Attendance Blog for 2/23/10..

What are some of the benefits of direct mail compared to electronic means of marketing?

There still are benefits in using direct mail. Electronic marketing is convenient because it allows companies to send out mass emails at pretty cheap costs. It allows you to attach pictures and files at the click of a mouse. Even with those advantages, direct mail still has benefits in today’s world. Direct mail gives a “personal touch”. As stated in the articles, when companies reduced/eliminated direct mail they saw a decrease in sales. Customers called up to make sure they weren’t off the mailing list. Companies saw a drop in sales by as much as 25%. To me, direct mail sends a message of importance. Knowing that a company took the time, energy and money to send me a message in the mail shows me that my business is important to them; that I’m not just another email. I would be more likely to pay attention to a letter or postcard in the mail rather than a message in my email inbox. Email messages can be sent straight to a junk folder or “can be deleted without a second thought”. People can look at the subject of the email and delete it if it doesn’t appeal to them where as postcards or flyers have to be handled and looked at before thrown in the trash. Emails can also be sent from hackers/scanners and can contain viruses. Direct mail doesn’t contain viruses, direct mail doesn’t have any direct connections to fraudulent websites and direct mail can’t be hacked. Although direct mail can cost the company more, direct mail has a “direct” affect on the customers, as the articles state.

Bar codes (addressed in one article) seem so promising, but what are some of the possible concerns with their use?

Bar codes seem like they potential to be effective because technology is ever evolving in today’s society. Being able to scan a code and then view a website or information revolving around the product can be convenient, but can also have its downsides. Not everyone has a picture phone to take a picture and if they do they might not have the internet capability of viewing the site. Another potential problem, people might not even know about this bar code development. Before reading this article I never knew about using bar codes. Everyone knows what a bar code looks like, but how do we know which bar codes connect information on the internet? And how do we know we’ll even be interested in the products once we get to the site? Not everyone is going to like the same things and not everyone will be interested in the same websites. Not every person will buy the magazines that contain the bar codes either, that’s another concern with using this system. How do you come up with ways to market this technology to a large group of people? There are several things that need to be figured before bar codes catch on.

Do you think e-marketing techniques will replace traditional forms of marketing (direct mail, phone calls, newspaper ads/promotions)?

I don’t think electronic marketing will replace traditional forms of marketing. People will still read their favorite newspapers, people will still subscribe to their favorite magazines and people will continue to receive postal mail. For those reasons I feel traditional marketing will always be effective. Even if people buy their newspapers and magazines online, there will always be postcards and flyers in the mail. Plus, people like the “personal touch” of postal mail. I feel traditional mail will always stay around.

Besides the types of business and examples that are mentioned in the article, what are some other companies who would benefit from direct mail efforts? How would they benefit?

Small businesses would benefit from using direct mail. For examples in Keene, Stoneman jewelers, BrewBaker’s Café, and Ted’s Shoe and Sport would all benefit from using direct mail (if they don’t already use it). If companies were to send out postcards or letters to update customers (or potential customers) on current sales, promotions or new inventory in the stores it could help increase sales. By giving the customers a sense of exclusiveness, people might be more willing to shop there more frequently. Other companies that could benefit from using direct mail would be up and coming businesses. If you trying to build a successful customer base you need to market yourself anyway you can. Direct mail, email, or radio ads would all be helpful in getting yourself out there. But for reasons I’ve previously stated, you might not want to use strictly email; direct mail has more potential to influence customers (in my opinion). But all in all, small businesses would benefit from using direct mail.

What do you think? Do you think electronic marketing will eventually force out traditional marketing? What other businesses would benefit from using direct mail?