InsightIQ Blog

Digital vs Direct Marketing

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Jul 20 2009

In my previous blog, I had written about how digital marketing spend will increase in 2009 and beyond. So how does this affect marketing organizations? This blog is part one of a two-part  series on the divide between Digital and direct marketing and what are tactics to bridge the gap.

Traditional direct marketing approach focuses on maximising the offer response rates. Typically direct marketing organizations will start with an offer and determine the relevant customer base for the offer eliminating the segments or populations least likely to respond . Digital marketing however takes the opposite approach where marketers try to determine the best offer for every customer that they are allowed to contact via email or web. This fundamental shift is driven by the fact that the cost per contact both initial and incremental for digital channels is orders of magnitude lower than direct marketing. This allows digital marketers to have multiple contacts with a customer and also allows for cost effective means to reach the entire customer base with an appropriate offer.

Once infrastructure is in place, driving multiple email, web or online campaigns is efficient and costs associated are minimal compared to direct marketing where incremental postage, print and other costs add up significantly. The advances in technology both from richness of data and delivery via email or online allows for multiple opportunities to market to a customer using digital marketing. This fundamental divide requires direct marketers to adapt to the digital world in terms of approach, timing and technology.

In my next blog, I will focus on the these aspects and what tactics are needed to bridge this gap.

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