Is the marketing pendulum swinging back to direct marketing?

You can’t help but notice the explosion of new marketing channels as businesses jump on the digital band wagon. In recent years, the shift from print and traditional marketing towards digital has been seen as a ‘must’ among sales and marketing professionals.

While there is no question that expertly implemented digital strategies work, having all your eggs in one basket doesn’t – as many B2B companies have discovered to their peril according to market intelligence experts, Insight Data.

Troy Hannam, Insight Data’s Marketing Manager, explains; “The problem is people don’t just live in a digital world. We live in the real world where real interactions occur – every day we are exposed to newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, bill-boards, bus advertising, exhibitions and events, merchandising and more.”

The heavyweight of B2B advertising and lead generation has always been direct marketing, and while it went out of vogue when the ‘new kid on the block’ – digital – made the headlines, it’s not surprising that organisations large and small are moving back to direct marketing in droves.

Online marketing relies on the customer searching for relevant products or services, or coming across the advertising content. Direct marketing interrupts the customer and demands immediate attention – post has to be opened, the telephone has to be answered. Suddenly direct mail, email marketing and telesales are all back on the agenda.

There is another reason why marketers are swinging back towards direct marketing. As more companies invest in digital, the results are diminishing with greater competition and rising acquisition costs. Meanwhile, with fewer companies investing in direct marketing, the impact is greater and the results are even better than before.

The secret to success with direct marketing is the contact list. Using fresh, highly targeted marketing data that identifies your ideal target customer can increase response rates 10-fold. Taking it a stage further, using in-depth market intelligence such as the Insight Data prospect database, direct marketing can produce results digital marketers can only dream about.

For more information on the Insight prospect database, or Insight Data’s outsourced direct marketing service, call 01934 808293 or visit www.insightdata.co.uk