A direct marketing strategy is a strategy developed to make a direct marketing campaign successful. In this form of marketing, companies approach consumers directly with the goal of spurring an action, such as buying or ordering a product, requesting more information, or visiting a website. This type of marketing eliminates intermediaries between companies and consumers, and it can be highly effective when it is organized well. Marketing companies which specialize in direct marketing can act as consultants to help companies develop the best possible plan.
Marketing strategies are key to any sort of marketing campaign, because companies want to market effectively and efficiently. They must think about the target demographic for the products they are advertising, and develop marketing techniques which will reach to this demographic. Developing a direct marketing strategy involves everything from thinking about how the product should be positioned to writing scripts for people who will be cold-calling consumers.
For example, a company launching a direct marketing campaign for a child care product would want to aim the campaign at families with children, and it might want to focus on a demographic like single mothers who would find the product especially useful. Other thoughts might include social, racial, and religious demographics which could play a role in the success of a marketing campaign; a company with strong Muslim values, for example, might focus on trying to capture the Muslim demographic. The company must think about how the product is designed, labeled, and described, with the goal of making it appealing to the target demographic, and it must think about how to reach potential customers.
Many companies use Internet marketing strategies for direct marketing, such as email. In this case, the company would need to acquire an email list of the target demographic, design an email, and decide on which action it wants people to take, such as clicking a link to a website, signing up for something, or buying the product. A direct marketing strategy can also include going door to door, leafleting, calling, sending direct mail advertising, and so forth.
Direct marketing strategies can sometimes backfire spectacularly. For example, a security company may find that door to door marketing is viewed as threatening and intimidating, driving potential customers away rather than having the intended effect of getting consumers to express interest in security projects. Likewise, a poorly branded or described product might alienate the targets of a direct marketing strategy, as for example when a product is deemed offensive by the people the company is trying to target.