SOME ASPECTS OF DIRECT AND ONLINE MARKETING

The concept of direct marketing is based upon a system of sales and/or information where the company establishes direct and personal relationship with potentialbuyers through interactive communication. Abundance of the mass marketing and the switch to fragmented marketing is the key factor that drives the rapid expansion of the direct marketing. The global affirmation of the Internet together with the wide range of possibilities offered by internet services lead to a development of the online, or the electronic, marketing. In essence, online marketing is an upgrade of the traditional direct marketing that enables firms to reduce costs, to establish interactive relationships, to gain competitive advantages and to access marketing information. Direct marketing is a form of communicating an offer, where organizations communicate directly to a pre-selected customer and supply a method for a direct response. Among practitioners, it is also known as direct response marketing. In contrast to direct marketing, advertising is more of a mass-message nature. Response channels include toll-free telephone numbers, reply cards, reply forms to be sent in an envelope, websites and email addresses. The prevalence of direct marketing and the unwelcome nature of some communications has led to regulations and laws such as the CAN-SPAM Act, requiring that consumers in the United States be allowed to opt-ou.