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Direct marketing is a form of advertising which allows businesses and nonprofit organizations to communicate directly to customers through a variety of media including cell phone text messaging, email, websites, online adverts, database marketing, fliers, catalog distribution, promotional letters and targeted television, newspaper and magazine advertisements as well as outdoor advertising. Among practitioners, it is also known as direct response.

Direct marketing focuses on the customer, data, and testing. Hence, besides the actual communication, a direct marketing campaign will incorporate actionable segments and use pre- and post-campaign analytics to measure results. Characteristics that distinguish direct marketing from other types of marketing are:

• A database of names (prospects, customers, businesses, etc.), often with certain other relevant information such as contact number/address, demographic information, purchase habits/history, and company history, is used to develop a target market with common interests, traits or characteristics. Generating such a database is often considered part of the direct marketing campaign.
• Marketing messages are addressed directly to this list of customers and/or prospects. Addressability comes in a variety of forms including email addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers, postal addresses, and web browser cookies.
• Direct marketing seeks to drive a specific "call to action". For example, an advertisement may ask the prospect to call a free phone number, mail in a response or order, or click on a link to a website.
• Direct marketing emphasizes traceable, measurable responses. It also emphasizes maximizing response rates by testing while minimizing advertising expenses when engaging prospective customers, regardless of the medium used.

Direct marketing is practiced by businesses of all sizes. A direct advertising campaign aims to deliver a good return on investment by showing how many potential customers responded to a clear call to action. This is in contrast to general advertising, which eschews calls for action in favor of messages that build prospects’ emotional awareness or engagement with a brand.

Popularity

A 2010 study by the Direct Marketing Association reports that in 2010, marketers—commercial and nonprofit—spent $153.3 billion on direct marketing, which accounted for 54.2% of all ad expenditures in the United States. Measured against total US sales, these advertising expenditures generated approximately $1.798 trillion in incremental sales. In 2010, direct marketing accounted for 8.3% of total US gross domestic product. In 2010, there were 1.4 million direct marketing employees in the US. Their collective sales efforts directly supported 8.4 million other jobs, accounting for a total of 9.8 million US jobs.

History

Meeting the demands of the consumer revolution and growth in wealth of the middle classes that helped drive the Industrial Revolution in Britain, the 18th century entrepreneur and pottery manufacturer Josiah Wedgwood pioneered many of the marketing strategies used today, including direct marketing.

In the 19th century, Aaron Montgomery Ward believed that using the technique of selling products directly to the customer at appealing prices could, if executed effectively and efficiently, revolutionize the market industry and therefore be used as a model for marketing products and creating customer loyalty. The term "direct marketing" was coined long after Montgomery Ward's time.

In 1872, Ward produced the first mail-order catalog for his Montgomery Ward mail order business. By buying goods and then reselling them directly to customers, Ward was consequently removing the middlemen at the general store and, to the benefit of the customer, drastically lowering the prices. The Direct Mail Advertising Association, predecessor of the present-day Direct Marketing Association, was first established in 1917. Third class bulk mail postage rates were established in 1928.

In 1967, Lester Wunderman identified, named, and defined the term "direct marketing". Wunderman—considered to be the father of contemporary direct marketing—is behind the creation of the toll-free 1-800 number and numerous loyalty marketing programs including the Columbia Record Club, the magazine subscription card, and the American Express Customer Rewards program.

Benefits

Direct marketing is attractive to many marketers because its positive results can be measured directly. For example, if a marketer sends out 1,000 solicitations by mail and 100 respond to the promotion, the marketer can say with confidence that campaign led directly to 10% direct responses. This metric is known as the 'response rate,' and it is one of many clearly quantifiable success metrics employed by direct marketers. In contrast, general advertising uses indirect measurements, such as awareness or engagement, since there is no direct response from a consumer. Measurement of results is a fundamental element in successful direct marketing.

One of the other significant benefits of Direct Marketing is, it enables promoting products or services that might not have a strong brand. Products or service with a sound value proposition, matched with an attractive offer, supported with effective communication, delivered through a suitable direct marketing channel and targeting the relevant customer segment can result in very effective cost of acquisition albeit the brand might be relatively unknown. Relative to other channels of distribution (say retailing) Direct Marketing as a practice principally relies on the proposition, offer, communication, choice of channel and the target customer and so less dependent on the brand strength.

The Internet has made it easier for marketing managers to measure the results of a campaign. This is often achieved by using a specific website landing page directly relating to the promotional material. A call to action will ask the customer to visit the landing page, and the effectiveness of the campaign can be measured by taking the number of promotional messages distributed and dividing it into the number of responses. Another way to measure the results is to compare the projected sales or generated leads for a given term with the actual sales or leads after a direct advertising campaign.

Challenges and solutions

While many marketers recognize the financial benefits of increasing targeted awareness, some direct marketing efforts using particular media have been criticized for generating poor quality leads, either due to poor message strategy or because of poorly compiled demographic databases. This poses a problem for marketers and consumers alike, as advertisers do not wish to waste money on communicating with consumers not interested in their products.

Success of any Direct Marketing campaign, in terms of number of times the desired response may vary between the best vs. the worst of the following parameters, depends on:

• List or targeting (best targeting may yield up to 6 times the response, as compared with the worst targeting)
• Offer (best offer may yield up to 3 times the response, as compared with the worst offer)
• Timing (best timing for the campaign may yield up to 2 times the response, as compared with the worst timing)
• Ease of response (best/multiple ways offered to respond may yield up to 1.35 times the response, as compared with not-so-friendly response mechanism/s)
• Creativity (most creative messaging may yield up to 1.2 times the response, as compared to the least creative messaging)
• Media employed. The medium/media used to deliver a message can have a significant impact on responses. It is difficult to truly personalize a DRTV or radio message. One can even attempt to send a personalized message via email or text message, but a high quality direct mail envelope and letter will typically have a better chance of generated a response in this scenario.

In sum, choosing the best of all the above parameters may yield up to 58 times more response, as compared to choosing the worst of the above parameters. Addressing these helps assuage the concerns of the marketers.

Some of these concerns have been addressed by direct marketers by the use of individual "opt-out" lists, variable printing, and better-targeted list practices. Additionally, in order to avoid unwanted mailings, members of the marketing industry have established preference services that give customers more control over the marketing communications they receive in the mail.

The term "junk mail", referring to unsolicited commercial ads delivered via post office or directly deposited in consumers' mail boxes, can be traced back to 1954. The term "spam," meaning "unsolicited commercial e-mail," can be traced back to March 31, 1993, although in its first few months it merely referred to inadvertently posting a message so many times on UseNet that the repetitions effectively drowned out the normal flow of conversation.

To address the concerns of unwanted emails or spam, in 2003, The US Congress enacted the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (CAN-SPAM) Act to curb unwanted email messages. Can-Spam gives recipients the ability to stop unwanted emails, and set out tough penalties for violations. Additionally, ISPs and email service providers have developed increasingly effective Email Filtering programs. These filters can interfere with the delivery of email marketing campaigns, even if the person has subscribed to receive them, as legitimate email marketing can possess the same hallmarks as spam. There are a range of email service providers that provide services for legitimate opt-in emailers to avoid being classified as spam.

Consumers have expressed concerns about the privacy and environmental implications of direct marketing. In response to consumer demand and increasing business pressure to increase the effectiveness of reaching the right customer with direct marketing, companies specialize in targeted direct advertising to great effect, reducing advertising budget waste and increasing the effectiveness of delivering a marketing message with better geo-demography information, delivering the advertising message to only the customers interested in the product, service, or event on offer. Additionally, members of the advertising industry have been working to adopt stricter codes regarding online targeted advertising.

Channels

Any medium that can be used to deliver a communication to a customer can be employed in direct marketing, including:

Email marketing

Sending marketing messages through email or email marketing is one of the most widely used direct-marketing methods. One reason for email marketing's popularity is that it is relatively inexpensive to design, test, and send an email message. It also allows marketers to deliver messages around the clock, and to accurately measure responses.

Online tools

With the expansion of digital technology and tools, direct marketing is increasingly taking place through online channels. Most online advertising is delivered to a focused group of customers and has a trackable response.

• Display Ads are interactive ads that appear on the Web next to content on Web pages or Web services. Formats include static banners, pop ups, videos, and floating units. Customers can click on the ad to respond directly to the message or to find more detailed information. According to research by eMarketer, expenditures on online display ads rose 24.5% between 2010 and 2011.
• Search: 49% of US spending on Internet ads goes to search, in which advertisers pay for prominent placement among listings in search engines whenever a potential customer enters a relevant search term, allowing ads to be delivered to customers based upon their already-indicated search criteria. This paid placement industry generates more than $10 billion for search companies. Marketers also use search engine optimization to drive traffic to their sites.
• Social Media Sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, also provide opportunities for direct marketers to communicate directly with customers by creating content to which customers can respond.

Mobile

Through mobile marketing, marketers engage with prospective customers and donors in an interactive manner through a mobile device or network, such as a cellphone, smartphone, or tablet. Types of mobile marketing messages include: SMS (short message service)—marketing communications are sent in the form of text messages, also known as texting. MMS (multi-media message service)—marketing communications are sent in the form of media messages.

In October 2013, the Federal Telephone Consumers Protection Act made it illegal to contact an individual via cell phone without prior express written consent for all telephone calls using an automatic telephone dialing system or a prerecorded voice to deliver a telemarketing message to wireless numbers and residential lines. An existing business relationship does not provide an exception to this requirement.

Mobile Applications: Smartphone-based mobile apps contain several types of messages. Push Notifications are direct messages sent to a user either automatically or as part of a campaign. They include transactional, marketing, geo-based, and more. Rich Push Notifications are full HTML Push Notifications. Mobile apps also contain Interactive ads that appear inside the mobile application or app; Location-Based Marketing: marketing messages delivered directly to a mobile device based on the user's location; QR Codes (quick-response barcodes): This is a type of 2D barcode with an encoded link that can be accessed from a smartphone. This technology is increasingly being used for everything from special offers to product information. Mobile Banner Ads: Like standard banner ads for desktop Web pages but smaller to fit on mobile screens and run on the mobile content network

Telemarketing

Another common form of direct marketing is telemarketing, in which marketers contact customers by phone. The primary benefit to businesses is increased lead generation, which helps businesses increase sales volume and customer base. The most successful telemarketing service providers focus on generating more "qualified" leads that have a higher probability of getting converted into actual sales.

In the United States, the National Do Not Call Registry was created in 2003 to offer consumers a choice whether to receive telemarketing calls at home. The FTC created the National Do Not Call Registry after a comprehensive review of the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR). The do-not-call provisions of the TSR cover any plan, program, or campaign to sell goods or services through interstate phone calls.

The 2012 modification, which went into effect on October 16, 2013, stated that prior express written consent will be required for all autodialed and/or pre-recorded calls/texts sent/made to cell phone; and for pre-recorded calls made to residential land lines for marketing purposes.

Further, a consumer who does not wish to receive further prerecorded telemarketing calls can "opt out" of receiving such calls by dialing a telephone number (required to be provided in the prerecorded message) to register his or her do-not-call request. The provisions do not cover calls from political organizations or charities.

Canada has its own National Do Not Call List (DNCL). In other countries it is voluntary, such as the New Zealand Name Removal Service.

Voicemail marketing

Voicemail marketing emerged from the market prevalence of personal voice mailboxes, and business voicemail systems. Voicemail marketing presented a cost effective means by which to reach people directly, by voice. Abuse of consumer marketing applications of voicemail marketing resulted in an abundance of "voice-spam", and prompted many jurisdictions to pass laws regulating consumer voicemail marketing. More recently, businesses have utilized guided voicemail (an application where pre-recorded voicemails are guided by live callers) to accomplish personalized business-to-business marketing formerly reserved for telemarketing. Because guided voicemail is used to contact only businesses, it is exempt from Do Not Call regulations in place for other forms of voicemail marketing.

Voice-mail courier is a similar form of voice-mail marketing with both business-to-business and business-to-consumer applications.

Broadcast faxing

Broadcast faxing, in which faxes are sent to multiple recipients, is now less common than in the past. This is partly due to laws in the United States and elsewhere which regulate its use for consumer marketing. In 2005, President Bush signed into law S.714, the Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005 (JFPA), which allows marketers to send commercial faxes to those with whom they have an established business relationship (EBR), but imposes some new requirements. These requirements include providing an opt-out notice on the first page of faxes and establishing a system to accept opt-outs at any time of the day. Roughly 2% of direct marketers use fax, mostly for business-to-business marketing campaigns.

Couponing

Couponing is used in print and digital media to elicit a response from the reader. An example is a coupon which the reader receives through the mail and takes to a store's check-out counter to receive a discount.

Digital Coupons: Manufacturers and retailers make coupons available online for electronic orders that can be downloaded and printed. Digital coupons are available on company websites, social media outlets, texts, and email alerts. There are an increasing number of mobile phone applications offering digital coupons for direct use.

Daily Deal Sites offer local and online deals each day, and are becoming increasingly popular. Customers sign up to receive notice of discounts and offers, which are sent daily by email. Purchases are often made using a special coupon code or promotional code. The largest of these sites, Groupon, has over 83 million subscribers.

Direct response marketing

Direct Response Marketing is designed to generate an immediate response from consumers, where each consumer response (and purchase) can be measured, and attributed to individual advertisements. This form of marketing is differentiated from other marketing approaches, primarily because there are no intermediaries such as retailers between the buyer and seller, and therefore the buyer must contact the seller directly to purchase products or services. Direct-response marketing is delivered through a wide variety of media, including DRTV, radio, mail, print advertising, telemarketing, catalogues, and the Internet.

Direct response mail order

Mail order in which customers respond by mailing a completed order form to the marketer. Mail order direct response has become more successful in recent years due to internet exposure.

Direct response television

Direct marketing via television (commonly referred to as DRTV) has two basic forms: long form (usually half-hour or hour-long segments that explain a product in detail and are commonly referred to as infomercials) and short form, which refers to typical 30-second or 60-second commercials that ask viewers for an immediate response (typically to call a phone number on screen or go to a website). TV-response marketing—i.e. infomercials—can be considered a form of direct marketing, since responses are in the form of calls to telephone numbers given on-air. This allows marketers to reasonably conclude that the calls are due to a particular campaign, and enables them to obtain customers' phone numbers as targets for telemarketing. One of the most famous DRTV commercials was for Ginsu Knives by Ginsu Products, Inc. of RI. Several aspects of ad, such as its use of adding items to the offer and the guarantee of satisfaction were much copied, and came to be considered part of the formula for success with short-form direct-response TV ads (DRTV).

Forms of direct response marketing on television include standard short form television commercials, infomercials and home shopping networks. Short-form direct-response commercials have time lengths ranging from 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Long form infomercials are typically 30 minutes long. An offshoot of the infomercial is the home shopping industry. In this medium, items can potentially be offered with reduced overhead.

Direct response radio

In direct response radio, ads contain a call to action with a specific tracking mechanism. Often, this tracking mechanism is a "call now" prompt with a toll-free phone number or a unique Web URL. Results of the ad can be tracked in terms of calls, orders, customers, leads, sales, revenue, and profits that result from the airing of those ads.

Direct response magazines and newspapers

Magazine and newspaper ads often include a direct response call-to-action, such as a toll-free number, a coupon redeemable at a brick-and-mortar store, or a QR code that can be scanned by a mobile device—these methods are all forms of direct marketing, because they elicit a direct and measurable action from the customer.

Other direct response media

Other media, such as magazines, newspapers, radio, social media, search engine marketing and e-mail can be used to elicit the response. A survey of large corporations found e-mail to be one of the most effective forms of direct response.

Direct mail

The term advertising, or direct mail, is used to refer to communications sent to potential customers or donors via the postal service and other delivery services. Direct mail is sent to customers based on criteria such as age, income, location, profession, buying pattern, etc. Direct mail includes advertising circulars, catalogs, free-trial CDs, pre-approved credit card applications, and other unsolicited merchandising invitations delivered by mail to homes and businesses. Bulk mailings are a particularly popular method of promotion for businesses operating in the financial services, home computer, and travel and tourism industries.

In many developed countries, direct mail represents such a significant amount of the total volume of mail that special rate classes have been established. In the United States and United Kingdom, for example, there are bulk mail rates that enable marketers to send mail at rates that are substantially lower than regular first-class rates. In order to qualify for these rates, marketers must format and sort the mail in particular ways—which reduces the handling (and therefore costs) required by the postal service. In the US, marketers send over 90 billion pieces of direct mail per year.

Advertisers often refine direct mail practices into targeted mailing, in which mail is sent out following database analysis to select recipients considered most likely to respond positively. For example, a person who has demonstrated an interest in golf may receive direct mail for golf-related products or perhaps for goods and services that are appropriate for golfers. This use of database analysis is a type of database marketing. The United States Postal Service calls this form of mail "advertising mail" (admail for short).

Insert media

Another form of direct marketing, insert media are marketing materials that are inserted into other communications, such as a catalog, newspaper, magazine, package, or bill. Coop or shared mail, where marketing offers from several companies are delivered via a single envelope, is also considered insert media.

Out-of-home

Out-of-home direct marketing refers to a wide array of media designed to reach the consumer outside the home, including billboards, transit, bus shelters, bus benches, aerials, airports, in-flight, in-store, movies, college campus/high schools, hotels, shopping malls, sport facilities, stadiums, taxis—that contain a call-to-action for the customer to respond.

Direct selling

Direct selling is the sale of products by face-to-face contact with the customer, either by having salespeople approach potential customers in person, or through indirect means such as Tupperware parties.

Grassroots/community marketing

The door-to-door distribution

Ethical conduct

The ICC Consolidated Code of Advertising and Marketing relates to all direct marketing activities in their entirety, whatever their form, medium or content. It sets the standards of ethical conduct to be followed by marketers, practitioners or other contractors providing services for direct marketing purposes or in the media.

The offer

The fulfilment of any obligation arising from a direct marketing activity should be prompt and efficient.

Whenever an offer is made, all the commitments to be fulfilled by the marketer, the operator and the consumer should be made clear to consumers, either directly or by reference to sales conditions available to them at the time of the offer.

Presentation

When the presentation of an offer also features products not included in the offer, or where additional products need to be purchased to enable the consumer to use the product on offer, this should be made clear in the original offer.

High-pressure tactics which might be construed as harassment should be avoided, and, marketers should ensure that they respect local culture and tradition to avoid offensive questions.

Right of withdrawal

Where consumers have a right of withdrawal (the consumer’s right to resend any goods to the seller, or to cancel the order for services, within a certain time limit and thus annulling the sale), the marketer should inform them of the existence of this right, how to obtain further information about it, and how to exercise it. Where there is an offer to supply products to the consumer on the basis of "free examination", "free trial", "free approval" and the like, it should be made clear in the offer who will bear the cost of returning products and the procedure for returning them should be as simple as possible. Any time limit for the return should be clearly disclosed.

Identity of the marketer

The identity of the marketer and/or operator and details of where and how they may be contacted should be given in the offer, so as to enable the consumer to communicate directly and effectively with them. This information should be available as a permanent reference which the consumer can keep, i.e. via a separate document offline, an online document, email or SMS; it should not, for example, appear only on an order form which the consumer is required to return. At the time of delivery of the product, the marketer’s full name, address and telephone number should be supplied to the consumer.

Respecting consumer wishes

Where consumers have indicated the wish not to receive direct marketing communications by signing on to a preference service, or in any other way, this should be respected. Marketers who are communicating with consumers internationally should, where possible ensure that they avail themselves of the appropriate preference service in the markets to which they are addressing their communications and respect consumers’ wishes not to receive such communications (see also General Provisions, article 19, data protection and privacy. Where a system exists, enabling consumers to indicate a wish not to receive unaddressed mail (e.g. mailbox stickers), this should be respected.

Responsibility

Overall responsibility for all aspects of direct marketing activities, whatever their kind or content, rests with the marketer. However, responsibility also applies to other participants in direct marketing activities and that needs to be taken into account. As well as marketers, these may include: operators, telemarketers or data controllers, or their subcontractors, who contribute to the activity or communication; publishers, media-owners or contractors who publish, transmit or distribute the offer or any other communication.

Below is a sample paper on direct marketing, I hope it benefits students

Improving cost effectiveness of direct marketing in customer creation programs in Chinese enterprises---on the perspective of organizational performance in Hangzhou Textile Company

1.0 INTRODUCTION This chapter provides the background for the research. The research problem section, which follows, draws the ideas outlined in the background and links them with existing trends that have been observed in direct marketing within the textile industry hence outlining the need to carry out the study, followed by the objectives. The final section describes the structure of the research. 1.1 Background and context The concept of direct marketing commenced many years ago with businesses opting to reach the consumer directly and deliver the goods and services rather than engaging the use of intermediaries. Within the current social paradigm, the technological transformations have slowly eroded the use of direct marketing in business. The advent of the social media has brought about various techniques and strategies through which businesses can efficiently reach out to their designated customers and have the products delivered (Risselada, Verhoef, & Bijmolt, 2014). Nonetheless, the increasing market competition among other needs has caused companies to initiate attempts to cut down operational costs and expenses. As the global market become increasingly volatile, companies are bracing with measures that would help them lower their expenses and maximize their revenues. The use of intermediaries in marketing has been seen as eluding the business a chance of having direct contact with the customers, a factor that lowers the client's ability to communicate important information or feedback to the company. Relatively, the use of retailers has been seen as costly as it involves additional costs of marketing and advertising of products. The business, therefore, incurs significant expenses in attempting to establish a relationship with the consumers through retailers. The use of intermediaries has also been observed to come with a loss of focus by the company. The introduction of retailers may lead to shift or divergence in advertising. They would, therefore, use their advertising approach and the company utilizes another or similar. Such cases may result in confusion for the customers. Customers may get confused regarding the overall aim and objectives of the company. Before opting for retail marketing, there is often the necessity for businesses to expand to enable them to reach a wider audience. The expansion mostly occurs on the retail stores a factor that would increase the business expenses by a greater percentage. The textile industry in China constitutes the world’s largest exporter of clothing. China exports approximately 40 percent of textile and apparel around the globe, a factor that indicates the booming nature of the business. The companies also have increased production capacities that are capable of handling the huge demand in the apparel industry. The continuous and rapid changes that are currently taking place with the growth of civilization and technology are constantly compelling organizations to seek new competitive ways of improving their market shares and positions. The technology has led to immense competition in the textile industry with each company attempting to become the best in terms of revenues and returns. Given a large number of textile and clothing distributed by the companies, retailers tend to consume a huge portion of the companies’ revenues. If the companies opted to engage in direct marketing, much of the revenues allotted to retailers would be preserved into proper income. Arguably, marketing using the retail approach enables companies and organizations to expand in large geographical and demographical settings. The benefits of using a retailer cover a wider scope and brings about overwhelming benefits such as increased market presence increased advertising and increased access to various market segments. The above factors lead the business into making higher profits and revenues. Therefore, as much as the use of retailer may be considered to be costly to business, it comes with benefits that subside the losses. Relatively, the engagement of direct marketing presents an opportunity for business to decrease expenses and correspondingly boost their revenues (Risselada, Verhoef, & Bijmolt, 2014). There is, therefore, a gap on whether the use of direct marketing has an impact on the business performance in terms of revenues. 1.3 The research problem As articulated above, a conflict arises on whether or not the use of direct marketing has an impact on the company’s performance. Within the market context, in the face of volatile and ever changing market competition, there is the greater need for businesses to engage in strategies that would minimize their expenses. The size of the textile industry in China harbors a huge potential, and full or partial elimination of retailers may lead to increased revenues to the companies. On the other hand, the use of direct marketing may elude a business chance of marketing its services widely, a factor that may also lead to depreciated revenues (Risselada, Verhoef, & Bijmolt, 2014). A problem, therefore, arises on whether or not the direct marketing should be used in the current market environment, and what are the likely impact?

1.4 Purpose of the study In the light of the outlined significance of utilizing the concept of direct marketing and intermediaries in direct marketing, there is the need to establish a point of equilibrium in the application of either of the above means. An eminent conflict arises on whether utilizing the direct marketing approach would be significant in increasing the cost-effectiveness within the textile industry. The outcome of the study would be used in the larger Chinese textile industry and the global market to help businesses reduce their expenses and maximize their revenues.

1.5 Study objectives The study is guided by the following objectives 1. Define and describe various elements of direct marketing 2. To analyze the current situation of direct marketing in China 3. To identify the success factors and most cost effective method of direct marketing strategies. 4. To establish the relevance of direct marketing on the textile industry in China 5. Determine the benefits of using direct marketing in the textile industry 6. Establish the impacts of direct marketing on organizational performance. 7. To explore American enterprises successful and cost effective direct marketing strategies to implement in Chinese enterprises. 8. To provide some related advice on improvement of Chinese cost effective direct marketing strategies and customer creation programs.

Research questions The study objectives form a basis for research questions, which the study seeks to address in order to achieve its overall purpose. The research questions the study endeavors to answer are as listed below. 1. What is direct marketing and its distinct elements? 2. Is the concept of direct marketing relevant in the textile industry? 3. What are the benefits of adopting the concept of direct marketing in the textile industry? 4. What are the impacts of direct marketing on the organizational performance?

1.6 Research Methodology The scope of direct marketing in the Chinese textile and clothing industry is beyond the researcher’s ability to access primary data. The study thus hinges exclusively on analysis of documented information on the subject. The study, therefore, draws all its findings from secondary data sources in the form of books, journals, reviews and analyses by experts, government reports and organizational reports from bodies such as the WTO. Online databases such as Academia Search Elite (EBSCO), Gale Virtual Reference Library, Oxford Reference Online Premium and ABI/Inform Complete (ProQuest) also provided materials that gave insights into the dynamics of the direct marketing in the Chinese textile industry. The identified sources are adequately endowed with relevant information that expeditiously brought the study to completion. In establishing the theoretical framework for the study, the conflictual theory and the cyclical theories are analyzed to find how they link with the direct marketing in the Chinese textile industry. The researcher also endeavors to find out if such models, which have relevance to the direct marketing in Chinese textile industry, can be used to make reliable predictions on the course the adoption of direct marketing will assume in future. In so doing, it is possible to establish existing literature and theoretical gaps, which need to be bridged for trade theories and literature to match the actual circumstances of direct marketing and thus serve as a basis for reliable predictions. The existing policy framework, which underpins the adoption of direct marketing on the Chinese textile industry, is examined to help in understanding the terms of engagement within the market paradigm. This served as a basis for understanding the challenges that are inherent in the application of direct marketing, why they need to be used despite the newly invented marketing approaches such as the social media. 1.7 Research outline This research comprises five chapters of which the first sets the background against which the research is developed. The second chapter offers a theoretical framework to the study and examines previous studies on direct marketing in the textile industry. Previous studies on similar marketing approaches in other parts of the world are also interwoven into the theoretical framework in a bid to comprehend the dynamics of preferential marketing approach. The Third chapter focuses on the research methodology, the fourth on the quantitative and qualitative analysis, and the fifth on the conclusion.

Chapter 2 2.0 Literature review As articulated in various studies, cost effectiveness in marketing processes tends to make organizations save huge revenues in their budgets. Changes in the direct marketing cost-effectiveness have made researchers across the board to launch deep investigations into the cost effectiveness of direct marketing in customer creation programs. In this section, the study reviews existing literature on direct marketing and their relative impact on the organizational performance. The section also examines the study through the auspices of relevant theoretical models to improve direct marketing cost effectiveness. 2.1 Direct marketing and its key elements The existing marketing expectations alongside the competitive trends demands the adoption and use of an efficient and faster marketing communication strategies to ensure effective communication of organizational offerings to the customers. The drastic changes stemming from technological advancements and globalization are quickly compelling businesses to engage in strategies that would offer a competitive edge over the others in the market. Direct Marketing is an interactive marketing system that utilizes one or more marketing media in the acquisition of measurable responses and transactions at any point (Brassington, 2013). Direct marketing primarily involves the use of email, mails, and the internet in communicating directly with the customers and other prospective business partners (Risselada, Verhoef, & Bijmolt, 2014). The nature of direct marketing implies direct marketing that is channeled towards the creation and exploitation of the direct relationship between the manufacturers and the buyers. One of the core values of an organization is to ensure that profits are driven, and revenues boosted. A number of scholars have noted that a perfect execution of direct marketing yields a positive return on the investments. Various studies have therefore recommended the need for understanding and implementation of direct marketing as a means of improving the business performance (Shani & Chalasani, 2013). The increased adoption of direct marketing by various business enterprises recently has played a significant role towards organizational success. According to Dwyer & Schurr (1987), direct marketing has emerged as a result of increased effort by the companies to shift from mass marketing to marketing at the personalized level. Although some organizations adopt direct marketing mainly to be in a position to retain current customers for future (Rosenberg & Czepeil, 1983). Also, some organization views direct marketing not only as a way of achieving personalized marketing but more as a way of enhancing the public as well as the social reputation of the firm (Katz & Kahn, 1978). In contrary, various organizations have adopted the strategy of direct marketing not with the aim of achieving a particular goal but mainly due to accessibility and affordability of modern technology. Particularly, the adoption of direct mail, use of catalogs, telemarketing, mobile marketing and door-door marketing are the mostly used direct marketing strategies (Smith, 1993). Although organization must be careful on which direct marketing strategy to adopt some strategies though fruitful they are not cost effective (Stone, 1995). In contrary, some strategies applied in direct marketing are still preferred despite being costly since they have personal appeal and it is, therefore, easier to convince a potential buyer to buy whenever they are used (Roman, 1995). Even though, the aspect of face-to-face which constitutes personal selling has been widely criticized and replaced by sending email messages, engaging in the telephone conversation or sending direct mail letter to potential customers since it is viewed as time wastage and traditional method of marketing. As stated by Philip et al. (2015), in case an organization prefers to adopt direct marketing as the major marketing strategy then the organization must incorporate this marketing approach within the organization’s marketing plan. In contrary research conducted by Bagozzi (1978), claim that the incorporation of direct marketing to the organization’s marketing plan depend on how well strategies of direct marketing aid in the market transactions. Adoption of direct marketing by a firm in most cases lead to increase in commodity's price, and thus company must clearly understand the current market trend of such products before adopting a strategy that would raise their prices further (Shani & Chalasani, 2013). The success of any profit driven business will depend on how well the firm's management will understand market trends as far as their product is concerned. 2.3 Forms of direct marketing 2.3.1 Direct Marketing Strategies The most commonly used direct marketing strategies are, direct letters cell phone text messaging, catalog distributions websites, direct letters, mobile marketing and door-door marketing. 2.3.1.1 Direct Letters It is a direct marketing strategy in which product promotion information materials are sent to various target customers via Posta to either a home address of the intended recipient or business address of the targeted business. The primary aim of such letters is to pass promotion message to the various recipient who in most cases are business target customers. Through sending such letters the company reputation is enhanced, and the customer loyalty is strengthened (Smith, 1993). It is important for any business using this strategy to have a well –though of the mailing list to whom the letters will be sent for this strategy to be effective. The mails are regularly sent to serve as a constant reminder of the company's brand with the aim of positioning in the customer's mind. Such a company will always come first in the customer's mind whenever the customer thinks of buying a product which is in line with the company commodities. The target consumers’ list can be compiled based on subscriptions made by a group of people to certain magazines, membership registration to particular organizations or based on target customer information obtained through administering questionnaires. The aim of the company using direct mail is to develop strong customer relation and loyalty since letters sent to various target customers bear their names, which make them feel more honored and recognized. Although this strategy of direct mailing is more expensive compared to other strategies like use of media where one advert will reach millions of target audience. However, the cost-effectiveness of this strategy solely depends on the quality mailing list quality (Brassington, 2013). If a good quality list is compiled, 90% of the customers who receives mails are interested in the advertised product and will thus purchase from the company in future. 2.3.1.2 Telemarketing Telemarketing is a direct marketing communications strategy in which trained specialists make use modern technologies of telecommunications and information to conduct product marketing and the actual closing of sales. The approach is most common in North America where sales prospects for relatively costly products such as freezers and cars are contacted for a long time through the use of telephone medium. A script which is keenly prepared from which telephonists work to issue various selling strategies which are dependent on the prospects' circumstances which are identified long before involving in a sales talk. Mostly the idea is meant to ‘to make the way smooth’ for a visit of the salesperson’s following a previous telephone call conversation (Stone, Davies & Bond, 1995). This strategy may appear fruitless, but it is a method which is very cost-effective and prevents the sales people from going through a lot of ‘cold canvassing.' Although making an effective telephone to make a sale is a very involving duty for the individual (Miller, 1999). Telemarketing can either be inbound telemarketing, which occurs in incidences when the prospect contacts the business enterprise by telephone, whereas telemarketing is said to be outbound in an incidence where the company calls the target customer through the use of a telephone. Recent IT Developments have made both forms effective. The strategy is cost-effective only when the telephonist can use persuasive language to convince the target audience of the benefits of the product (Brassington, 2013).

2.3.1.3 Mobile marketing Mobile marketing is a direct marketing strategy which involves the sending of short text messages from sender’s mobile phone directly to receiver’s mobile phones (Middleton, 2002).The sent text contained product promotion message either meant to create awareness regarding a particular product or to serve as a reminder to existing customers about the product (Rosenberg & Czepeil, 1983). The text is design to be short, eye-catching and direct to the point to capture the target audience attention. This strategy is not only successful but also the most cost effective direct marketing strategy. The strategy is cost effective on the basis that a text is charged at a very cheap rate across all networks. More also, there is text subscription which can be subscribed by an individual intending to send mass messages to prospects. The strategy is said to be effective on the basis that the sent text has high chances of reaching the recipient unlike in the cases of direct mail where the mail is likely to get lost along the way. More also, the texts can be sent many times as possible at the sender’s chosen time. 2.3.1.4 Catalog marketing It is direct marketing strategy aimed at products promotion and sale of goods by use of company catalogs in which all company products together with pictures and procedures for use are printed. The catalogs are then distributed all reliable company agents to aid in distributing them further and customers through the use of mail giving them out to customers at them company outlets if the company using a catalog to market owns a store (Chang & Zhang, 2016). This strategy is effective since the information contained in the catalog is clear and free from errors since it is proofread before the catalogs are printed. Besides, the information in the catalog can be shared by more than one individuals who increases company brand awareness even further. 2.3.1.5 Door-door Marketing It is a famous direct marketing strategy in which the product marketers move from one household to another, one business enterprise to another with the aim of creating brand awareness for their product. This strategy is mostly used by small companies and in most cases new businesses that lack capacities to adopt other direct marketing strategies. This strategy is the most effective direct marketing strategy since it has personal appeal (Roman, 1995). It has a shortcoming in the sense that it is not cost-effective since a lot of resources in both terms of time and finances are used in moving up and own to look for the product customers. Business is adapting to the fast-changing business environment with the aim of acquiring a bigger market share which in turn increases the firm's profit margin thus enabling an organization to achieve competitive advantage over their competitors. Adopting of direct marketing strategies is, therefore, one of the most used marketing strategies. The adoption of the strategy has been supported by the fast-growing level of technology. However, business enterprises aiming at benefiting by using this strategy must determine which strategies of direct marketing are not only fruitful but also cost-effective. A strategy, which is costly and time-consuming like door-door marketing strategy, may not yield many fruits to an organization that has adopted the strategy (Seret, Verbraken, & Baesens, 2014). Although the market trends as far as the demand for a particular product is concerned may also determine whether a business enterprise will adopt the strategy or not. 2.3.1.6 Social Media The advent of the social media has brought about a great transition in the marketing methods. The nature of the social media has provided a platform through which individuals can interact and exchange ideas. There are various elements that have made the use of social media to become increasingly easy and possible. The increase in technological advancements has helped in spreading the accessing to the social media platforms hence making it easy for businesses to gain access to their target customers (Seret, Verbraken, & Baesens, 2014). Facebook being one of the most common social Medias has become a great asset to many businesses. Facebook comes with a number of features that improve user experience and enable them to apply marketing strategies on their customers. One of the most common social media strategies includes the creation of a product page and then individuals invited to like the page. The feature of product page creation has significantly improved the ability of Facebook to be a direct marketing platform where products can be easily displayed to the required audience (Tuten & Solomon, 2014). Another major attribute of the social media is the like button. Many social medias such as Instagram, Facebook, and tagged among others have the like button. The like button is considered viral in nature and can be used in transmitting information across the globe in within seconds. With the technological advancements taking shape, many companies are increasingly embracing technology to enable them to compete favorably within the market (Stoll, Dubik, & Campbell, 2015). More sophisticated tools are slowly being introduced into the system to enable them to compete well in the market. Companies have the option of identifying their market niches, and slowly engaging with the correct customers. This implies that the companies create customer profile for their products and then come up with specific products that suite the given profile. Relatively, the companies use the market segmentation approach in which they divide the market into various segments and then creating the products specific to the given segments. Technology has therefore improved the context of direct marketing, making it capable of yielding great outcome to the persons' companies (Stelzner, 2014). 2.4 Relevance of direct marketing on the Chinese textile industry The textile industry for a longtime has been considered china’s economic pillar. This is pegged on the country’s textile endowment coupled with the large market scale. According to research findings, the trade volume of the textile sector has witnessed a 27.11 times increase over a period of 25 years. In 2005, china’s textile exports constituted 15.4% of the country’s total export, and approximately 24.4 percent of the world’s total textile exports. The production capacity and the export of textile in china is, therefore, the largest in the world. Relative to the international competitive advantages, the growth of the china’s textile industry strongly pegs on the labor costs and the technology. Various Chinese firms have faced considerable criticism after reports about the poor working conditions emerged on the social media. Such criticisms alongside other forces have worked considerably to ensure that china’s competitive advantage in the market is jeopardized. A number of researchers have pointed out to the significance of providing proper working conditions for employees in the textile industry. In so doing, the employees would be well placed to be productive within the workplace. Marketing in the Chinese textile industry is done through retailers who act as intermediaries between the companies and the customers. The Chinese apparel industry is highly fragmented, comprising of various small and medium-sized retailers. In the year 2008, China was considered a hub for over 600,000 retailers. The dominance of retailers in the Chinese is not only evident in the textile industry, but also in other fields. The numbers of retailer and chain stores have significantly grown in the country increasing the instances of intermediaries in the marketing process (Stoll, Dubik, & Campbell, 2015). Hangzhou Textile Company constitutes one of the major textile companies in China. The company engages in both retail and direct marking. Given the wide scope and size, the company exports products to customers through retail outlets due to the large number of places to be supplied. Nonetheless, in one of the interviews, the company CEO noted that they are partially implementing the direct marketing technique. This is done through the selling of products on the social media such as their website and Facebook, where customers can place direct orders and have the products delivered to them. According to the CEO, the company’s use of the social media in direct marketing has largely improved as new strategies are increasingly being invented. Based on the above observation, it is evident that the use of direct marketing is highly relevant in the textile industry. The companies are increasingly enlarging their scope creating the need to utilize the concept of direct marketing in their operations increasingly. The increased technological advancements also seem to have taken direct marketing a step higher making it to be a major necessity in the current marketing strategy of any business. As illustrated in the case of Hangzhou Textile Company, both approaches can be used collaboratively to enhance a company’s ability to increase sales (Zhao, 2014). The use of direct marketing bridges the gap between the direct interaction of business and the customers. 2.5 Benefits of direct marketing in the textile industry One major element that singles out direct marketing as a cost effective marketing technique is its ability to reach a broad audience at a lower cost. As articulated in the above paragraphs, direct marketing through the social media can be used in reaching a large group of customers. This implies that it can be used in communicating or marketing a product to a wide audience across the globe at a cheaper cost (Stelzner, 2014). Unlike the other means of direct marketing that have been mentioned above, the social media is highly cost effective and does not require a huge budgetary allocation as the other approaches. In the competitive global market, the efficiency of a company is mainly determined by its ability to cut down costs. By cutting down the costs, the companies are capable of making huge profits and revenues that are capable of sustaining them within the business environment. As every organization is seeking a competitive edge, the ability to cut down cost is considered a distinctive primary in the success of business. Marketing as a management aspect tends to take a huge chunk of the budget. This implies that budgetary allocation for this activity is often high. As such, it consumes a larger part of the generated revenues. The use of cost-effective marketing strategies has helped in coming up with newer methods of ensuring that the marketing costs are kept at minimal (Tuten & Solomon, 2014). Direct marketing of textile products ensures that miscellaneous costs such as the retailer costs are eliminated. In the long run, the companies are capable of selling their products directly to the targeted audience hence improving their abilities to achieve the required outcome. With targets set at various levels, the companies can be certain of making huge savings from direct marketing. Delivering the products directly in one way or the other can be very costly to the organization (Ting, 2015). It is, therefore, important to engage strong marketing techniques to ensure that the approaches are well defined. From the above analysis, it is evident that direct marketing has a significant impact on organizational performance. The case study has revealed the need for utilizing this concept in attaining a better relationship with customers. The literature review tends to agree with the research hypothesis that direct marketing has an impact on business performance.

CHAPTER THREE 3.0 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 3.1 Introduction This chapter presents a detailed description of the selected research design, the target population, sampling procedure and sample size, data collection instruments, data collection procedures, validity and reliability of the research instruments and the data analysis. 3.2 The study area The study targets Chinese textile industries. Thus, the specific company that would be under focus is the Hangzhou textile company. The large-scale company is situated along the Hangzhou Xiaoshan 104, on the national freeway. The company deals in apparels and other textile products, which are manufactured and exported to other regions around the globe. The company is averaged to have approximately 200 employees. The company further uses the concept of direct marketing and retail marketing in the distribution of its services. The company’s total annual revenues average at $10 million, with the major markets being in Asia, Africa, and Middle East among others. 3.3 Research methodology 3.3.1 Research design A survey research design will be taken in this study. The survey research design is general and can be employed in any discipline. Relatively, this research design can be applied within a wide scope of study, making it to be highly useful in the current research. The use of this research approach will enable the researcher to visit the company and interact with the various members within the leadership positions. The main target is the marketing department, which will be queried relative to the marketing techniques employed in distributing the products to the customers (Flick, 2015). The research design will further allow the researcher to distribute questionnaires, hold interviews, and form focus groups with the aim of finding out the most appropriate marketing approach adopted by the company, and the level of cost effectiveness of this approach. 3.3.2 The target population The target population constitutes the groups of people from whom the researcher will select study respondents. This group of people is the key means of achieving the study objectives. The target population in this case will include the topmost management team dealing with marketing. This team consists of the CEOs, the supervisors, the marketing managers, the distribution team, and the retail stores that are within the regions reach. The study sample will target at least one person from the topmost management, four supervisors, two marketing managers, and ten members of the marketing team, and two retail branches located within the region. Purposive sampling method was used in the selection of the above respondents from the others since the target population required individuals that deal with the marketing of the manufactured products. Given that these persons deal with marketing and customers directly, they will be well placed to present the researcher with the required information. In addition, such persons tend to know the company performance, and the abilities to define the relative impacts that come about with the use of various marketing approaches. The CEO or top managers for instance would be well placed to offer information on the performance of business when either the retail or direct marketing approaches are used in the distribution of the products. Other parties like the marketing manager would also be well placed to offer similar information since they are engaged in the marketing decision-making and often choose the best approach to be adopted. The retailers are included in the mix to help in providing information about their interactions with the customers. The retailers are well placed to describe the nature of relationship with the customers and how such relationship is affected by the use of retail marketing and vice versa (Panneerselvam, 2014). Table showing the target population Respondent Target population CEO 1 Supervisors 2 Marketing managers 2 Marketing team members 10 Retail branch members 2 Total 17

3.3.3 Data collection Data collection will be done from both the primary and the secondary sources. The primary data sources will help in the collection of raw data from the respondents. The secondary data sources will be used in the augmentation of the primary data hence assist in the data interpretations. 3.3.3.1 Secondary data collection The secondary data would be used in strengthening the data collected from the primary sources. The documents will be reviewed and analyzed to obtain the relevant information for the study. The secondary data will comprise of already done researches and articles on the topic, and would help the researcher predict the study outcome. 3.3.3.2 Primary Data collection The primary data collection will be done through the use of questionnaires, focus groups, and interviews from the respondents. The questionnaires will possess both the open ended and close-ended questions (Blok, 2014). The questionnaires were preferred since they are relevant when dealing with a large number of persons. The researcher considered the questionnaires to be more cost effective since they could collect a large amount of information from the respondents within a short duration. The use of questionnaires further peg on the ease to analyze them and extract the required information (Denscombe, 2014). The entry and tabulation of data can be done through the use of various computer software packages. These would help in presenting the data inform of graphs and pie charts for easy analysis. Many people possess experience in filling in the questionnaires, a factor that makes them to be highly relevant within the current scenario. Due to lack of bias in the questionnaire, they tend to depict the independent opinion of the respondents hence making the research more authentic. The personal opinions of the researcher will therefore have no influence in the responses provided in the questionnaires (De Oliveira Vergara, Gadotti, & dos Reis, 2016). Interview will also be incorporated into the study. Interviews offer more information that cannot be easily obtained through the use of questionnaires. The interviews will therefore enable the researcher to seek information from the respondents and offer vital information for the success of the research. The research assistants will be given in-depth orientation in the administration and interpretation of the data from respondents. The research assistants will then work collaboratively with the researcher in assessing the research instruments so as to come up with comprehensive information regarding the subject (Blok, 2014). The research assistant will help in the administration of the questionnaires, as the researcher will be engaged in extracting information from other sources. 3.4 Data Analysis The data analysis will take both the qualitative and quantitative approaches. The qualitative approach will be used in analyzing the data collected through questionnaires. Quantitative analysis on the other hand will involve the use of chi-squares in a bid to establish an existing relationship between the key study variables. Graphs and distribution tables would then be used data presentations and the explanation of the research findings. 3.5 Data presentation The researcher will engage the use of Ms Excel and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) in the generation of the frequency distribution tables. The information generated will then be presented on graphs and tables. This would help in easy analysis and understanding of the research data.

CHAPTER FOUR 4.0 DATA ANALYSIS, PRESENTATION, AND INTERPRETATION 4.1 Introduction This chapter covers analysis of the collected data and its presentation and interpretation. 4.2 General information The study outcome indicated that Hangzhou Textile Company utilizes both direct and retail marketing. The proportion of using both marketing approaches is different, and mainly dwells on the anticipated benefits. In regards to the direct marketing, the marketing manager attested to using 20% of this approach in the distribution of products to the market. The other 80% was utilized in the retail marketing which was seen to be capable of enabling the company retain its market position. On the analysis scale, the findings indicated varying use of the various marketing approaches. The topmost was the social media that earned an average of 4.8 points; mobile marketing that earned 4.6 followed this. Many of the concepts such as direct letters, the use of catalogues, and telemarketing were ranked at 4.4 each. The lowest was the door-to-door marketing, which earned an average of 4 points. Below is an analysis of how the organization utilized the direct marketing approach. Table showing the respondents responses regarding the use of social media Respondent Average response Percentage of the response The CEO

4.3 Data analysis and presentation 4.3.1 Direct marketing in Hangzhou Textile Company As indicated above, the Hangzhou Textile Company utilizes 20 percent of its distribution through direct marketing. The company pegs this approach on the need for high levels of efficiency. According to the marketing manager, the company utilizes various direct marketing approaches to engage with its customers. The changes in technology have equally inspired the use of this method, a factor that has increasingly made the company prefer this approach to distribution of services. According to the questionnaire responses, it is evident that the company prefers to use this approach due to its efficiency and cost effectiveness. Below are the responses to the questionnaires: The responses were based on the respondent’s perception within a scale of 1 to 5 in which 1 meant not likely to use, while 5 likely to use.

Table showing the respondents responses on the use of direct marketing in Hangzhou Textile Company

Direct marketing approach CEO Supervisor Marketing managers Marketing team Retail branch members Total average Direct letters 5 5 5 4 3 4.4 Telemarketing 5 5 5 5 2 4.4 Mobile marketing 5 5 5 5 3 4.6 Catalogue marketing 5 5 5 4 3 4.4 Door to door marketing 4 3 4 3 2 4 Social media 5 5 5 5 4 4.8

The above data reveals the extent to which the respondents perceived the use of direct marketing within the organization. Graphical representation of the data

The above data clearly depicts the manner in which the selected correspondents within the organization perceive the use of direct marketing approach. The social media tops the topmost direct marketing methods used by the company. According to the marketing manager, the preference of the social media among the major strategies for direct marketing is attributed to the ease with which it can be used and the ability to have the quickly reach out to the targeted audience fast. In the focus group response, the marketing team noted that the use of social media primarily entails attracting the audience through the product adverts and then having them to by the products. Relatively, the social media was seen to be cost effective, as its strategies involved less spending and increased ability to reach the target audience. The CEO of the company on the other side indicated that the use of social media is increasingly becoming rampant with the technological developments. Nearly every individual possesses the smartphone devices a factor that has stimulated the use of the social media. The CEO therefore noted a vast opportunity in using the social media to directly communicate with the customers and have the apparels delivered to them. Given the huge market ion the textile and clothing industry in china, the use of the social media as a means of direct marketing was seen to be highly cost effective since it led to decreased use of retailers and intermediaries hence cutting down the operational costs. The retail team branch members depicted low approval of the social media. The teams response regarding the use of the social media as a direct marketing strategy was seen to attract mixed responses from the group. One of the members indicated that such low or poor response was attributed to the fact that the social media could deny them chance to engage in retail marketing. The retail marketing team often earn huge profits from the retail services hence introduction of direct marketing proved detrimental in their modes of operations. Mobile marketing is another direct marketing strategy that was strongly assented by the respondents. This method ranks second after the social media. Mobile marketing involves sending messages directly to the customers in attempt to convince them into buying the products. The CEO of the company considered this approach to be perfect as it was cheap and customers’ data could be easily mined from the database indicating past transactions. The short message system introduced by the communications company has increasingly paved way for the use of mobile marketing. The CEO further noted that the company’s approval of this method is based on the large number of audience that can be reached by a single message. The marketing manager observed that the use of mobile marketing as a direct marketing method is quick and highly specific to the audience. The interview with the manager revealed that most customers would simply respond to the texts hence creating a culture of communication through that approach. As technology is increasingly developing and widening in span, more and more means of short messages services are emerging. The supervisor noted that the social medias like telegram and Whatsapp are opening a pool of opportunities through which the concept of mobile market as a way of direct marketing can be elevated. These applications offer cheap and instant communication with the customers. The supervisor further noted that it gives them the ability to capture and send the medias to the company. This makes it easy for the company to know the exact design and model that is needed by the customers. In support to the increasing use of the mobile marketing, the marketing team observed that this method is highly efficient and eliminates the need for the need for the intermediaries. Most of these people are often required to represent the company in dealing with the customers. However, the marketing team noted that the evolution of the world into a global village has made the company to reconsider its use of the social media strategy in reaching out to the customers. Since most companies have adopted the smartphone technology, it is easier to communicate through Whatsapp and Telegram and reach out to the targeted audience. These applications recognize no physical boundary hence can be used anywhere around the globe. The retail branch members attested to the fact that mobile marketing was effective and could be used easily in reaching out to the customers. As the world is increasingly becoming global, intermediaries are slowly losing their significance in the marketing and distribution sector. The company’s ability to communicate directly with the customers increases the cost effectiveness and efficiency of transactions. Based on this this assumption, the retail team noted that the use of this method would be a major threat to their jobs. The respondents averagely recommended telemarketing; the CEO of the company during the questionnaire and interview observed that the telemarketing approach did not yield significant outcome as anticipated. It took a longtime before the company could realize the direct benefits of using this approach. The manager equally observed that the telephone calls were time consuming and most of them seemed not to get the due response as they were often cut short by the promise of the customers in getting back. Although this approach was seen to be good, its benefits are seen in the long-term basis. The marketing manager further noted the concerns over the creation of rapport with the companies during the calls. This was seen to jeopardize the constant and smooth communication between the two groups. The supervisor on his side indicated that the use of telecommunication involved constant calls, which lead to the consumption of more time and efforts in reaching out to the people. Nonetheless, he noted that despite the method’s effectiveness being realized in the long-term, the method was highly efficient. Many telecommunication companies have lowered their calling rates in the face of increased technology and competition in the provision of such services. The supervisor therefore indicated that the only threat to this method was time taken by the customer to respond. The supervisor however indicated that the effectiveness of the use of telecommunication as a means can be boosted if the it is used in combination with the other marketing techniques. At the focus group, the supervisor noted that such constant communications offers a chance to the customers and other prospective buyers to communicate and raise issues and concerns over the products. This means that the company can come up with products that are tailored to suite the exact needs of the customers. The marketing team however seemed to be contented with the telemarketing approach. This is because it presented a unique opportunity to convince the customer on the significance of using the products. Given that these people spend most of their times doing researches in the field and seeking out new audiences, they considered this method to be easy and capable of attaining substantive outcome. In the focus group, the marketing team noted that such communications help in establishing a strong bond with the customers hence increasing their levels of loyalty. By communicating to them and inquiring about the product performance and whether they need anything, the customers feel that the company is concerned with their welfare and therefore encouraging them to continue working with them. Compared to the retail marketing approach, this method was considered to be highly cost effective by the marketing team. In addition, the team noted that the approach eliminates any barrier that may exist between a customer and the business. The retail branch members on their side observed that the telemarketing method was indeed an effective means of reaching out to the customers. However, they indicated that such phone conversations did not establish strong bonds between the business and the customers. According to the retailers’ response in the focus group, the use of telemarketing approach may raise suspicion among the customers. Given the digital nature of technology, many companies believe that their data is at risk of being accessed and manipulated. The groups observed that such security concerns would deter the customers from fully embracing the use of telemarketing. The strategy may work but after development of a strong relationship with the customers and such relationship culminated into trust. The respondents also gave their perspectives on the use of direct letters. The CEO of the company considered this approach to be effective in the textile industry though slowly fading away with time. According to his perspective, the issuance of direct letters to the customers is a good way of keeping in touch with them offering an assurance of a lasting relationship. As a result, the customer becomes loyal to the company and its products. However, despite the strengths exhibited in the use of this approach, the CEO raised concerns over sustainability of the method. The world is slowly migrating to highly efficient means of communication that would eliminate paper work. Letters may therefore not be relevant. Emails will replace the use of direct letters. The supervisor also applauded the significance of the concept. However, he noted that it was only applicable in the traditional system where companies sent direct letters to its clients. In the contemporary system, many companies have migrated to the use of email as a means of communication. The supervisor noted that the emails are fast and efficient, ensuring that the target audience receives the required information. The marketing manager expressed so much confidence in the use of the direct letter approach in marketing. His opinion was based on the achievements made through the use of this concept. The marketing manager noted that the use of the letter had yielded massive outcome and enabled them firm to make huge sales. From his point of view, the use of email has automatically replaced the direct letters. As companies shift to the online platform, it is inevitable that they all shift to the online platform. The marketing manager noted that in the online platform, communication is instant and the response can be received immediately upon receipt of the information. The marketing team in the questionnaires indicated good response to the use of direct mails. The response indicated that most of them approved the use of this method in marketing and that moving it a notch higher in the technological platform would make it highly effective. According to the marketing team, the use of letters to customers helps the company in communicating new products and services, which the customers might not be aware of. Accomplishing this process through the use of email makes it more effective as no paperwork is done, and posting cost eliminated. As a result, it makes reaching of customers to be quick, cheap, and highly efficient. The company can use various designs to approach them customer and create an everlasting impact. The retail team had an average response to the use of direct mails. According to their questionnaire response, the team noted that direct mail if correctly used could have a relatively huge impact on the company sales. The marketing team would easily reach the customers and show them the products they have. Given the current technology, the product designs can be included in the letter and given to the customer to make a choice between the best products. The elevation of the direct letter to mail has acted as a game changer in direct marketing by offering businesses a quick, cheap and reliable means of communication with customers. In regards to catalogue marketing, the respondents had varying opinions. According to the CEO, catalogue marketing is increasingly becoming popular due to their ability to reach out information to a wide audience. According to the CEO, the catalogues are often designed to contain all the company information alongside the products and services offered. Through this approach, the company has managed to reach out to a wide audience and advertise their products. The marketing manager also during an interview attested to the fact that catalogues serve a great purpose. The company textile and apparel designs are sent to a wide audience, which will then make a choice on whether or not to make purchases. The catalogues are easy to design, as they need the pictures of various clothing and textile materials that the company deals with. They further contain contact and discount information, which are useful to the customers. The marketing manager further indicated that the use of this approach saves the company a great deal in terms of expenses since it offers a cheaper means of reaching out on communicating to the customers. The marketing team on their side considered the use of catalogue to be highly cost efficient as it grants the team an opportunity to display their products and other offers. The use of this approach was also considered by the tem to be quick and easy to administer. Hence, the marketing team will not need to undergo hard processes in marketing and reaching out to the customers. The questionnaires responses revealed the respondents preferences for this method as it offers comprehensive information about the given subject that the company seeks to communicate to the customers. The marketing team and the retail branch members also asserted that the use of catalogue is highly comprehensive and cost effective in reaching out to the customers. The final method that was included in the direct marketing method is the use of door-to-door marketing. This was the least rated marketing approach. Majority of the respondents considered this method to be less effective and highly time consuming. Given the nature of this approach, it is not mostly used by the organization. Each member of the organization voted this approach as the least among th direct marketing techniques. 4.2.2 Retail marketing at the Hangzhou Textile Company The questionnaires sought to find the use of retail marketing in the organization. The study findings came up with a number of observations that could be significant to the study. The table below shows the findings of the study regarding the use of retail marketing within the organization. The respondents were to base their responses through a scale of 1 to five in which one meant least used and 5 meant highly used.

Direct marketing approach CEO Supervisor Marketing managers Marketing team Retail branch members Total average Retail marketing 5 5 5 5 5 5

From the above responses, it is evident that all of the respondents agreed that retail marketing was mostly used in the organization. From the CEOs perspective, the use of retail marketing is pegged on the organizational culture, which entailed using retailers to distribute the products. One of the major factors that CEO pointed out is that the volume of textile products is high as a result there is the need for retailers to help in fast distribution. According to the CEO the size of the company requires the use of retail marketing as the distribution channels are numerous. The supervisor on the other hand attributed the use of retail marketing on the increasing demands across the globe. China constitutes one of the key companies that offer textile materials. Based on this perception, the company needs to establish retail stores to help in the distribution of the apparels and other company products. The marketing managers and the marketing team attributed the use of retail marketing to the ability to exploit larger markets. By establishing retail stores in different locations, the company can easily serve the area with their products. For instance, the marketing manager noted that the company has retail stores in regions such as the United States, Asian countries, and in Africa. The presence of retail stores enables them to reach a wide audience within a short period. The marketing manager attributed the retail shops to a number of advantages. One of the key reasons that has made the company engage in a large use of retail marketing is the ability to make the company gain a competitive edge in the market. In the Chinese market, there are various players a factor that ignites numerous competitions between them. The retailers have further been seen to boost company’s ability to compete among others. The Hangzhou Textile Company utilizes this concept to engage their competitors in the market. The retailers are equally aggressive in their marketing strategies, a factor that makes them to increase their sales volume. Another key reason for the use of direct marketing is the ability to create awareness of the company products within the market. Through the retailers, the company can market widely their products within the various segments. Moreover, the use of retail marketing was preferred due to its ability to introduce new products in the market. This implies that the retailers can take time and explain the products to the users a factor that would boost the product sales significantly. The apparel industry, according to the marketing manager suffers a great competition with many players coming in. as a result; the company is compelled into engaging in various strategies that would enable it stay atop the market competition. The retailers therefore help the company to retain its corporate image across all the dimensions. Given the ability to attract a wide audience, the retail approach is often preferred to boost the market competition. Finally, the marketing manager attributed the use of retail marketing to a strong sense of customer loyalty. According to the manager, the company has attained many loyal customers across the board increasing the company’s sales and revenues. With a large number of customers behind various company brands, the retail marketing is seen to perform better and generate more revenues for the company. The marketing team noted that in most cases, they offer rewards to the most loyal customers. Such rewards include discounts on purchase, free deliveries, or bonuses among others. Such attributes makes customers to stick to the company products granting them a competitive edge in the market. From the research outcome, it is evident that the company despite using retail marketing largely in its marketing. 4.3 Analysis of the findings The above evidence strongly suggests the use of direct marketing in the Hangzhou Textile Company. The responses depict a strong acceptance and use of direct marketing as a cost effective means of marketing. The findings indicate that the most used strategy at the moment is the social media. The company strongly utilizes the social media in its direct marketing due to the wide audience it is capable of attracting. Given the company size, the textile products are divided into various categories depending on the customers it is capable of attracting. Through the social media, the company has managed to make huge sales as they reach out to their prospective clients. The use of mobile marketing also garnered great support from the respondents. The techniques grant the company a great capability in reaching out to the customers and making sales. The social media has categorically been considered a highly cost effective means of reaching out to customers and making sales. The above study has indicated that the company’s use of the direct marketing strategy is partial and is basically blended with the retail marketing strategy. The uses of direct marketing strategies have been used in supplementing the already existing retail marketing strategies. Considering the study outcomes, a number of factors are clearly evident. One of the evidenced factors is that direct marketing is highly cost effective as a means of reaching out to the customers. The direct marketing approaches such as the use of social media requires little investment hence can be easily afforded by the companies in the highly competitive age. As postulated in the study, many companies, just like the Hangzhou Textile Company are continuously seeking ways of minimizing their operational costs. The use of direct marketing approaches is highly effective in fulfilling this purpose as it enables the companies to reach a wide audience at a low cost. The use of this approach by the Hangzhou Textile Company is therefore aimed at cutting down the necessary costs incurred in marketing. The CEO expressed optimism in adopting more of the direct marketing elements such as the use of emails and mobile telephones and minimize of the use of retail marketing. Unlike the other means of direct marketing that have been mentioned above, the social media is highly cost effective and does not require a huge budgetary allocation as the other approaches. In the competitive global market, the efficiency of a company is mainly determined by its ability to cut down costs. By cutting down the costs, the companies are capable of making huge profits and revenues that is capable of sustaining them within the business environment. As every organization is seeking a competitive edge, the ability to cut down cost is considered a distinctive primary in the success of a business. Marketing as a management aspect tend to take a huge chunk of budget. This implies that budgetary allocation for this activity is often high. As such, it consumes a larger part of the generated revenues. The use of cost effective marketing strategies has helped in coming up with newer methods of ensuring that the marketing costs are kept at minimal. Relatively, the findings have indicated the preference for certain direct marketing approaches. The differences in preferences scale indicates the respondents like and dislikes for using the various means of marketing. Certain approaches to direct marketing are a bit costly while others are least. The respondents have depicted their approval for the various direct marketing methods such as the sue of social media, telemarketing, direct mail, and catalogue marketing. Other approaches such as the use of door to door marketing were deemed ineffective in attaining the required goal. Such methods were seen to be time consuming as well as not capable of achieving the required results. Given the size of the company, and the wide market, the use of door to door would not yield any significant impact. Another major observable element is that the Hangzhou Textile Company utilizes the retail marketing as its major marketing strategy. This method, despite being expensive has been seen to have a major impact on the company’s performance. Retail marketing is one of the major ways through which the company can set pace within the highly competitive business environment. As noted above, the use of retail marketing has been strongly used in boosting the company sales. The textile industry in china covers a wide scope hence necessitating the use of aggressive means of marketing in achieving the set objectives. The use of retail marketing is therefore highly expensive compared with the direct marketing. The use of direct marketing solely as the main marketing technique may help the company a great deal in meeting its set objectives. This method would be highly cost effective and the company would spend little in reaching out to the customers. The direct marketing methods such as the use of social media, telemarketing, catalogues, and direct mails among others can increasingly elevate the company’s performance to higher levels. Nonetheless, given the current market volatility, the use of this method may not be perfect, as the direct marketing methods require time to be fully implemented. The impact of the strategies are achieved in the long-term hence making them incapable of yielding instant results that would enable the company retain a competitive edge in the market.

The aim of this study was to investigate the cost effectiveness of direct marketing in organizational performance.  The above findings have indicated that direct marketing is highly cost effective, hence making it to be highly preferred by many organizations.  Noteworthy, direct marketing cannot be used as a standalone direct marketing technique. The success of a company in the current market system primarily hinges on their ability to cope with the existing levels of market competition. Such levels of competition can only be attained through the use of both retail and direct marketing. Retail marketing offers a robust opportunity for the company to reach out to a wider and larger audience. The retail marketing can enable a company to quickly establish a customer profile, create a market segment, and bring products that are suited towards fulfilling the needs of the people. This may be easily achieved if only direct marketing approaches were used. 

It can therefore be concluded that direct marketing in itself is highly cost effective; nonetheless, this method cannot be applied alone in the current business setting. The increasing competitive market requires the adoption of more efficient marketing techniques that would ensure that the business has a competitive edge above the rest in the market. Given the state of the Hangzhou Textile Company, the best approach is to augment the retail marketing with direct marketing techniques to help in cutting down the various costs. The use of these techniques can help a company make huge savings that could have been used in retailing. The use of the two approaches must be adopted to increase cost effectiveness and competitive advantage of the company within the market. Relatively, not all direct marketing approaches are efficient and cost effective. Approaches such as door to door marketing has been seen as time consuming and not capable of bringing in the required results. A conclusion can therefore be made that both retail and direct marketing are significant to organizational performance. However, the benefits of retail marketing outweigh that of direct marketing. Direct marketing cuts down the costs while retail market increases costs. I would therefore recommend that a blend of the two approaches be used.

CHAPTER FIVE 5.0 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 Introduction This chapter covers the discussion of findings, the conclusion based on the findings and recommendations of the study. 5.2 Discussion of findings The researcher sought personal information from the respondents in a bid to determine the relationship between the reviewed literatures and the respondents’ perceptions. The information was further sought with the key objective of determining the variation in the responses gained from the interviewees. Among the observations, the response from the students indicated that despite the fact that most companies’ use retail marketing, the concept of direct marketing is often blended in to help in increasing the levels of cost effectiveness within the company. Considering the approaches discussed above, the Hangzhou Textile Company was seen to be utilizing both the concepts an indication that most companies are using similar concepts to stay relevant and competitive within the business environment. It can therefore be deduced that the increased use of retail marketing is primarily pegged on its ability draw a large pool of customers thereby enabling the company to stay competent within the market scene. Besides the adoption of this strategy, the companies have further been seen to partially adopt the direct marketing approaches to help in cutting down major costs incurred during operations. The findings on the ability of the direct marketing approaches to be cost effective in the Hangzhou Textile Company are true. This is because the direct marketing methods used in reaching out to the clients are cheap and easily affordable. The methods do not require a lot of employee inputs as they are direct communication between the company and the clients. Earlier in the findings, the study hypothesized that both the retail and direct marketing have direct impact on the organizational performance. The cost effective nature of direct marketing makes it to be highly preferred by many managers, supervisor, and marketers. He study further found out that the use of direct marketing helps in establishing proper relationship between the company and the clients. The Chinese textile company covers a wide scope and has a large number of companies competing for the available markets. Proper customer relations play a key role in achieving this mandate. The use of direct marketing therefore enabled the Hangzhou Textile Company to establish a huge network with its customers hence retaining a large percentage. While the study has indicated that the retail marketing approach is widely used, the study had revealed the same. The retail marketing despite being expensive has been seen to have a large impact on organizational performance. Most of the outcome from the retail marketing can be realized within a short time as compared to direct marketing, which may take longer before the results are seen. The use of retail marketing has also been seen as a means through which further markets can be exploited and developed. As the company seeks to have new ventures, direct marketing may not be the ideal approach to reach out and exploit the new markets. The use of retailers helps in quick sensitization of the product within the target market. It is therefore noteworthy that the use of retail marketing is expensive and is attached to relative high expectations. The direct marketing on the other hand entails the use of simple methods to reach out to the customers. The methods require little inputs and therefore causing the company to incur lower expenses. This scenario echoes the study findings that most companies use both the direct and retail marketing, nonetheless, a gap is left on the extent to which each of the approaches are used. A similar scenario has been replicated in the study where a large number of respondents mainly from the management positions seem to be aligned towards the retail marketing. The questionnaire rating for the respondents’ preference of the retail marketing averaged at 5 and indication of their complete approval. On the other hand, the direct marketing attained an average rating of 4.6 an indication that it is not widely used in the company despite the ability to significantly lower the costs. The above findings bridge the study gap that was created between the application of the marketing models. It answers the question of why the company engages highly on retail marketing and little on the direct marketing. 5.3 Conclusion The study has illustrated and proven that direct marketing is highly cost effective as compared to the retail marketing. The difference in the two types of marketing mainly dwells on the cost of implementation as well as the ability to yield quick results. Therefore, as much as the direct marketing methods are cost effective and bears great ability to yield proper outcome, their use and implementation is limited to the ability to yield fast results. As the market volatility requires companies to be highly competitive, many companies were seen to use the retail approach in setting turned for a given line of products.

5.4 Recommendations The study recommends that: 1. Companies should migrate from the retailer marketing approaches to direct marketing approaches. The adoption of the retail marketing is simple, cheap, and highly effective. Given its slow response to bring about the required impacts, the transition from retail to direct marketing should take place gradually to customize the concept within the organizational culture. Companies should induce the concept of direct marketing in their culture early enough to enable them align the customers with such means of communication. This leads to gradual establishment of the direct marketing approaches which in the long run would enable the company have a large client base that would be consistent with the company products. The study recommends that companies should asses their marketing procedures and strike a balance in their applicability of the marketing concepts. In so doing, they would know and predict their levels of success in using the direct marketing approach. In conclusion, more researches need to be done in this area to shed more insights on the cost effective nature of direct marketing.

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See also

• Artificial intelligence marketing
• As seen on TV
• Customer relationship management
• Direct marketing associations
• Field marketing
• Leaflet distribution
• Personalized marketing
• Street marketing
• Transpromotional

References

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