What Are the Disadvantages of Television in Direct Marketing?

The marketer hopes to build relationships with consumers.

Direct marketing typically involves direct communication with precisely targeted prospects. The goal of this marketing technique is to elicit an immediate response from the prospects. Ideally the marketer hopes to build relationships with consumers to create lifetime customers.

Function

Direct marketing allows a business to gather information about prospects.

When a business engages in direct marketing, it gathers information about prospects, including those who do not make a purchase, in order to build a database of contacts. The disadvantage of using television is the inability to gather information from all potential customers, whether they buy or not.

Effects

Television is less personal.

Using television as a direct marketing platform makes it difficult to build a relationship with consumers, as offers are typically presented in 60 seconds or less.

Considerations

Infomercials are encouraging more direct marketing through television.

Infomercials are encouraging more direct marketing through television, but it remains difficult to cultivate that lasting customer relationship, even with a 30- to 60-minute spot.

Potential

Interactive television may create highly targeted and personalized television advertising.

Some experts predict the growing accessibility of interactive television will create the opportunity for highly targeted and personalized television advertising.

Fun Fact

In television commercials for milk, white paint with thinner added is used in place of milk.

In the majority of television commercials advertising milk, they use white paint with a little thinner added to it instead of using real milk.

References

• Dave Dolak.com: Direct Marketing
• Reference for Business.com: Direct Marketing
• Fun with Facts on the World Wide Web: Interesting Fun Facts

Resources

• Reference for Business.com: Direct Marketing Media