The latest study from database marketing and consumer insight firm KDB found that only 12% UK consumers say they are receiving offers via direct marketing that is of personal relevance to them. In contrast, 54% of respondents said that virtually none of the offers were relevant and 34% said only some of the offers were of relevance
This is despite the fact that 42% of respondents said most of the direct marketing offers they are receiving come from companies they already deal with.
Interestingly, the 18-24-year-old age group are more likely to receive direct marketing offers from companies they already deal with (63%). Email marketing is a very effective means of communicating with existing customers and today’s younger generations are increasingly web savvy, which almost certainly accounts for the higher levels of communication they are receiving. They also claim to receive more relevant communications than other age groups, though this is still comparatively low at 18%. Older people are least likely to find the communications they receive to be of relevance, though the over 55s are more likely (36%) than 45-54-year-olds (31%).
When it comes to gender, differences are less pronounced. Women tend to receive more communications from the companies they deal with than men (44% and 39% respectively), but conversely, men claim to receive more relevant offers than women (13% and 11% respectively).
Matt Boot, chief analyst at KDB, comments: “Given the substantial proportion of consumers claiming to receive offers from companies they already deal with, we would expect the level of relevant communications to be much higher. At a time when customer retention is key it is surprising that marketers aren’t trying harder to communicate smartly with their customers.
“Too much irrelevant direct marketing, whether by mail, email, SMS or phone, can lead consumers to become frustrated with the companies they do business with and to seek out alternatives.
“It is essential for marketers to use customer data to understand what their customers want. When used intelligently customer insight can not only help businesses target existing customers properly but also identify what will attract new customers.”
About KDB
KDB is a data and database marketing consultancy whose services include analysis for campaigns, insight into customer patterns and behaviour, database hosting, and campaign management. KDB is retained by household name organisations in the retail, financial services, travel and utilities sectors.
