Direct Marketing, also referred to as Direct Selling or Multilevel Marketing (MLM) or Network Marketing, is a great way in reaching customers, generating leads, and driving your ROI. Direct Marketing can also be seen as a form of advertising wherein businesses communicate directly with their target audience to sell their products or services. The current digital age that thrives on creative innovation has given Direct Marketing a new outlook. Today, businesses deploy some or other digital marketing campaigns as part of their marketing strategy. Direct Selling can be accomplished using several digital online mediums. This article discusses some of the most prominent ones.
The Objective of Direct Selling
Direct Selling is a form of advertising and a marketing strategy that drives customers and prospects to take deliberate actions. These actions can be in the form of purchases, newsletter signups, or interaction with a business. Direct Marketing campaigns revolve around targeting prospects who show interest in the product or service of the company. Therefore, this type of marketing strategy is called Target Marketing – It yields better results than mass marketing. Till a few years ago, Direct Marketing was mainly linked to snail-mailing and door-to-door interaction. However, in a fast-transforming world, digital channels have taken Direct Selling to new heights and become the preferred choice of many businesses. The section ahead discusses the popularly used digital mediums.
Popular Digital Mediums Used for Direct Marketing
There are many digital marketing ways incorporated by Direct Selling companies today. However, not all digital mediums or tools will apply or work for your business – it all depends on your goals, budget, and target audience. Listed below are the common types of Direct Marketing methods deployed by most companies today.
Email and SMS Marketing
Email is the oldest digital way of communication over the Internet, and email marketing is one of the effective ways of generating leads. It enables brands to promote their products and services to prospects and customers. Despite being in existence for a long time, email marketing remains relevant and is increasingly used by businesses to reach customers and nurture leads. Short Message Service (SMS) Marketing uses the text messaging strategy to promote the services or products of a company. It enables companies to create brand awareness by sending updates, promotional offers, and other information to customers and prospects. SMS marketing is a cost-effective way that helps to increase customer engagement and drive sales further.
Digital Marketing and Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Digital marketing, also called Internet marketing, optimizes the power of the web to drive sales. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the commonly used form of Internet marketing. It promotes the services or products of a company using the internet by generating generate traffic to your website and creating new business. SEO is inexpensive and has wide-reaching effects on communicating with your target audience. Other forms of Internet marketing include newsletter campaigns, affiliate marketing, and influencer marketing.
Content Marketing
Content marketing is another form of digital marketing that has shot into prominence in the last few years. It provides value to the target audience via content that is informative and educative. Compared to traditional marketing means, content marketing costs 62 percent less and generates three times of leads. Most marketers consider content as a business asset.
Social Media Marketing
Social media has caught the fancy of net surfers and has become a powerful Direct Marketing tool for businesses. It focuses on building relationships with surfers and followers and enables companies to promote their brands. Further, social media platforms help businesses connect with their customers to get feedback, reviews, give customer support, and conduct business deals. Today, companies even have a dedicated entity to manage their social media accounts to updates followers with news, updates, promotions, and relevant content.
Display Advertisements
It is a paid promotion wherein service providers charge companies on a per-click-basis for displaying their advertisements on relevant websites. These ads, when clicked, drives the surfer to the company’s website or landing page wherein the visitor is either given information via content or made to take action. Display ads are customizable based on the company’s requirements – they can be related to gender, demography, age, etc.
Conclusion: Plan carefully and strategize your digital marketing channels smartly.
Direct Marketing is an aggressive form of marketing when compared to other forms. For a small business like your Direct Selling business, Internet marketing and social media marketing can make a big impact. It is also cost-effective. Direct Marketing methods will keep evolving, and businesses will need to find ways to leverage them. It is always advisable to implement a combination of online and offline campaigns to grow your sales and revenues. When starting your Direct Selling business, you must plan carefully and adopt relevant digital marketing campaigns suitable for your business.
