10 Effective Direct Marketing Tools
Marketing & Sales Promotion Techniques
Over the course of a year, companies reach out to clients over and over again in an attempt to introduce new items, to post sale prices on existing items and to pique interest on items that are in stock that customers may not think about on a daily basis, but could very well need. There are all kinds of marketing tools used, but here is a list of the 10 most effective direct marketing tools available for you to use.
1. The Lowly Postcard
Inexpensive, yet effective at a single or small group item sale. Can be used as an invitation or as a reminder, postcards have a wide variety of uses and are highly effective. Gives you a side or side and a half for coverage.
2. Bi-fold Brochures
Can be very useful for small group items and as an invitation for shows, displays and conventions. Three to three and a half sides for coverage, with the best being inside
3. Tri-fold Brochures
Can be used for multiple small group sales and for information delivery. Best suited for several paragraphs of information or sections for adverts, these brochures are very effective when it comes to promoting places and locations where people need to make a decision based on more data than a picture. Up to five and a half pages of coverage.
4. Flyers
Are usually single page “billboards” designed to promote one item or one large group of items or concept. Also most effective as a promotion for an event like a sale or introduction where a large “splash” needs to be made. Generally one side of coverage, but the back can also be used for more information such as directions or an address, etc.
5. Newsletters
Are generally designed to deliver small to medium amounts of information to the client. Can cover a variety of topics and subjects pertaining to products, uses for products, general news that affects the industry or even fun articles designed to entertain more than promote sales or inform. Can be several pages in length, but usually no more than five to prevent overloading the customer with information or sales blurbs.
6. Promo Paks
Generally multiple companies who pool efforts, either on a voluntary basis or through a third party to put together different types of marketing items, usually postcards, in a single pack that gets delivered to a customer. Can represent 10 to 50 companies, while it allows a client to get a lot of advertising information at once, it delivers your information to their hands. And from there, it’s all statistics.
7. Targeted Catalogs
Great tools to put specific groups of items into a customer’s hands to look at. Geared toward either a particular type of product, or even gender based, these catalogs are designed to address one particular market segment.
8. Company Catalogs
Generally put all the “small” target catalogs together in one place. This enables the customer to see all of a company’s products from a single point, and can be used as a reference throughout the year, or however often a new catalog is released
9. Email Marketing
While not quite as effective as paper based marketing, email marketing allows you to deliver every type of advertising from postcards through newsletters in an inexpensive way. Easier for a customer to ignore, but still capable of delivering all the information you need to put in front of a client
10. Online Storefront/Catalog
This is perhaps the most effective tool as you can put all your products there, can effect sales of those products through shopping carts and payment accepting systems. All the other marketing tools you have can reference back to this one place where the customer can see everything and can purchase everything and gives your salesmen a central point to guide customers to.
All in all, these are the best marketing tools you can possibly have. Proper use of these tools will virtually guarantee sales, and can be used at any time of year. Take advantage of these effective direct marketing tools to push your business to the next level.