


It did not become widespread, however, until the late nineteenth century. 1390–1468) in Germany in the mid-fifteenth century. The practice of advertising by mail can be traced to the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg (c. In the United States and other industrialized countries, the volume of direct mail represents such a significant portion of the total mail circulation that a special rate class (called bulk mail) has been established to handle it. The marketing pieces used in direct mail can take a number of forms, from a simple postcard with the customer’s address on one side and a promotional message on the other, to a “value pack” envelope stuffed with coupons for a variety of local businesses, to a magazine-style catalog containing dozens of items for sale. Still, the most prevalent form of direct marketing is direct mail, in which marketing messages are delivered through the postal service.
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Indeed, any advertisement that asks the audience to respond with some direct action (such as returning a postcard, calling a toll-free number, entering a free raffle, or visiting a website) may be categorized as direct marketing.ĭirect marketers deliver their messages via television, the Internet, e-mail, billboards, magazine inserts, and other media. Similarly, Tangles could buy an advertisement on the college radio station KZAP if the ad concludes with a line such as “Say you heard about us on KZAP and receive $5 off of a haircut,” the salon can also measure the results of this ad by counting how many customers mention it. The leaflet contains a coupon for $5 off a haircut Tangles can therefore measure the success of its campaign-the number of customers it has attracted-according to how many students bring the coupon into the salon for a haircut. For example, Tangles, a new hair salon catering to young people, might use a direct-marketing campaign to hand out hundreds of leaflets on a college campus. Direct marketing’s focus on attaining measurable results that can be tracked over time is what distinguishes it from other forms of marketing, wherein the effects of certain strategies can be difficult to verify. When successful, marketing activities enable a company to perceive, understand, and satisfy consumer wants and needs.ĭirect marketing, also known as direct-response marketing, is a specialized form of marketing in which promotional messages are delivered to a target population of people who have been identified as potential customers. Direct mailing is a form of what is called “direct marketing.” Marketing is a multifaceted strategy for selling goods, services, and other products it entails research, advertising, pricing, promotion, placement (or distribution), and other activities designed to connect the product with the segment of people who will be most likely to buy it.
