Marketing Management, 16th Edition

Direct Marketing

Today, many marketers build long-term relationships with customers. They send birthday cards and informational materials and offer free products and services. Airlines, hotels, and other businesses adopt frequency reward programs and club programs.39 Direct marketing is the use of consumer-direct channels to reach and deliver goods and services to customers without using intermediaries.

Direct marketing offers companies several advantages. By eliminating the intermediary, it often proves to be more cost-effective than traditional marketing. Directly connecting with customers also can provide the company with invaluable information about customers’ current and potential needs, the ways in which they use the company’s offerings, ...