Marketing that communicates directly with a specific audience through channels such as email, mail, text, or targeted advertising.
A channel-focused approach designed to generate a trackable response.
Short and sweet:
Marketing that communicates directly with a specific audience through channels such as email, mail, text, or targeted advertising.
A channel-focused approach designed to generate a trackable response.
See also: Email Marketing, SMS Marketing, Call to Action
Direct marketing communicates with a specific, targeted list of individuals directly, through channels like mail, email, or text, rather than relying on a broadcast channel that reaches a broad, undefined audience and hopes the right people happen to be watching. Because messages go to a defined, known list, direct marketing typically allows for far more personalization and precise tracking of individual responses than mass-market advertising ever could. Its effectiveness depends heavily on the quality of the underlying list, since even a well-crafted message sent to poorly targeted or outdated contacts tends to underperform badly regardless of how compelling the offer itself is.
A credit card company mailing a personalized offer letter with a specific promotional interest rate straight to a homeowner’s mailbox is practicing classic direct marketing.
Political campaigns rely heavily on this same approach through text messages in the final days before an election, sending reminders straight to a voter’s phone rather than hoping they see a TV ad.
A local car dealership sending a postcard to every household within a ten-mile radius advertising a Memorial Day sale is using the same channel-focused tactic to reach a specific, addressable audience.
