Direct Marketing: You Say Tomato, I Say Tomahto

Searching For a Definition of Direct Marketing
Principles of Marketing, an MBA textbook, says direct marketing “consists of direct connections with carefully targeted individuals to both obtain an immediate response and cultivate lasting customer relationships.” While that sounds reasonable enough, you might be surprised as I was, to learn that it is only one of many and sometimes contradictory definitions. Open another textbook and you will undoubtedly find a different definition!

Sometimes, direct marketing is defined in terms of the specific media or advertising mediums employed, while other times it is defined in terms of the location at which a transaction occurs. In the absence of specific methodologies and technologies employed, discussing the profession of direct marketing may be nebulous and ambiguous at best.

So.. Direct Marketing, What The Heck Is It?
Direct marketing has it roots in trade and mail-order catalogs, the best known example of which is Sears Roebuck & Company. By 1897, for instance, Sears was producing a mail-order catalog showcasing more than 6,000 products in approximately 750 pages. It was through this practice that the concept of direct marketing took form. To date, the definition that most resonates with me appears in Bob Stone’s “Successful Direct Marketing Methods, 5th Edition (1995): Direct Marketing is the process of reaching the right people with the right offer, using the right creative approach, being able to accurately measure the results.”

If we accept the aforementioned definition given by Bob Stone, then we also accept that direct marketing as a practice is independent of ever evolving methodologies and technologies. Telemarketing, Email Marketing, and Search Engine Marketings activities may or may not be classified as direct marketing. It all depends on whether the activity meets all the criteria outlined in Stone’s definition.

So the next time someone tells you they are in direct marketing ask them (1) how they identify the right people, (2) what creative approaches they have had the most success with, (3) what specific metrics they use. Beyond that, the textbook definitions for direct marketing probably don’t matter!

If you are a direct marketer and would like your company featured, email us a support [at] siphs [dot] com. We would love to do a case study and publish it on this blog.

Reference(s)

Revisiting the Conceptual Definition of Direct Marketing: Perspectives From Practitioners and Scholars The Marketing Management Journal
by: Carol Scovotti, lisa D. Spiller

April 28, 2008 |

Direct Marketing: You Say Tomato, I Say Tomahto

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