What is the Difference Between Direct Marketing and Personal Selling

The main difference between direct marketing and personal selling is that directing marketing is the action of selling products or services directly to the public, rather than through retailers, whereas personal selling is a type of selling where a salesperson tries to persuade customers to buy a product.

Direct marketing and personal selling are two methods of selling products and services. Moreover, in both methods, the company directly approaches the customers without a third party.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is Direct Marketing 
     – Definition, Features, Examples
2. What is Personal Selling
     – Definition, Features 
3. Similarities Between Direct Marketing and Personal Selling
     – Outline of Common Features 
4. Difference Between Direct Marketing and Personal Selling
     – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

Direct Marketing, Personal Selling

What is Direct Marketing

Directing marketing is the action of selling products or services directly to the public rather than through retailers. This is actually a promotional method involving presenting information about your brand, product, or service to the target audience without using an advertising middleman. Moreover, this method involves mail, email, brochures, catalogues, flyers, database marketing, newsletters, coupons, texting campaigns and using social media – like creating an ad on Facebook.

Unlike traditional marketing campaigns, direct marketing does not use mass media or media publications; instead, they communicate directly with target audiences. The main goal of direct marketing is to persuade the recipient to take action. This is why most mails, emails, brochures, newsletters, etc., have a call to action. They persuade the recipient to take action: to click a link, to visit a website, call for more information, submit their names and addresses to a mailing list, or make a purchase. Furthermore, it’s easier to measure the effectiveness of direct marketing when compared to other promotional methods. 

What is Personal Selling

Personal selling is a type of selling where a salesman tries to persuade customers to buy a product. In other words, sales occur when the salesman uses his skills and abilities to convince the customers. We can also describe this as face-to-face selling. Personal selling can occur in a retail setting or over the phone, or even on social media. Moreover, good personal selling techniques can satisfy the customers’ needs and give priority to their preferences without making them feel pressured. In addition, good salespeople offer information, advice, and recommendations and help customers save money and time.

Have you ever seen perfume and cosmetic counters in department stores? This is an example of personal selling. At these counters, the customers can get advice on how to use the product and also try on various products. Generally, companies use personal selling to sell products with high prices or products with complex features. We encounter many more examples of personal selling in real life. Real estate agents, salespeople at car dealerships, door-to-door salespeople are some other examples.

Similarities Between Direct Marketing and Personal Selling

• With both methods, effectiveness can be easily measured.
• Furthermore, in both methods, the company directly approaches the customers without a third party.

Difference Between Direct Marketing and Personal Selling

Definition

Directing marketing is the action of selling products or services directly to the public rather than through retailers, while personal selling is a type of selling where a salesperson tries to persuade customers to buy a product.

Involves

Direct marketing involves mail, email, brochures, catalogues, flyers, database marketing, newsletters, coupons, social media, and texting campaigns. Personal selling, on the other hand, involves salespeople using their skills and abilities to convince the customers to buy products.

Reach

With direct marketing, you can reach a massive audience, but with personal selling, you can only reach a limited number of customers.

Message

With personal selling, the message can be personalized for each customer, but this not possible with direct marketing.

Relationship

Direct marketing is mainly about instant gratification; customers may not build a trusting relationship with the brand since there is no personal touch. Personal selling, on the other hand, revolves around building a personal relationship with customers. 

Conclusion

In brief, directing marketing is the action of selling products or services directly to the public rather than through retailers, while personal selling is a type of selling where a salesperson tries to persuade customers to buy a product. Moreover, direct marketing involves mail, email, brochures, catalogues, flyers, database marketing, newsletters, coupons, social media, and texting campaigns. Personal selling, on the other hand, involves salespeople using their skills and abilities to convince the customers to buy products. Thus, this is the difference between direct marketing and personal selling. 

Reference:

1. Kenton, Will. “Direct Marketing: What You Need to Know.” Investopedia, Investopedia, 14 Dec. 2020, Available here.
2. “Principles of Marketing.” Lumen Learning, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. ““2123481” (CC0) via Pixabay
2. “Young couple talking to a sales person in a car showroom Free Photo” by senvipetro (CC0) via Freepik