Kotler Summary – Chapter 23: Marketing Management

Managing Direct & Online Marketing

• Direct Marketing (a.k.a. direct-order marketing): An interactive marketing system that uses one or more advertising media to effect a measurable response &/or transaction at any location.
• Widely used for: Consumer markets, business-to-business markets & charitable contribution markets.
• Customer database: An organized collection of comprehensive data about individual prospects or customers, used to identify prospects, decide type of offering strategy, increase loyalty & reactivate purchases.
• Direct marketers channels: Sales call, direct-mail (sending an offer, announcement, reminder to a particular address), catalog marketing & telemarketing.
• Developing channels: TV direct response marketing & Infomercials, home shopping channels & interactive videotext/TV marketing.
• Other forms of media: Magazines, newspapers, radio, kiosks & online services.

Planning a Direct Marketing Campaign

• Define objectives
• Target markets & prospects
• Define elements
• Test the decided elements
• Establish campaigns success measurability

Types of Online Marketing Channels

• Commercial online services
• Internet
• Online benefits: Convenience (buyers), low costs (sellers).

For a Company to Go Online

1. Determine if benefits (gains) exceed costs.
2. Create electronic storefront
3. Participation in forums
4. Participation in newsgroups
5. Participation in bulletin boards
6. Place ads online
7. Use e-mail

Trend: Although companies still view direct & online marketing as a subsidiary role in the marketing/communications mix, many have begun to practice integrated marketing communications (a.k.a. integrated direct marketing (IDM)), which focus on multimedia as an approach to advertising (has proven to be effective).

Direct marketers build strong relationships with customers. (Should be extra careful not to use campaigns that irritate customers or that invade privacy.