Direct vs Indirect Marketing Online

Direct or Indirect

So which will work better for you? If you’re on a budget, cost will decide. PPC can rack up a hefty bill fast, and unless you know how to convert those ‘clicks’ into paying customers it’ll drain your resources fast. Banner (or text) ads cost less, but still require some initial outlay. If you’re on a budget, begin with the indirect marketing approach.

If you have a budget which can cope with the costs of SEM (you want at least few thousand rupees), then direct marketing would be worth considering. 

The process of creating content, engaging on social media sites and forums, and blog commenting is time consuming (although to some degree it can be outsourced), and takes a while (several months at least) to bring in the kind of traffic volume that a good PPC campaign can attract in a much shorter period. If this is you, then a direct marketing strategy

 is probably the way to go.

Even if you decide that Direct marketing is the best option for your business, We would encourage you to establish Social media profiles as well. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are the key ones to get started with – these profiles can easily be integrated with your main blog or website and will allow you to begin expanding your online presence for the long term whilst you focus on your direct marketing campaigns for more immediate results.

This is so because SEM (Search Engine Marketing) includes:-

1. Pay Per Click

2. Search Engine Optimization

3. Google Places Promotion

4. Social Media Optimization

In today’s highly networked, hyper linked and multi-media world, not to have at least a basic web presence for your business venture means you’re cutting off huge potential traffic and income (and who wants to do that?!).

Direct vs Indirect Marketing Online: Is a Direct Marketing Strategy really the best way to go, or is the Indirect Marketing approach more effective? Here We are going to look at the definitions and characteristics of both, and explore their advantages and disadvantages for online marketers.

The Direct Marketing Strategy

The Direct marketing Strategy actively takes the sale to the customer. 

The principle direct marketing strategy for online marketers is Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising (usually via Google or Facebook but emerging on LinkedIn). In a social media context, Direct Marketing can be used to great effect as a way to attract fans, votes, likes and opt-ins to lead into an indirect marketing campaign. Banner advertising also falls into the direct marketing category.

Types of Direct Marketing:-

1. Search Engine Marketing

2. Paid Inclusions

3. Individual Website

4. Google Places

5. 

Advantages:

• Returns highly targeted traffic
• Low maintenance after set up and testing
• Very Easy to track
• Reliable
• Can bring in fast (almost immediate) results
• Wide reach even if you don’t have an established web presence

Disadvantages:

• Costs can rack up quickly with PPC
• Many people ignore the sponsored listings on Google and other Search Engines
• People are often suspicious of ads online
• Once you stop paying for it, it stops providing traffic
• Effective advertising requires some skill (or outsourcing)

The Indirect Marketing Strategy

In contrast to the Direct marketing Strategy of taking the sale to the customer, Indirect Marketing Strategies (also known as ‘Passive Marketing’) are designed to bring the customer in to the business place. In online marketing terms, this means driving traffic via Social Media, Blogging and Content Marketing (articles, video etc), Forums, and Blog Commenting.

Advantages:

• Low or no cost
• High leverage activities – once published your profiles and content continue to be effective
• Builds relationships which encourage long term and repeat custom
• Easy to target people interested in your niche
• Increases web presence and brand awareness
• Builds up trust in the eyes of prospects
• Increases networks, opens up JV potential

Disadvantages:

• Takes far longer than direct marketing
• Requires a consistent investment of time
• Prospects are usually not looking to buy when they are using social media sites etc.
• Needs some skill (or outsourcing)