Direct Marketing

Discussion Question 2:

Direct mail advertising remains a popular medium for many profit-based and not-for-profit organizations. Why? What are the benefits and drawbacks of using direct mail? Identify some organizations that successfully use direct mail advertising to help achieve their marketing goals.

Direct mail is a published communication that is circulated to potential customers by independent delivery agents or the post office. The reasons that many profit-based and not-for-profit organizations use direct mail is because the message can be personalized and it also allows you to pick customers demographically or geologically. Another reason that profit-based and not-for-profit organizations use direct mail is because it allows you to tell a story without a time or space limit because the average mailing includes several pieces. Other benefits of direct mail are:

• Creative flexibility- The message can be copy oriented, visually oriented, or a combination of both. Since the mailing includes various components, there is enough time to explain the benefits of the product.

• Exclusivity- The mail does not contend with other ads or media when it is received. Ads in magazines and newspapers are in a clustered environment competing with one another.

• Measurability- The responses from the direct mail can be measured by the sales that it generates because a sale can be linked to the offer in the direct mail. The success of the direct mail can be seen in a short period.

However direct mail can have disadvantages such as:

• Image- Direct mail can sometimes be seen as junk mail and can be unwanted mail by the recipient.

• Cost per exposure- Sometimes the costs of direct mail can be higher than the cost of an ad placed in another print medium even if select targeting reduces waste circulation.

• Lack of editorial Support-Direct mail cannot rely on editorial content to get people to read the message compared to newspapers or magazines.