In the words of Mason Adams, an account executive at a prominent direct-marketing firm in Southern California, direct marketing is "a type of marketing that's driven by pure performance."
"It's anything that includes a method of response, whether that's an 800 number, URL, fax, phone, etc. It's based on statistics and measurements. It's the constant testing of different targets, messages, and creative approaches to drive someone to an action," Adams said.
Within the world of direct marketing, two main types of relationships are created: business to business (BtoB) and business to consumer (BtoC). These relationships are developed through numerous avenues of communication, including direct mail, email, newsletters, catalogs, banner ads, social networks, podcasts, websites, outdoor ads, and print ads.
According to Adams, the three key components that lead to success in a direct-mail campaign are creating the right creative and format, offering the best incentive item, and identifying the most responsive target audience.
Direct-marketing professionals keep track of which ads work and which do not by monitoring who responds to certain ads, and one of the ways they encourage people to respond is by offering incentives. Incentives are offered with the client's target audience in mind and can range from valuable informational guides to MP3 players to gift cards.
Once someone responds to an ad, that person becomes a number on a spreadsheet that will reflect the outcome of the campaign once it is over. At that point, the direct marketer will be able to analyze the spreadsheet and determine which types of ads and/or incentives worked best for the client in question. This, in turn, will help the client generate even more leads and/or sales the next time around.
"With direct marketing, there is no place to hide," Adams said. "For example, traditional marketing efforts such as broadcast can create awareness, but it's difficult to determine that one ad on TV created 'x' amount of sales. With direct, everything is measured—from the number of leads generated from a package to the percent of those leads that converted to a sale. This allows marketers to determine what makes people act and what doesn't. This allows your clients to cost-effectively create results without tossing their money into something that's 'up in the air.'"
Many businesses trying to gain new customers choose to invest in direct-marketing campaigns precisely because they know how much they have to spend, want to get the best results for their money, and want to learn what it is their customers respond to. In addition, some companies use direct marketing to strengthen bonds of loyalty with their existing customers.
When asked what he likes most about his job as an account executive, Adams said he enjoys the facts that every day is different and that his clients' needs and goals are constantly changing.
"This allows us to constantly be changing, adapting, and creating new ideas to stay ahead of the marketplace," he said. "It's not boring; that's for sure. And when results exceed goals and you make money for your client, it's a great feeling."
Because of the speed at which direct marketers have to work to create highly effective campaigns that get fast and reliable results for their clients, the job is definitely not for everyone.
"You have to be ambitious, energetic, and definitely work well in a fast-paced environment," Adams said. "Things are moving so fast in an agency that you have to love the challenge. You should also have good analytical skills, and of course, a good sense of humor never hurts."
