The Direct Marketing And The Human Factors.
As I walked from room to room this morning, opening my curtains to another beautiful day, I realized it was going to be another one of “those” days. You know the ones I’m talking about, where the mind would rather be lounging on a beach, hiking in the mountains, or fishing on a calm inland lake than working on an essay that everyone wants to speak about.
I flicked open my computer screen, sipped my coffee, and gazed out my window at the wet sight. There’s no inspiration there. However, my garden could use some attention. Speaking of work, something catches my eye as I skim through my overnight batch of emails.
Guest contributor Julie Sullivan discusses the true meaning of direct marketing in her essay on The Digital Nirvana. Aha! That is something close to my heart. Julie, thank you!
She is perplexed as to why marketers and advertisers solely regard direct mail as an advertising technique when describing direct marketing. While I won’t go into the merits of direct mail here, I will emphasize that marketers must recognize that all advertising is, in fact, direct marketing.
As Julie points out, direct marketing is based on two fundamental principles:
- Hold a one-on-one conversation with your target audience.
- Insist on your target audience taking some action—call, click, move, you name it.
Consider that for a moment. ALL advertising is direct marketing, regardless of the form it takes or the means utilized to spread a message. Each communication is addressed to a particular audience in the hopes that they will notice the offer. When that happens, the advertising goal is for people to respond to the call to action. Otherwise, what is the point of advertising in the first place?
Instead of sticking their collective noses up in the air, marketers and advertisers should learn to embrace the concept of Smart Circle international in all of its manifestations. Sorry, but research after study shows that people prefer to be treated as human beings with ideas, feelings, and desires (point one above) rather than as numbers on a profit and loss statement.
