1.3. OBJECTIVES
Explore the relevance and value of DM to contemporary consumers.
Establish whether marketers can leverage DM in Multichannel communications.
Evaluate the premise which considers ‘Is DM dead?’.
1.4. IMPLICATIONS
A mixed-methods approach will triangulate data (Saunders et al. 2012), allowing for an exploration to the understanding of contemporary consumer attitudes towards the use of traditional and digital communications as well as exploring how this is reflected by practitioners. The dissertation will clarify the contexts whereby DM may create value, including Multichannel consumption.
2.0. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. FOUNDATION
This chapter will analyse existing literature surrounding communication channels in marketing practice. Channel within the realms of the review relate to the means by which organisations gain access to and communicate with stakeholders (Kellior, 2008). The review will focus on themes of: the changing face of communications, shifting consumer attitudes to marketing, the emergence of Multichannel communications (MCC) and relevance of Direct Mail (DM). Although the literature explores a variety of consumption contexts, they will be contextualised to form an understanding of the relevance and value of DM within the changing consumption landscape.
2.2. DIGITISATION
Tangibly, the phenomenon of digitisation has become central to consumer daily routines, shaping the traditional ways in which consumers and businesses interact and how the internet is being used. An increasing amount of time is spent online browsing, e-mailing, cloud storing, streaming and accessing Social Media via connected devices such as smartphones, tablets and laptops (Taiminen & Karkaluoto, 2015). The expression, “if a company cannot be found in Google, it does not exist” seems to personify consumer behaviour today, where consumption has shifted to a demand in improved interactions (Shein, 2015: p.26). Christodoulides (2009) additionally argues a company’s website is the home of the brand and additional channels should be supplementary. Literature has conclusively shown that digitisation is positively related to business growth, performance and competitiveness (Taiminen & Karkaluoto, 2015; Galloway, 2007; Shein, 2015). Digital marketing including Social Media, provides valuable opportunities to extend reach and attract new customers more efficiently by reducing marketing spend and enhancing frequency of direct communications (Chong & Pervan, 2007; Barnes et al. 2012; Mangold & Faulds, 2009). Simmons (2007) shows that Email is utilised regularly in information sharing, relationship building and to drive call-to-action in a one-way format, not indifferent to DM. This reinforces the view by some that Email is a suitable and effective replacement for DM (Taiminen & Karjaluoto, 2015). Notably, Reijonen (2010) argues that traditional marketing is no longer applicable to SMEs, who adopt strategies which are more informal, spontaneous and reactive. In consequence, this points to the premise that DM is no longer valuable, driven by a new breed of consumers who are no longer content with being passive recipients of generalised marketing materials (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Two-Way Communications (Kiani, 1997: p.188)
Given that this was suggested to be one of the prominent initial uses of DM (Bezijian-Avery et al. 1998), digitisation differs in its use of constant dialogue and movement into obtaining valuable insights into preferences and needs, focusing on prioritising customers or market orientation (Kohli, 2017). As such, growing perceptions that the web is a faster, less-expensive, more-immediate communication channel which offers high-levels of flexibility, addressability and accessibility have assisted the progress of digitisation in m
