DIRECT MARKETING IN UKRAINE: MAIN PROBLEMS AND DEVELOPMENT PROSPECTS

Abstract

The article is devoted to the popularity of direct marketing in the Ukrainian market. The main research method was the study of the theoretical and methodological aspects of determining the role played in the development of marketing communications through the research of specialists. Thus, it was determined that direct marketing is an interactive means of marketing communication that can simultaneously use several options for the distribution of an advertising message to elicit a response that can be accurately measured and make a sale. It was pointed out that databases are a necessary and important tool in which all information about existing or potential customers is stored. Distinguishing features of direct marketing have been identified, thanks to which it is possible to form a circle of customers who are determined to provide constant feedback, increase loyalty to the company, product or service and, as a result, to make repeated purchases or appeals. Four main principles of the popularity of direct marketing are substantiated: measurability, processing of large volumes, increasing the effectiveness of traditional means and the use of multi-channel marketing communications. The article also examines the distribution channels of this form of communication according to the European Direct Marketing Association (FEDMA), namely: personal selling, direct mail, catalog marketing, telephone marketing, television marketing and Internet marketing. The inherent advantages and disadvantages of all direct marketing tools are analyzed. So, we have developed a scheme of effective communication during direct marketing campaigns, which can be used as a basis not only in postal or e-mail mailings, but also in the case of telephone marketing. It was also determined that the use of electronic channels in direct marketing in Ukraine shows its advantages compared to others, therefore it is necessary to competently defend the marketing complex so that it is impossible for messages in the direct marketing system to contradict other marketing messages and mislead the consumer.