Top tips for direct and digital marketing - by Chris Gibson

Marketing Manager Chris Gibson puts his top tips together for effective direct and digital marketing campaigns.

Traditionally direct marketing has come in the form of direct mail and telemarketing but we are in a digital age and digital marketing such as e-mail marketing and social media has transformed direct marketing. You can now approach your customer base in real time. There is never a guarantee that your direct marketing campaign is going to be a success but you can ensure that you give it every chance. I hope the following tips will help you when you next plan your campaign.

1.     Your objectives should be clear. Are you using direct marketing to target new customers, making the most of the customer base you’ve acquired or retaining those customers? The message will need to be adapted depending on the purpose of your direct marketing campaign.

2.     Have a targeted approach. Mass marketing is said to be finished, it produces too much waste. Targeting your direct marketing will give your campaign an increased chance of success.

3.     Your website is at heart of any direct or digital marketing campaign so if you have a website, keep it fresh, up-to-date and engaging. Ensure the content in your direct marketing is reflected on the website.

4.     Data is priceless in direct marketing. Even if your direct marketing reaches a customer that isn’t interested in the service or product you offer, they may be at a later date. Give them a route to register their interest whether a contact form on your website or a detachable form on your mail shot.

5.     Like I said data is priceless. Don’t keep your data in a shoe box! Record your data. It doesn’t matter if it’s on a simple excel spreadsheet or a fancy Customer Relationships Management (CRM) system. Recording data and updating it regularly is vital for an effective direct marketing strategy. Also, be aware that just because data is more than a few years old, it doesn’t mean it’s useless.

6.     Don’t break the law! Data protection laws are in place to protect privacy and the punishment for ignoring them can be severe. Check out this guide to the data protection act from the Information Commissioners Office http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations/data_protection/the_guide.aspx

7.     Be creative. You don’t necessarily need an expensive agency to come with an engaging direct marketing campaign. Some of the best ideas come from conversations with your fellow employees over a morning coffee.

8.     Always measure the effectiveness of your campaign. In a time of austerity ROI is everything. Add source codes to your direct mail or create unique campaign pages on your website. Google Analytics is a free tool designed to record the effectiveness of your website as well as your campaigns by recording amongst other thing number of your visitors. Google also offer a free advice service, so you don’t need to be an expert!

9.     Use social media to complement your direct marketing campaigns not instead of them. Social media channels such as Twitter provide a platform to engage with your customer base not sell directly to them. They help increase customer loyalty and build brand recognitions as long as you have a clear rationale for using such them.

10.  Links from other websites to yours creates a constant flow of traffic to your site. This form of direct marketing is known as affiliate marketing and is a cost effective route to acquiring new customers.

11.  Learn from your failures. Like I said at the start, there is no guarantee that your direct marketing campaign will work and even if it’s a success, it will never be a 100% success. You can always learn and apply new knowledge to improve future campaigns.