Steve Sellwood is from www.selectabase.co.uk, a UK provider of b2b and b2c business and consumer lists and databases for use in direct marketing. Selectabase also provides a range of data cleansing services for your existing customer database, including free Easycheck data cleansing software.
Over the last two to three years, the use of direct marketing has increased by almost 20%. Much of this growth in use has been driven by the increasingly important role of the internet in direct marketing.
Almost three quarters of larger UK companies use direct marketing as a marketing communication tool. These larger businesses also spend a higher proportion of their marketing budget on direct marketing than most small businesses.
Probably around two thirds of direct marketing takes place in the business to business, or b2b market and one third of direct marketing is aimed at consumers.
What budget should I allow for direct marketing?
Research by the direct marketing industry shows that smaller businesses usually spend 0.5-1% of their turnover on direct marketing. So, if you business turnover is £500,000, you would typically expect to allocate between £2500 and £5000 for direct marketing activities.
The other way to decide what budget you should allocate to direct marketing, is as a proportion of your overall marketing spend. Most smaller businesses spend up to about 25% of their marketing budget on direct marketing, and larger businesses often spend a far higher proportion - up to half of their budget.
What direct marketing tools should I use?
The most common direct marketing tool is direct mail - sending promotional mailings to named individuals in the postal system. Direct mail accounts for about a quarter of the total amount UK businesses spend on direct marketing.
The next most popular direct marketing tool is online internet advertising primarily through the use of pay per click advertising and banner adverts.Other direct marketing tools which are used on a fairly frequent basis are magazine display adverts designed to generate a direct response, door drops to consumers' homes, loose inserts in magazines and newspapers, and field marketing.
Telemarketing has decreased in popularity due to the increasing number of registrations with the Telephone Preference Service and Corporate Telephone Preference Service.
Newer emerging direct marketing methods include email marketing, which is overcoming initial concerns about the legality of its use by launching newer sources of double opt in email marketing lists. Also growing as a niche tool is mobile marketing, using SMS messaging to interact with consumers on their mobile phones.
Which direct marketing tools are the most effective?
Recent surveys of the sales generated by direct marketing show that nearly half of sales are generated by online sales from websites on the internet, and around 10% sales are generated by mail order and home shopping type direct marketing activities. The remainder of sales are generated by other direct marketing tools such as telemarketing and field marketing.
What direct marketing response rates can I expect?
Direct mail is by far the most popular direct marketing tool, accounting for around a quarter of all DM activity. Looking at the response rates from direct mail campaigns, it is generally accepted that you can expect typical response rates of 1-5% from your mailing.
- Related Videos
- Related Articles
- Ask / Related Q&A
- Your Online Business Sales Cycle
- The Critical 5 Keys to Increase Small Business Sales
- Create an Effective Business Sales Letter
- How to Earn Money Effective Business Sales Letter?
- Business sales jobs rocket in the UK
- The Pros and Cons of Buying Office Supplies from Going Out of Business Sales
- The Pros and Cons of Buying Office Supplies from Going Out of Business Sales
- Find Business Sales Courses
Fiber Optic Digital Video Transceiver Ensures Signal Quality
By: gaofiberoptics | 30/12/2009The digital video transceiver uses 10-bit/20MHz sampling technology for video digital encoding ensuring the quality of signal transmission.
Unlimited Instant Capture Pages that Sell
By: Rhonda Hicks | 30/12/2009The easy cash and capture system works by putting a email capture page as part of the link to the destination page. For example, if you are offering candle making classes or selling a affiliate product, you can simply drive traffic to your email capture page link instead.
Yiwu to Sell Globally-made Products
By: cloriswong | 30/12/2009More than one year has passed since the world financial crisis. Main economies have gradually recovered from the crisis and China performs as the engine of the world economic recovery. Relying on innovation, Yiwu remains the trading and distribution center of global commodities.
Marketing Messages That Work -- Three Tips for Using Deadlines To Deliver Dollars!
By: Eric Eckl | 30/12/2009What's the real reason people don't buy your product or donate to your charity? They procrastinate! Here are three tips for overcoming this very human habit.
Fundraising on Facebook: The Myths and Realities
By: Eric Eckl | 30/12/2009Facebook is one of the hottest sites on the Internet these days -- but that's a mixed bag for those raising funds for charities and non profit organizations. Traditional fundraising just isn't working that well, but new kinds of fundraising show promise. Read on!
Why is Website Marketing Important?
By: Derek Rogers | 30/12/2009Properly marketing your website is probably the most important aspect of its overall management and running; since people must know that you exist in order to make a purchase from you. The online world is so vast that you can easily get lost in the shuffle if you do not...
Benevolent Marketing - Building Charitable Giving Into the Business Model
By: Stephen A Daniels | 30/12/2009Benevolent marketing is a recent trend of business that incorporates a charitable donation in the business process. There are a number of variations to the benevolent business model that range from a fixed donation amount to products geared toward fund raising campaigns directly for the organization. One benefit that is a...
Tired Of The Old School Network Marketing Techniques?
By: Martinact420 | 30/12/2009Are you tired of the old school network marketing techniques? You know the 3 foot rule, hanging flyers, bugging your family and friends, and holding hotel meetings. I know that when I first joined my first network marketing company, I was told to use these same techniques. I was told to make a list of 100 people that I knew and basically call every one of them to ask and see if they would be interested in making some extra money.
How to Use Telemarketing Effectively
By: Steve Sellwoo | 27/12/2007 | MarketingWhat can you do to make sure your telemarketing campaigns are as effective as possible? This informative guide gives you simple to follow rules for carrying out more effective telemarketing that will turn leads into customers, and increase sales.
How to Use Direct Mail to Grow your Business
By: Steve Sellwoo | 27/12/2007 | MarketingDiscover exactly what direct mail can achieve for your business, and the best times and occasions to use mailings.
Tips for Choosing a Direct Marketing Mailing List
By: Steve Sellwoo | 27/12/2007 | MarketingWhat should you look for when choosing a list for your next direct marketing campaign? Follow the advice of direct marketing experts to ensure your list purchases end up being as effective and successful as possible,
What to Consider When Evaluating Direct Marketing for your Business
By: Steve Sellwoo | 08/12/2007 | MarketingWhat should your business spend on direct marketing, what type of success rate can you expect and what tools should use, such as direct mail, telemarketing or online?
How to Manage the B2b Sales Process More Successfully
By: Steve Sellwoo | 08/12/2007 | MarketingThe key to B2B sales is to constantly move your leads and customer up a ladder of loyalty, from being prospects to loyal clients.
How to Build your Own B2b Prospect List
By: Steve Sellwoo | 08/12/2007 | Marketing TipsEnsure a constant supply of new customers for your business by building your own b2b prospect list of potential leads and customers.
How to Keep your Direct Marketing List Data Clean and Effective
By: Steve Sellwoo | 08/12/2007 | Marketing TipsKeeping an up to date direct marketing list is almost as important as how you collect the data itself. What measures can you take to keep your data clean and up to date, ready for your next direct mail campaign?