Global Gadgets Imports: operations and distribution history

Global Gadgets Direct Marketing

Direct marketing is any form of marketing that "allows business to communicate directly with its target market" (SEODesk.org, 2011). This contrasts with indirect marketing where the company is simply getting its message into the world, and the onus is then on the recipient to be exposed to the message. A good way of explaining the difference is a website is indirect marketing, but an email list built from that website is a tool for direct marketing.

There are many different types of direct marketing. Direct mail is a popular form of direct marketing. Examples include catalogs, product samples or advertisements. Generally for this to be direct advertising, the mailouts should be built from a list of potential customers. This method has a high fixed cost of producing the mailout, and the response rate is unknown. However, direct marketing has proven effective and it allows the company to reach a lot of consumers. Direct marketing is especially effective when the target market can be defined geographically (a grocery store targeting its own zip code, for example).

Slide Three: Another form of direct marketing is telemarketing.

There are specialized telemarketing companies that can generate quality leads, and telelmarketing has a high rate of return on the investment. The downside to telemarketing is that many consumers find it annoying and some potential customers could be turned off. In addition, it is becoming difficult to find quality telemarketing staff -- inexperienced operators who lack sales skills will reduce the effectiveness of a telemarketing campaign.

Slide Four: Online marketing is another form of direct marketing.

In addition to email campaigns using a list that consumers have opted into, even something like Google ad can be a highly targeted form of marketing. It is easier to hone in on a narrow segment of the market using online ads when compared to television, radio or print, because of the use of search terms based of specific surfing patterns. Online direct marketing is low cost and can be highly effective if the right agents are used, that have the ability to narrow down the target market effectively. However, online marketing has a low response rate and there are still segments of the population that are difficult to reach with this channel.

Slide Five: There are many ways that marketers obtain consumer information. Firms can build their own lists organically, through their websites in particular. However, most companies buy lists from firms that specialize in building lists. These lists provide contact information that has usually been verified and that fits whatever criteria the marketing firm decides it needs for its campaign. There are many firms that specialize in building these lists.

Slide Six: There are, however, issues with buying lists. Some of the things that we need to pay attention to are: How current is the list? Is this a "shotgun" list or a "rifle" list? Are there duplicate entries? Is the data ready to use or do we need to make changes to it? Many firms use old lists and often a firm that wants to have an effective presentation will need to clean up some of the data that is contained in the lists (Koch Group, 2009).

Slide Seven: Personalization is ensuring that the communication speaks directly to the customer. Overly generic communication will be seen as just that. Personalization begins with using the customer's name and a written voice that directly addresses the prospect (Risley, 2005) . Personalization should go beyond this, however, and communicate that you understand their needs and have a product that can solve their problems.

Slide Eight: There are three things that a marketer hopes to achieve with a personalization strategy. The first is to attain a higher rate of contact -- to have more people look at your communication. The second is to create the perception of a dialogue with the customer, so that they feel more like you are talking to them than that they are reading a sales pitch. The third is that a personalization strategy is intended to bring about more sales. Nobody would do it otherwise.

Slide Nine: There are a few key factors to a personalized approach. Use the customer's name! You can be personalized without using the customer's name. This should be obvious but some people forget this. The second is create a dialogue -- you want your communication to sound in the consumer's head like a real person talking to them, not some automated marketing form letter. The third is that the communication must demonstrate an understanding of the customer's needs. Selling adult diapers to a twenty-two-year-old just isn't going to work -- so building a better list is a critical success factor because that enables you to have a much higher degree of personalization in your communication.