| The traditional tools of direct response media that include, among other things, catalogs, direct mailer, and telemarketing are still widely in use. In fact, their use by many has grown.
At the same time, the growth of the Internet and the sophistication of marketers in using new technology have created an entirely different set of opportunities.
Most companies with an Internet presence also are interested in driving a lot of traffic to their Web sites. Many, many, firms are using all forms of media to drive this traffic.
Most of us see HomeGrocer.com TV spots or billboards for mylackey.com. And this past holiday season was packed with dot-com ads everywhere.
At our company, a big percentage of what our clients ask us to do involves driving traffic to Web sites. Even five years ago, we were being asked to plan and advise on campaigns to drive Web site traffic, using direct mail.
Today, even more companies have realized that direct mail can be one of the most effective means of targeting the best (and most interested) people to a given Web site. We’ve even been asked by companies specializing in electronic marketing to put direct mail plans together to promote their services.
Of all the new marketing tools being used, perhaps the fastest-growing is e-mail. According to an industry newsletter, the U.S. alone will see more than 7 trillion e-mails in the year 2000.
Whether it’s for monthly bills, the latest seasonal offering or other promotional offerings, more and more people are adopting e-mail as equal to postal mail because of its convenience.
Most of us know that permission is key and that spam is absolutely unacceptable and usually illegal. For companies looking to make their marketing dollars work harder and uncover new prospects, e-mail can help build relationships very effectively.
E-mail is high-speed, simple and can be extremely effective. Virtually everyone with a computer has an e-mail address. Companies that obtain permission to communicate with their customer via e-mail can save huge dollars using this medium, instead of traditional means.
There are now more than 2000 different permission e-mail lists, and the counts are getting higher and higher every day. We did some research recently and found that there are over 100 million permission-based e-mail addresses!
Most of these are sourced either to permission networks such as My Points, YesMail, 24-7 Mail or to publishers of specialized magazines that have companion Web sites, such as Elle Magazine, Oracle Magazine or IDG’s Computerworld.
All of these networks, as we call them, have the e-mail addresses of people willing to receive e-mail from commercial third-party companies.
Selectivity for consumer audiences can include not only interest area but geography, and highly selectable demographics, including age, income, household composition and more. On the business side, expect to find selectivity by company type, job function, company, size, purchase authority and more.
Marketers using these resources should check out the exact means by which the e-mail addresses were gathered. Ask to see the specific opt-in language used at the Web site, or have consultants check on these for you.
Remember to ask if an audience the you’ve selected has been generated in some sort of contest or is truly qualified for your message? Also, make doubly sure that you examine the opt-out language that must appear on every outbound message. Recipients must be able to control when and if they wish to stop receiving direct mail.
Another key is relevance. Permission e-mail, like direct mail, only works if the message being communicated has strong relevance to individuals’ interests and preference: Faster network products for network managers; lower airfares for those planning a vacation or interested in travel; even a new delivery of Copper River salmon for those interested in gourmet foods.
For some companies, direct e-mail can be a powerful tool worth testing. Check it out and see if it makes sense for your marketing mix.
(Editor’s Note: Bruce Morrison is an account supervisor at Marketry, a Bellevue-based marketing service firm specializing in target marketing using direct mail and e-mail. Its clients include Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Nike, PeopleSoft and The Harvard School of Business. He can be reached at (425) 451-1262. This article was reprinted with permission from Marketing.) | 
