What Is Direct Marketing in Relation to New Food Products?
Direct marketing plays a significant role in launching and establishing new food products. Many canned, frozen and boxed foods that are now legendary brands owe their success to direct marketing efforts. Direct mail coupons were used back in 1909 by the CW Post Company to introduce turn-of-the-century consumers to boxed cereals. Today, direct marketing continues in importance to increase the share of market and is depended upon to catapult new food products into successes.
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Coupons
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Incorporating coupons is a well-established direct mail marketing practice to introduce new food products and get customers to try new brands. Companies provide entire direct mail marketing services to blanket expansive distribution and coverage areas by range of ZIP codes, double or single-sided printing and more.
Incentive for Product Sampling and Trial
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Direct mail marketing is used as a vehicle to sample products. This is particularly effective for companies that manufacture condiments like salad dressings, coffee and breakfast cereals. Sampling is engaging because it actually lets consumers try before buying and is used to generate purchases for both existing and new food products. Direct mail marketing is also used effectively to drive consumers to taste new food entrées, especially in frozen and convenience food categories. Companies use sampling effectively to reduce customer purchasing barriers and concerns, especially for low-calorie, foreign or specialty food products. Sampling events are promoted via direct marketing distribution of coupons, newspapers, magazines and cash register receipts to promote the sampling event and generate on-the-spot purchases.
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Product Development and Expansion
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Results from direct marketing sales, in-store sampling and direct mail repeat orders provide essential feedback to support the marketplace potential for new food products. Manufacturers make determinations on whether the food is liked by customers or whether improvements need to be made in terms of taste, ingredients, pricing and packaging prior to a launching a major roll-out for a new food product. The information provides important guidance that is used to improve the new food product by identifying any additional product development tasks and costs so that the overall marketing strategy and expenditures will serve to strengthen a successful introduction in the marketplace.
Marketing Research Data and Feedback
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Direct marketing provides important feedback for advertisers and companies. ZIP code research helps identify where consumers are purchasing products so that companies know where they have the strongest possibilities to increase sales. The lack of response also tells a company where they need to improve marketing efforts. The results, positive and negative, are both important. The information and results are used to further investigate and identify marketing needs in relations to product pricing, selections, distribution and more.
Tracking Sales
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The bars on direct mail coupons and response devises incorporate Universal Pricing Code (UPC) bars. This information allows food marketers to track and monitor responses, especially when customers purchase products inside stores that utilize purchasing technology devices. Most major supermarkets, for example, use technology to capture sales and demographic data that manufacturers then use in direct mail efforts. Stores assist food manufacturers by providing the data in terms of brand preferences, frequency of purchases, ZIP code information, use of cash or credit cards and more. Food marketers can then use this data to help develop their overall strategies on how to best use direct marketing to target shoppers at specific stores and locations.
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References
- Photo Credit magic box image by Kit Wai Chan from Fotolia.com
