The revolution that the concepts of marketing and communication have known in recent years and the new economic and social dynamics force any entrepreneur to use a mix of online and offline strategies to achieve their goals in terms of sales promotion. In the age of technology, when the Internet continues to gain more and more ground, it may seem simple and effective to adopt tools related exclusively to the field of digital marketing, in order to contact customers.
However, before developing any type of promotional plan , it is advisable to consider the answer to the following questions: Is the Internet sufficient as a promotional tool? How effective is direct marketing and how is it addressed to consumers? How can the most effective mix of strategies be established? Once you understand these concepts, finding the right method for developing your business will become a little easier.
1. Direct Vs. Indirect Marketing: what are the main differences?
Although both direct and indirect marketing pursue the same objectives, the differences between the two in terms of techniques for promoting seo services in Lahore and products are quite obvious. While the former seeks direct communication with consumers, the latter uses intermediaries. Despite the fact that the two definitions are clear and understandable to all, it is worth mentioning that the concrete differences between them are manifested in four directions:
Purpose
Direct marketing aims at a certain segment of consumers and establishing a relationship with them, and indirect marketing promotes an already known product, possibly intended for the mass consumption market.
Answer
While direct marketing records an immediate response, indirect marketing brings results in the medium to long term.
Cost
Direct promotion methods involve low or even zero costs, while indirect marketing requires much higher costs.
Recipients
Direct promotion addresses a certain segment of consumers, selected on the basis of precise criteria, while indirect marketing is a mass communication.
1.1 What else does direct marketing offer?
Once the differences between the two promotion methods have been established, it can be stated that direct marketing involves:
- Focus on the customer and not the product
- Consumer segmentation
- Customize campaigns according to the type of customer
- Testing new ideas on the market
- Establishing the best offers for consumers
- Identify the category of people from whom quick answers are obtained
- Actions for improvement the client fidelity
- Maximize profit
- Minimize efforts
2. Direct communication with consumers - Promotion tools
Broadly speaking, promotional tools and channels used for direct communication with consumers are the following:
Social media
It is an extremely widespread tool today, used to promote and sell products and services (including in the case of Personal Branding ), lead generation or increase traffic to a site. To achieve optimal results, it is recommended that this strategy be complemented by other forms of online marketing, such as Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Social Media Optimization (SMO), Social Media Advertising (SMA), Social Ads and Digital PR .
Websites and blogs
Content marketing, used as a promotional tool, should have the following results: increasing Brand Awareness, attracting new customers and retaining them, generating leads. An effective content strategy cannot be established until the business objectives, Buyer Personas profile and key performance indicators (KPIs) held, as well as how they are to be measured, are identified.
Direct mail
It is the fastest and most efficient method of direct communication with customers. This does not only include emails sent to consumers, but also sms marketing. Web2SMS platforms, such as smso.ro , allow you to achieve a series of objectives, which can be divided into two categories: promotional campaigns, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, informative messages on transactions , which improve the user experience (UX) and allow for feedback.
Telemarketing
It takes place in a call center and can be Business to Client (B2C) or Business to Business (B2B). In the case of the first variant, the method can be functional especially if an Inbound Marketing strategy is applied and the relationship with the client is managed once his profile has been identified, so that he can receive suggestions and offers of services or products based on his needs.
Retargeting sau remarketing
It refers to a method of promotion based on previous actions that have been taken by users on the Internet. In short, it consists in contacting those people who have already interacted with a certain site and, to identify them, cookies are used. Remarketing campaigns can be done using tools such as Google Ads or Facebook Ads.
Landing Page
This is nothing more than a special page of a site, the purpose of which is to make the consumer focus on a particular product or service. For example, if you do a Google search, the first paid results will pay for a landing page.
Integrated campaigns
They bring together a range of techniques and tools that broadly aim to optimize blog and social media communication, develop and moderate campaigns, as well as comments, and adapt future communications based on feedback. As a result, a significant increase in ROI is expected.
3. How do you choose the most effective promotion strategy?
First of all, it is worth mentioning that a marketing strategy is nothing more than an analysis that identifies the characteristics and position within the market, the competition, the Buyer Personas profile, as well as the proposals and messages to be transmitted to them. In other words, it becomes necessary to study all the external and internal factors that can influence the business.
A correct marketing strategy needs to start, first of all, from a market analysis. In short, you need to identify the promotion tool that best suits the Buyer Personas profile you are interested in, which is done by observing the niche and understanding its requirements and expectations according to age, gender and interests.
In conclusion, direct promotion tools and techniques favor the implementation of an effective strategy for the development of a brand, product or service. It is of fundamental importance to choose that method that allows the efficiency of communication, so that the message sent is as exciting and attractive as possible.
4. Frequently asked questions and answers about promotion tools
Direct marketing, as opposed to indirect marketing, focuses on the customer and not the product, segments consumers, records quick responses and involves low or even zero costs.
What are the advantages of direct marketing over indirect marketing?
Direct marketing, compared to indirect marketing, has the advantage of minimizing efforts, maximizing profits, customer loyalty , establishing the best offers for consumers, customizing campaigns and testing new ideas on the market.
What are the main promotional tools used by direct marketing?
The main promotion tools used by direct marketing are: Social Media, websites and blogs, email and sms marketing , telemarketing, retargeting, landing page and integrated campaigns.
How to choose the most effective promotion strategy?
In order to choose the most effective promotion strategy, it is necessary first of all a market analysis, in order to identify the profile of Buyer Personas, according to age, sex and interests.