer service plan also calls for the realization of the required service plan.
The company should establish policies and procedures that ensure all customers receive fair treatment from employees (Stone, Jacobs. 2007). They should come up with preventive measures to ensure employees are free from customers’ wrath. The plan should also take into account the level of service needed. Employees should be assigned different responsibilities to handle different types of customers and complains. The plan should also provide a benchmark which should used to measure the success of the company in addressing customers’ issues.
The business should also establish a customer service plan that can effectively measure the level of satisfaction of customers both retail and corporate, on the products and quality of information offered by the company (Kennedy, 2000). It should be flexible to allow adjustments which are necessary to make the department effective in addressing the emerging issues of the customers. Employees who perform exceedingly above the expectation, in trying to address customers’ needs should be recognized through the customer service plan. Employees should also be encouraged to contribute to the discussions on the best way to address issues arising from customers in the use of the product from the company (Power, Balderstone, Gyles, 2000). Various regular meetings should be held to address new developments in the market. It is also through these meetings that employees can contribute towards policy formulation on what should be done to meet a satisfactory level of customer satisfaction.
Conclusion
The importance of a customer to a business cannot be underrated. Customers give reasons for the existence of any given company. Through sales of their products to the customers, a company is able to finance its activities. For these reasons, customers should be treated with care much as the actual investment of a business (Edward, Nash, 2000). The company should do whatever is within its means to ensure maximum satisfaction on the customer on the product that the company offer for sale. Due to this importance of the customers, companies world over have embarked on direct marketing, unlike the traditional form of marketing which aims to activate future markets for the product, direct marketing aims to sell the product immediately (Judy, Ansary, Adel, Raymond 2005). Therefore this product should meet the requirements of the customer, it should offer bargain for its value and should be have a satisfactory level of life.
The direct marketer should realize what the market needs and should develop appropriate phrases to address customers (Arch, 2010). Various means can be used in direct marketing in order to reach the market. These can include the use of the telephone and emails. Though telephone is necessary to address issues on product delay, queries and placing of orders, it can be expensive and inappropriate in some instances (Dobkin, 2007). Such instances may include search for customers who had never bought a product from the company or where a large number needs to be contacted. In the instances above, the email is appropriate due to its low costs. In general for a company to be successful in the direct marketing, it should consider each customer as an investment. This is due to the costs that a company incurs before winning a single customer. With this in mind, any given company should strive to maintain its customers.
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