Direct marketing

The prevalence of direct marketing and the unwelcome nature of some communications[3] has led to regulations and laws such as the CAN-SPAM Act, requiring that consumers in the United States be allowed to opt out.

[4] Intended targets are selected from larger populations based on vendor-defined criteria, including average income for a particular ZIP code[United States-centric], purchasing history and presence on other lists.

In 1667, the English gardener, William Lucas, published a seed catalogue, which he mailed to his customers to inform them of his prices.

Improvements in transportation systems combined with the advent of the Uniform Penny Post in the mid-19th century provided the necessary conditions for rapid growth in mail order services.

He distributed catalogs of his wares across the country, allowing people to choose the items they wished and order them via post.

It was an ideal way of meeting the needs of customers in isolated rural locations who were either too busy or unable to get into Newtown to shop directly.

[17] In the 19th century, the American retailer, Aaron Montgomery Ward, believed that using the technique of selling products directly to the customer at appealing prices could if executed effectively and efficiently, revolutionize the market industry and therefore be used as a model for marketing products and creating customer loyalty.

If a direct marketing campaign is executed correctly, the loyalty ladder shows that a target company can go from suspects to prospects to customers to clients and finally to advocates.

[5] List brokers provide names and contact information,[25] but their services need to be contrasted to expected "return on investment."

[27] The term "spam," meaning "unsolicited commercial e-mail," can be traced back to March 31, 1993,[28] although in its first few months it merely referred to inadvertently posting a message so many times on UseNet that the repetitions effectively drowned out the normal flow of conversation.

Can-Spam gives recipients the ability to stop unwanted emails and set out tough penalties for violations.

In response to consumer demand and increasing business pressure to increase the effectiveness of reaching the right customer with direct marketing, companies specialize in targeted direct advertising to great effect, reducing advertising budget waste and increasing the effectiveness of delivering a marketing message with better geo-demography information, delivering the advertising message to only the customers interested in the product, service, or event on offer.

With the expansion of digital technology and tools, direct marketing is increasingly taking place through online channels.

The most successful telemarketing service providers focus on generating more "qualified" leads that have a higher probability of getting converted into actual sales.

The FTC created the National Do Not Call Registry after a comprehensive review of the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR).

[36] The do-not-call provisions of the TSR cover any plan, program, or campaign to sell goods or services through interstate phone calls.

Digital coupons are available on company websites, social media outlets, texts, and email alerts.

Direct-response marketing is delivered through a wide variety of media, including DRTV, radio, mail, print advertising, telemarketing, catalogues, and the Internet.

This allows marketers to reasonably conclude that the calls are due to a particular campaign, and enables them to obtain customers' phone numbers as targets for telemarketing.

By 1982, "the rising cost of an industrial sales call" (compared to 1971) led to business press outlets becoming a "primary reference for buying.

Direct mail is sent to customers based on criteria such as age, income, location, profession, buying pattern, etc.

Bulk mailings are a particularly popular method of promotion for businesses operating in the financial services, home computer, and travel and tourism industries.

In order to qualify for these rates, marketers must format and sort the mail in particular ways—which reduces the handling (and therefore costs) required by the postal service.

For example, a person who has demonstrated an interest in golf may receive direct mail for golf-related products or perhaps for goods and services that are appropriate for golfers.

Coop or shared mail, where marketing offers from several companies are delivered via a single envelope, is also considered insert media.

Out-of-home direct marketing refers to a wide array of media designed to reach the consumer outside the home, including billboards, transit, bus shelters, bus benches, aerials, airports, in-flight, in-store, movies, college campus/high schools, hotels, shopping malls, sport facilities, stadiums, taxis—that contain a call-to-action for the customer to respond.

The identity of the marketer and/or operator and details of where and how they may be contacted should be given in the offer, so as to enable the consumer to communicate directly and effectively with them.

At the time of delivery of the product, the marketer's full name, address and telephone number should be supplied to the consumer.

Where consumers have indicated the wish not to receive direct marketing communications by signing on to a preference service, or in any other way, this should be respected.

[53] Where a system exists, enabling consumers to indicate a wish not to receive unaddressed mail (e.g. mailbox stickers), this should be respected.