As our most loyal readers know, our mission is to provide thoughtful, interesting information and commentary on the online marketing/direct digital marketing space from the perspective of a solution provider. Good content… more than just tips and tricks. This can be tricky because we maintain our belief that sharing knowledge and information (without the in-your-face selling approach you get from pretty much every other “business” blog out there) is extremely important.It’s interesting to note that the industry term “direct digital marketing” is really gaining momentum. It started several weeks ago when Wise Marketer’s Pete Clark became enamored with the concept and asked our CEO, Brian Deagan, to contribute some thoughts he placed into a very nice article. Last week, Webopedia picked up on the idea defining it in their encyclopedia of online marketing terms as:
A digital marketing method that is addressable – meaning you can identify the recipient of the marketing message being distributed. Traditional direct marketing is achieved using a customer’s postal address and sending physical paper mail, such as a flyer or brochure. With the evolution of direct marketing to direct digital marketing, addressability comes in a variety of digital forms including an email address, a Web browser cookie, or a mobile phone number.
Even more recently, Adotas published an article that really lays out the essence of direct digital marketing. It’s a familiar term with a very specific definition. If you haven’t already seen the article, I highly recommend it.
As the term continues to gain momentum, the marketplace will no doubt see the value of each pillar of direct digital marketing, and what it means when they work together. Email marketing is the most venerable pillar that continues to plod along, innovating at a steady pace. Next is onsite targeting, an idea gaining momentum because of its simplicity and the easy ability to engage consumers without much heavy lifting on the part of the marketer or IT. Last is mobile marketing, the most interesting element of direct digital marketing because of all of the potential that still remains fettered.
While those are the basic foundational elements of direct digital marketing, they need the support of a centralized database to really hit their stride. Managing data profiles in one place not only makes direct digital marketing easy, it allows for completely unique segments that provide new and different perspectives on customers while allowing marketers to engage in more effective and meaningful ways. If you’re curious about that idea, check out this screencast for more details.
What are your feelings on direct digital marketing? How do you use direct digital marketing to make a positive impact with your customers – and your bottom line?
