Consumers are frustrated! We all want to hit the shops. We all want to go for a meal and several pints. We all want to play sports again, see our friends and family and, above all, we all want to get back to some sort of normality.
The coronavirus pandemic is still impacting consumer behaviour worldwide as online sales of goods and services are still on the up. In January 2021 for example, online transactions increased by 39.7% compared to the same period in 2020. Streaming platforms like Netflix have also experienced huge increases in subscriptions as we turn to the internet for entertainment. But consumers want human interaction; they want to browse and they want to shop…….and this means to a lot of businesses, there is potentially a huge market of customers waiting in the wings to spend their money with you.
When it comes to marketing strategy, digital marketing has been and will continue to be, vital for companies. However, as retail, leisure and hospitality start to open their doors again, traditional marketing platforms need to be included in the marketing mix. I feel that direct marketing, then, is going to be key in the next 6 months for a large number of organisations. By this I mean, marketing that talks directly to consumers – emails, online adverts, flyers, database marketing, promotional letters, newspapers, outdoor advertising, phone text messaging, magazine adverts, coupons, phone calls, postcards, websites, and catalog distribution.
Unlike mass advertising (e.g TV), which is presented to everyone, direct marketing is presented only to people who are suspected to have an interest or need in a company’s product. A good example of this is a campaign we are about to launch for one of our key clients via a personalised sales letter containing an offer.
For that reason direct marketing also has a higher potential return on investment, since the likelihood of making a sale to a targeted customer list is higher to begin with. It is also measurable and allows you the sender to make the message personal, making the recipient feel it is meant just for them.
So, if you are a shop or a hotel or a leisure club or a restaurant, consider implementing advertising in a local magazine, sending a sales flyer through a door or even picking up the telephone. Customers are waiting to hear from you.
