Personalized messaging, precise measurement of results, direct results… Direct marketing has many advantages. If email marketing is present in almost all strategies, SMS marketing, calling and fax marketing are often forgotten. Perhaps the question of an era when everything should be digital… Still, SMS marketing can be a valuable ally in your acquisition strategy. Updates on various aspects of Direct Marketing…
definition of direct marketing
Before we begin, let’s take a small reminder of what direct marketing is: It brings together all personal or individual communication actions with the aim of eliciting a more or less immediate response from the recipient. (Order, Request for Quotation, Call Toll Free Number, Appointment, etc.).
Its feature is:
- a personal message;
- Addressing a file (address, email, phone, etc.);
- for the purpose of immediate response from the recipient;
- Allowing precise measurement of the results obtained.
Source: Marketing Definitions.
Now that we’ve set the context, let’s look at the various levers of direct marketing and their benefits together.
SMS Marketing
Mobile is like our confidante, always at hand, it allows us to stay in touch with our loved ones, surf the internet, play and much more. SMS marketing makes it possible to reach prospects in their daily lives more quickly than any other marketing lever.
But be careful, because it is important to do things right in email marketing. Bulk unsolicited mailing is prohibited. You must have the person’s consent to send messages to them, and give them the option of not receiving communications in the future.
Advantages of SMS Marketing:
- Commitment is instant, SMS consultations are done multiple times a day View live upon receipt;
- Setting up a campaign is quick and easy. Messages are short to write and campaigns require very little project management;
- Expeditions are economical: from 0.029 € per shipment.
In order to take action, it will be necessary to establish communication actions to collect the number of your prospects and/or customers or purchase a file of prospects. Once your file is created, all you have to do is find the platform to send your SMS.
An example of a provider: Spot hit that offer to send SMS at 0.029€ and collection of possible numbers at 0.12€.
email marketing
Often criticized, email marketing is a safe bet in direct marketing. I won’t go into detail because we have several articles on the site praising the strengths of email marketing, but this lever is essential to any online communication strategy, both for loyalty purposes and objectives. acquisition.
Benefits of Email Marketing
- Easy to configure campaigns;
- They are economical: Most equipment offers free solutions up to a certain number of shipments;
- Everything is measurable: you have control over openings, number of clicks, conversions, your ROI;
- Thanks to automation, you can automate messages according to the profile and behavior of net surfers on your site.
As far as SMS marketing is concerned, you must have a tool to send your campaigns along with a tool to collect email addresses.
An example of a provider: Mailchimp which is free for up to 2,000 subscribers or 12,000 emails per month.
Calling / Fax Marketing
Phoning will require a greater investment of time or money. This requires a salesperson who will contact your prospects for you. Although sometimes annoying (no one likes to receive sales calls), it is still an interesting solution to generate turnover.
As far as fax is concerned, we can trust that it is out of date, it remains an effective way to reach your goal when working in B2B. Since professionals are full of emails and may miss your communication, the number of faxes remains reasonable. In addition, its physical (paper) format allows it to be clearly visible. You still have to appear to the right person…
Benefits of Calling and Fax Marketing:
To Fax:
- A reasonable cost: around €0.26 per contact;
- a physical form that lives;
- Less competition and therefore a little fatigue with targeted prospects.
to telephone:
- human dialogue and live conversation;
- Better resolution of objections than prospects;
- A great convenience to bring for sale.
an example of a provider : €15 per month with subscription to eFax and free features for trial.
Conclusion
Like any marketing lever, the best way forward is to test the results of your campaigns and then measure to optimize or rearrange your actions.
And you, have you tested these different levers? What are your reactions?