Great marketing 'uses a range of channels'

Recent research from the Direct Marketing Association highlighted that while some forms of advertising have struggled in the recent economic downturn, one which has effectively bucked the trend has been direct marketing. 

The body's figures revealed that sales generated by the promotional technique are estimated to be worth around £760 billion annually, but also demonstrated equally how important it is for companies to ensure they are using the right channels to promote their products or services.

Email marketing has particularly emerged in recent times as a major force in the sector, with experts often writing on blogs across the web about how cost-effective and useful the format can be. 

A study by AOL recently also highlighted the potential market open to those who use the channel, with the online company's Email Addiction Survey revealing that around one in five people check their inboxes over ten times a day, with half of respondents also checking their messages at least four times in the same period. 

However, it has also been claimed by some that email can be more successful for businesses that choose to use it in conjunction with other, non-digital formats, such as direct mail.

According to Paul Cross, Head of Retail for thomsonlocal.com, integrating marketing channels such as email and direct mail can give companies "a much better chance of turning a lead into a sale".

He said that while email has overtaken direct mail in terms of the volume of promotions sent out, postal messages still have "a place in direct marketing activity".

"The most successful campaigns are those that use the full range of channels available to marketers.  Often marketers will launch an email campaign and follow that up with a telemarketing or postal campaign," he explained.

Mr Cross added that the use of email marketing can particularly provide consumers with the opportunity to interact immediately with communications, "whether that be with a call to action or viewing media rich content".

However, he also warned that businesses should view email campaigns as a "sustained dialogue" with consumers and not as one-off promotions.

"An email marketing campaign followed up by with a telemarketing campaign or direct mail campaign gives a much better chance of making a sale than using just an email marketing campaign on its own" he outlined.

"Because of the measurability of email, it is possible to see who opened your email and when they opened it, allowing a call or letter to be timed whilst the communication is still in the recipients mind."

Mr Cross also emphasised the importance of quality data when using direct marketing channels, claiming that having the right consumer information available is "critical to business success".

He added: "The business that does not, as an absolute minimum, invest in maintaining an accurate customer database is fundamentally flawed.  It defeats the object of the exercise if the right person does not receive the message that is being communicated."

David Daniels, vice-president, research director and lead analyst of a recent report for Jupiter Research, echoed Mr Cross' claims, saying that irrelevant marketing can lead to "channel scepticism".

He warned that as consumers receive such a large amount of email, it is vital that businesses are "relevant and succinct" in their campaigns.

Research by the Aberdeen Group recently found that a level of personalisation in email marketing is a must for businesses, with those that provide meaningful content through the channel recording orders that are 57 per cent higher on average than firms that do not.

So while email marketing can be effective both on its own and in conjunction with telemarketing or direct mail, Mr Cross concluded that if any campaigns are to be a success, businesses need to ensure they have good quality data when creating them.

He said: "Like any form of direct marketing activity, email marketing is only as effective as the data that drives it.  Get this right and the benefits are mind-blowing."