Direct marketing: types, forms and organization. What types of trading belong to direct marketing

Among all possible ways interactions between the seller of a certain product and its buyers, direct marketing is the oldest, which existed from the very beginning of the emergence of commodity-money relations. Despite the fact that during this period there was no such science as marketing, people already then noticed and used different ways influence on a potential buyer who helped in the trade well.

Direct Marketing - The Basics

Today, it is a whole science in which both theorists of economic disciplines and practitioners (entrepreneurs, sales agents, managers of trading companies, etc.) are interested. The relevance of the topic presented is determined not only by the interest of the above persons, but also by the fact that, according to analysts' forecasts, in the near future the presented method of communication between sellers and buyers will replace even advertising, which has occupied a leading position in this matter for many decades.

And this forecast is already beginning to come true: in the market of products for production needs, direct marketing takes a leading position among all available ways communication between the subjects of commercial relations. If you trace the budgets of large Western and American corporations, you can see a trend of a steady increase in spending on the development of direct marketing. The presented article will help readers to understand the considered method of communication between the seller and the consumer of goods / services, to understand its role and significance in modern economic conditions and to find out the nearest prospects for direct marketing in our country.

The essence and forms of direct marketing

Almost all definitions of direct marketing in foreign and domestic textbooks on this discipline boil down to one thing: this term means the establishment of stable, mutually beneficial and long-term relations with an obligatory development perspective between the seller (manufacturer) and the buyer (consumer) of a certain product. In this case, direct marketing is a form of relationship that involves the direct participation of the consumer in the formation of the product or service of interest.

Let's make a small comparison so that a reader who has never studied economic disciplines can freely navigate the information presented. When a product manufacturer, after conducting marketing research and studying the needs of the target audience, advertises his product, he still imposes a certain opinion on the consumer, makes it clear that a person (potential buyer) really needs these chips, motor oil, cosmetics, etc. ...

In direct marketing, the picture is completely different: the manufacturer asks the potential buyer what kind of chips he is ready to buy tomorrow, with bacon or chili? A bit primitive example, but it reflects the real meaning of the relationship between the participants commercial transaction... One of the main features of this type of marketing is the mandatory presence of a communication channel between the manufacturer and the consumer of the product / service.

The main forms of direct marketing include the following areas:

Sales, which are based on personal contact with buyers / consumers of products, when the participants in a commercial transaction jointly agree to hold presentations, dialogues, etc.

Dialogue between the seller and the buyer through mailing lists.

Sales of products according to catalogs.

Direct sales with application modern means communication: by telephone, by means of television broadcasts of an advertising nature with a direct telephone number, as well as online sales through the World Wide Web.

Studying and analyzing direct marketing, as well as its features and methods, it is necessary to highlight key moment This form of relationship between buyers and sellers is the absence of any intermediaries, who, if we call a spade a spade, in 90% of cases are an absolutely unnecessary link in any economic model. Based on the number of these subjects, one can draw conclusions about the level of development of national economies.

The more intermediaries there are, the worse the lives of the inhabitants of a given country. Remember the 90s, when there were several intermediaries between the manufacturer and the consumer, and compare with today's situation, when the maximum chain looks like: manufacturer-distributor-store. At the same time, the maximum cost of goods and their quality are constantly monitored, and manufacturers try to maintain direct communication with consumers of their products (they are engaged in direct marketing).

Advantages and disadvantages

Before starting a detailed analysis main theme of this section, it is necessary to show the reader what direct marketing with real examples... Take a small factory that specializes in the manufacture of footwear. He has his own chain of stores in large cities that work according to the scheme direct dialogue with consumers.

Each buyer is invited to fill out a questionnaire that helps the manufacturer understand what the consumer wants to see in the store windows in a week, month or quarter. The result exceeds all expectations: the plant produces products that, one might say, have already been sold. Customers will most likely never go to other retail outlets to look for shoes, as they are offered to buy exactly what they asked for.

That is, all parties satisfied their needs, while the manufacturer practically did not spend money on advertising, and the buyer, after buying shoes, had the feeling that the plant's management not only heard his opinion, but also fulfilled almost all recommendations and wishes.

This situation reflects the advantages of direct marketing, but theorists of economic disciplines highlight other advantages of this form of relationship between buyers and sellers.:

allows you to make your products recognizable in certain circles;

the manufacturer always has channels of access to consumers;

if necessary, the seller has the ability to quickly adapt to the needs of the consumer;

there is an opportunity to save on advertising;

the manufacturer, in the event of some serious economic upheavals, will be able to develop a strategy of "survival", focusing on the changed demands of consumers, which is great alternative bankruptcy.

a manufacturer who already has an established customer network spends several times less money on creating a new product than companies that trust only advertising;

direct marketing results can be calculated, errors and shortcomings can be eliminated, and based on the available information, accurate forecasts can be made further development Your business.

The last point is very simple to explain. Let's consider how companies create a new product that have a direct dialogue with consumers, and the process of creating a new product / service by companies using other types of marketing. In the first case (for example, let's take a shoe factory with its own chain of stores again), marketers compose an interesting questionnaire that will not be thrown into the trash can after leaving the store, but will be sure to fill it out. As an incentive, you can promise good discounts for future products of the enterprise.

After a week or two, the marketing department collects a huge number of offers from ordinary buyers, on the basis of which it is very quickly created finished products, which, even before its appearance in free sale, is in great demand. At the same time, the costs for the implementation of this project will be minimal. If you analyze the second case, the picture will turn out to be less joyful. The company needs to invest serious money in order to conduct all the necessary marketing research, on the basis of which good designers(and the cost of their services is very high) will develop appearance footwear that will be put into production.

But pay attention to the fact that the latter option can turn out to be completely unprofitable, consumers will get a product that the creators like, not the buyers. But even if the second company creates shoes that will be in demand, its cost will be much higher than that of a company that works directly with its customers.

Considering direct marketing in the context of its advantages and disadvantages, it is necessary to study in detail the disadvantages this method interactions between manufacturers and consumers of certain products.

Theorists highlight the following negative points:

even minor mistakes in the direct marketing process can significantly undermine the prestige of your company (if you are not sure of your knowledge and strengths, hire a good marketer on the staff of the company);

in the short term, this strategy will not bring positive results;

in some sectors of the economy, the use of direct marketing requires a decent financial investment;

there are cases (as a rule, in post-Soviet countries) when the establishment of a constructive dialogue with potential customers causes an inadequate reaction from the latter;

in the absence of a single body responsible for direct marketing in the company, serious inconsistencies may arise: for example, the advertising department encourages buyers to purchase one product, and a company representative, communicating with a potential buyer, does everything to sell another commodity item of the same category. Naturally, all this is seen by a potential client and the thought immediately arises that he has contacted serious scammers. You can give up on a promising deal.

Direct marketing will be effective only if all departments of the company and its employees, from the loader in the warehouse to director general, will work together, focusing on a common goal. A strong, close-knit team, in which each participant knows exactly his functions and knows how to work, is the key to success.

Types and practical importance of direct marketing

Despite the fact that direct marketing and all its types have a huge advantage over other forms of promotion and increasing sales, not all companies plan to put it into practice in the near future. This is due to the traditional conservatism of many owners of firms, companies and enterprises, and the unwillingness to break the prevailing last years business management model, etc. If you have studied in detail the above forms of direct marketing, then you do not need to re-analyze its types. Some marketing textbooks use the definition of "form" and others use the definition of "types."

It is only necessary to slightly increase this list and add the following types:

Network marketing, which even schoolchildren know about today. In our country, he has acquired a bad reputation, which greatly "hinders" the development of this activity.

Direct sales - effective method sales of products for the organizers of the commercial scheme, but work in this direction can units. It is difficult even to imagine how a person who walks in the rain all day can smile, tell interesting stories etc., just to sell some kind of mixer or a set of knives of dubious quality.

If we trace the dynamics of the development of direct marketing in our country, including its goals, possible development prospects and the interest of subjects entrepreneurial activity in this matter, we can conclude that in the near future this form of relationship between the seller and the buyer will take a leading position against the background of other methods. It is still very early to make deeper forecasts in this direction, it is possible that in 5-10 years there will be alternative ways relationships that will affect many issues in economics, politics and other spheres of human activity.

Detailed analysis of all issues related to direct marketing, will help readers understand this topic and, perhaps, the information provided will be of practical use to everyone who plans to do business or has already begun this hard work, which many associate with constant entertainment and travel to interesting places on our planet.

Marketing is satisfaction with a product or service certain groups the population for which the company was created.

In the era information technologies and competitive business warrior, marketing is an integral part in business management, because the right strategy can always lead a company to new level or to prevent its ruin.

Direct marketing is a communication that is aimed at dialogue with an individual consumer and is designed for an instant response from him. Direct marketing can be carried out: individual sales, mail-letters, phone calls or mailing lists, in general, anything that can induce a consumer to buy or take action.

Direct marketing can be divided into:

Single stage - the consumer responds to advertising message purchase of goods.

Two-step - before making a purchase, the consumer must take some action, for example, present a coupon or a check.

Negative choice - the consumer will receive messages until such time as he does not send a written denial.

Direct marketing is becoming more and more popular in Russia, because it allows you to convey information to the consumer from minimal cost... Also, one of the main advantages is the individuality of the message. A company that owns a database of consumer information has the ability to address and compose letters as if personally for the addressee, which increases the efficiency of communication by almost 100%.

Every day, going on email, you see letters in the spam folder or brochures in the mailbox - this is direct marketing. Many messages do not reach the addressee or, upon reaching, are immediately sent to the trash. For a person to assess whether the information is interesting to him, he needs only 2 seconds. After the first 2 second evaluation, he starts reading or throws it into the trash. Whole teams work to create presentations of products and services so that the consumer at least reads the message, and the whole art is to write a letter so that the consumer responds.

Direct marketing is not only about sending offers to different kinds mailboxes, this is the personal communication of the sales manager with the client. This type is one of the most popular types of direct marketing in the world.

Let's look at direct marketing technology using the COLIN "S store strategy as an example. In 2006, COLIN" S introduced a discount card system. Cards were issued on condition of purchase and filling out a questionnaire. Based on the results of the obtained personal data, an analysis of buyers was carried out and the COLIN'S stores were highlighted - this is a federal network, so each region and store has different target audiences. Direct marketing (the examples of the COLIN'S company show that the choice of strategy must be approached in a complex manner) in this case was effective.

Thanks to the knowledge of its customers, the company has developed an effective direct marketing strategy - sms-mailing, telemarketing, e-mail marketing, which allowed the company to always stay “in touch” with its customers.

From this example, we can see that any type of marketing, including direct marketing, is a complex multi-level process that includes market research, identifying a clear target audience and defining a strategy.

Direct Marketing

Direct marketing(direct marketing, DM, from the English direct ring, DM) is a direct (in the absence of intermediate links) interactive interaction between the seller / manufacturer and the consumer in the process of selling a particular product. In this case, the buyer is assigned the role of not a passive object of influence on the part of the communicator, but an active and full-fledged participant in the business dialogue.

The classic definition.

Direct marketing is the planned, continuous recording, analysis and observation of direct response consumer behavior in order to shape future marketing strategies, develop long-term positive customer relationships, and ensure continued business success.

Types of direct marketing are presented in the table.

Table 2. Types of direct marketing

Recently, address mailings by e-mail are increasingly used. Mailings are considered legal (not spam) when consent is received from the addressee in one form or another to receive information.

Telemarketing- the use of telephone and telecommunication technologies in conjunction with database management systems for the direct sale of goods to consumers. This service is often referred to as call centers.

TV Marketing:

The use of special commercial television channels intended only for the transmission of commercial and advertising information, after reviewing which the consumer can order goods by favorable prices, without leaving home;

Interactive Marketing- e-commerce (carrying out trade operations using infocommunication technologies), connecting the consumer with the seller's computerized data bank.

Database Service- services for the formation and processing of databases for direct marketing.

Case Studies Using Direct Marketing

A direct marketing program must be targeted and original. I will give examples of the use of direct marketing by large foreign companies.

The company "Haggis" is holding an action. When leaving the hospital, all young mothers are given a bag of diapers. Then, after sending the questionnaire and the barcode from the mother's packaging, they entered into a dialogue with the manufacturer, receiving gifts, prizes, discount cards for the next purchases. Spending $ 10-20 per contact, but hitting the target audience - diaper buyers - was accurate. It is clear that the cost of the first gifts was paid off by the subsequent expenses of consumers (it takes several hundred dollars for diapers a year). It is possible to carry out such promotions only by correlating costs with future profits. In Russia, it is considered expedient to spend no more than 2-3% of turnover on building such relations.

This example was accurate hitting the target, but this happens quite rarely. The effectiveness of direct marketing in Russia is still low compared to other countries.

Another direct marketing tool is Brand Loyalty programs. These techniques can be observed at automobile concerns. It is extremely important for them that when changing a car, a person does not change the brand. In the West, on average, 50% of car owners renew their cars every 3-4 years. In Russia, this phenomenon is also developing: there are RENAULT, BMW, 4x4 clubs (fans of all-wheel drive cars). They organize their parties, car races, competitions.

Audi in Spain ran a loyalty program, where during the campaign free service was provided, an old car was replaced with a new car in case of a serious breakdown, and a travel club was created. Naturally, every Audi owner was promptly informed about the opportunity to join the program.

By developing loyalty programs, the company enters into a long-term relationship with the client, i.e. invests in permanent contacts, which is possible only if the company itself plans to operate in this market for many years.

Extremely important condition of these programs - the frequency of contacts. On average, you need to "get in touch" with a client 2-10 times a year. For example, the network of shoe stores "KS" actually monthly informs its regular customers (who have filled in the appropriate questionnaires) about ongoing marketing events (sales, lotteries, delivery of a new collection).