What is Direct Market Advertising?

Direct market advertising, or DMA, is a strategy that involves identifying and marketing to a targeted sector of consumers. The essential idea is to make sure that all marketing efforts focus in on buyers who have demonstrated through their purchasing habits that there is a high potential for interest in the product being marketed. This system of trading is contrasted with the idea of a mass marketing approach, which essentially markets the product or services to all consumers.

The use of direct market advertising has a number of benefits. One of the most immediate is that the advertising budget is concentrated on reaching potential clients who are much more likely to take a moment to consider the qualities of the new product offering. Because the DMA is focused on consumers who are likely to have an interest in the product, the marketing plan can make use of different approaches that are much more likely to actually reach these interested buyers.

For example, a direct market advertising plan may focus on the use of direct mail pieces if it is determined that is the most likely way to reach a given target audience. The advertising budget can devote little or no resources to other forms of advertising that work very well for other products, but are less likely to reach the right group of consumers. From this perspective, the chances of a greater return on each sale are increased substantially.

Smaller businesses often find that a direct market advertising approach allows them to accomplish more than using a mass marketing approach. This is particularly true if the target audience is a particular demographic of the consumer population that is somewhat of a minority among the greater buying public. By employing a direct market advertising strategy to reach a specific niche market, there is a better chance of increasing the client base and earning the smaller business a prominent role in the niche market.

Even buy-side firms such as mutual fund companies can find that making use of direct market advertising can be the best direction for their marketing efforts. Since firms of this type often are more interested in market movements than in taking on great deal of risk, making a connection with the right type of clients is essential to generating sales. Making use of the right marketing approach to a qualified prospect base has the potential to generate more business in a shorter period of time than mass marketing would accomplish.