Some small businesses may not believe in the modern marketing tools and techniques available today to boost their business. Many may still hold tightly to traditional marketing approaches such as direct mail marketing. However, these small business enterprises should not ignore the immense dynamism of email marketing over direct mail marketing.
There are benefits reaped from both approaches. They can be cost effective and efficient in reaching new customers and bring in new sales while connecting and serving existing customers satisfied. Both marketing options can be readily implemented depending on the preferred marketing plans of the small business. Hence, a small business should relook at both marketing methods to compare and decide which method works best for them as there is a myriad of factors that can impact the decision.
It could be that either one or both options can be implemented simultaneously or at different times of the year to reap the optimal benefits.
Comparison of approaches
Every small or large business is still hounded by a choice between direct mail and email marketing today. It can be quite a daunting task for businesses to decide on one or the other without an in-depth investigation of both approaches.
The small business enterprise must consider factors that would impact its market growth and bottom line before considering market presence and position although the latter components may tend to flow naturally and quickly. The primary aim of the local business is to secure more customers or potential leads to boost business sales and expansion over time; the quicker the better.
When each marketing approach is considered to carefully pertain to the small business enterprise’s objectives and goals, it would become clearer which marketing method would satisfy at that point in time; along with the resources and limitations present.
Pros and Cons of Direct Marketing
The advantages of direct marketing include:
• More focused
Consumers today consider direct mail to be junk mail which does not benefit them. However, if the consumer takes time to read through the leaflet or brochure put in the mailbox, they may actually find some treasures. It could be an attractive item that would make a lovely gift or it could be certain information that was searched after over a long time. Direct mail in the leaflet or brochure form can have colorful images and stylish text fonts that make the contents more outstanding for another ride or a closer attention. Consumers have more time to sift through a direct mail piece with more concentration than receiving an email during work or when they are busy with other online activities.
• Tangible items
Direct mail is usually in printed form which many consumers still prefer although there is a great hype over eco-friendly measures. A printed matter offers more space to include important information whereas an email can be quite boring if the content is too long.
• Multiple copies
Direct mail marketing allows multiple copies to benefit the consumers; for example, discount vouchers can be easily identified and cut out to be applied instead of consumers having to print out at their own expense from their computers.
The disadvantages of direct mail marketing include:
• Expensive
Direct mail can be more expensive with the high service costs imposed on design, printing, postage and delivery. It is worthy of the cost if a high return is enjoyed. It can be quite costly if a wide demographic is to be reached.
• Time consuming
A lot of time is incurred with the printing and delivery aspects of direct mailing. Local postal services may hinder the quick delivery of a direct mail if it were a limited time offer. Consumers would experience a delay in receiving their printed materials to enjoy the offer.
• Printing quality
It is possible to make printing errors even if checks and proofreading were diligently executed. The human eye and mind may skip over grammatical errors or color combination which consumers can pick out immediately. Thus, the business reputation might be adversely impacted.
The Pros and Cons of Email Marketing
The advantages of email marketing include:
• Inexpensive
There is hardly any cost with email marketing. There is no printing or postage cost that would eat into any profit. It is cheap to send thousands of marketing or promotional emails quickly with the myriad of tools and application software in the market today.
• Instantaneous
Email marketing is very fast. The promotional email can be sent in a matter of seconds to allow consumers an immediate update of the local business’s offerings. The queue at the store can start very quickly upon receiving the great sales and offers while online purchases are almost instant.
• Learning tool
Email marketing makes a great business learning tool to receive faster feedback from customers for improvement. Obliging customers can press the “Reply” button to offer an immediate feedback or comment for the business.
The disadvantages of email marketing include:
• Time consuming
It is not easy or quick to secure a good mailing list for email promotions. Buying a ready customer list may be tempting but may cost the small business enterprise that may not fit the budget. Hence, personal efforts are needed to gather good customers and potential leads to form the desired mailing list for the business.
• Mistaken as spam
Much of promotional emails are identified as spam mail. Most computer systems would trash these automatically without informing the recipient. Hence, wasted efforts are incurred by the email marketer.
• Low priority
Most promotional emails are given low priority as most consumers view them as spam mail. Special approaches must be considered to change this misconception in order for this approach to be beneficial to both sender and recipient.
Marketing Choice
Having compared both marketing approaches, it is up to the business enterprise to decide which approach best fits the business goals and budget. It is not surprising to have both marketing approaches implemented simultaneously or in a hybrid to enjoy the best of both marketing approaches. Creativity reigns.
