Dialogmarketing

The consumer behaviour of potential customers has changed greatly in recent years due to globalisation, growing individualisation and the diverse possibilities in information technology. Customers want to be addressed individually, which is mainly due to the fact that today there is an invaluable variety of products for which comprehensive information can be requested and, in general, the complexity of markets has increased. Customers no longer identify themselves in the masses, quite the opposite: they expect a personal message where they feel addressed as an individual. In addition to the possibilities on the market, those of the advertising media have also increased enormously - both online and offline. Likewise, messages have to be successfully conveyed within a few seconds, as nowadays there is a veritable flood of information, so that attention spans are becoming shorter and shorter. All these factors entail a continuous reorientation and adaptation of corporate communication and the use of advertising tools. Dialogue with potential customers takes place on a personal level, and the precise measurement of performance is also becoming increasingly important. The marketing form used for this purpose is dialogue marketing, which offers a direct approach to the customer as well as the necessary instruments for modernised customer communication and interaction.

Definition and meaning of dialogue marketing

The German Dialogue Marketing Association defines dialogue marketing as "...all marketing activities in which media are used with the intention of establishing an interactive relationship with individuals. The aim is to induce the recipient to an individual, measurable reaction (response)." It forms a part of direct marketing, whereby the latter primarily aims at a personal customer approach. Dialogue marketing goes one step further, as it focuses on the mutual exchange of information between supplier and consumer. It turns to the individual customer, who is addressed personally through dialogue-oriented media. Especially in online communication, it is of great importance for sales, marketing and customer service.

With the increasing importance of internet-based communication channels for marketing, sales and customer service, dialogue with the customer is becoming the focus of sales management considerations. The specialised field of dialogue marketing has become a generic term that today also includes classic direct marketing activities such as direct mail and telephone canvassing. This shift in focus is also reflected in training profiles and job advertisements. Since 2006, there has been an apprenticeship programme for the profession of dialogue marketing specialist.

How dialogue marketing works

In dialogue marketing, the needs and interests of potential customers are filtered out by trained sales specialists or even advertising experts. Subsequently, customers receive individual offers for products or services intending to deepen customer relationships. Advertising channels, which are preferred in this process, have a responsive element and thus enable measurable responses from the customer. These responses can differ from one another - from clicking on an online ad to contacting a service hotline or scanning a QR code, everything is possible. The scope of the respective interactions varies greatly.

Dialogue marketing makes use of the following instruments:

• Fully and partially addressed advertising mailings, TV or radio spots with a response element
• E-mail marketing (newsletters and mailings), telephone marketing .
• Customer cards, bonus and loyalty programmes
• Couponing (online/offline)
• Search engine advertising (SEA), online ads (content/display ads), classic ads with response element
• Social media profiles
• Company and product websites, trade fairs, product sampling

It is always recommended to make it as easy as possible for customers to respond to an advertising measure that has been carried out in order to enter into dialogue with them. Both pre-paid reply letters and service hotlines are suitable Responsive-elements. In addition, certain financial incentives are also suitable to gain a reaction on the customer side. These include a money-back guarantee, and discounts can also be offered for sending in coupons. Alternatively, depending on the industry, early bird offers or even friendship promotions are possible.

With the help of Responsive-elements, customer feedback should be gained and advertising success made measurable. In this way, companies have the chance to react immediately to emerging failures and to take appropriate measures. Responsive elements such as the money-back guarantee not only strengthen the customer's trust in the company, they also give clear indications of how well the product has been received or what improvements could be made.

Goals pursued by dialogue marketing

Dialogue marketing aims to understand customers' views on brands, services or products through interactive relationships with them and thereby also to influence them positively. Accordingly, dialogue marketing pursues both cognitive and affective communication goals. These have a great influence on brand awareness and its image, alternatively also on the image of the company. Likewise, consumers are to be induced to take certain actions. The economic goals of dialogue marketing include first-time and repeat purchases; it thus aims to increase both the turnover and the profit of the company. The acquisition of new customers plays just as important a role as the cultivation of regular customers. This is especially important in markets where competition is fierce. The corresponding customer loyalty measures should prevent them from leaving for other competitors. In addition, scattering losses in advertising measures are to be reduced. If this goal is achieved, then reactivating existing customers is much more cost-effective for the company than acquiring new customers, although a large part of the advertising budget is still invested in this.

How is the success of dialogue marketing activities monitored in the case of economic communication goals? These are simpler than those for cognitive or affective communication goals. If the company makes a personal offer to regular customers, then the effectiveness of the marketing measure can be evaluated immediately based on the response by comparing the costs and the response rate. In contrast, it is much more difficult to measure advertising successes that can be traced back to the perception of products or services, the emotional experience of brands or even the image of the company. This is sometimes important because dialogue marketing activities are successful even if the customer does not respond. For example, brand awareness increases when an advertising email is written, even if there is no response.

Dialogue marketing services

Companies can carry out dialogue marketing in-house or, for example, commission agencies to do so. There are four services within dialogue marketing. Depending on which is most profitable for the company, all or only one can be used. This usually depends on the requirements and the dialogue marketing project.

Telephone marketing

Dialogue marketing by telephone is one of the most direct ways of communicating with customers. As a rule, the relevant contact persons are acquired through cold calling. In the B2B sector, telephone dialogue marketing has the particular aim of appointing a field service, i.e. an on-site appointment. Alternatively, it can also be an invitation to an event or a trade fair. In the B2C sector, on the other hand, the goal is usually product sales or the use of a service.

Dialogue marketing by e-mail

This service involves both direct and general addressing to personalised and general mail addresses. Mailings are effective in combination with a telemarketing campaign but are less effective without it. In this way, a sent mail is followed up by telephone, whereby new information can also be passed on (also called mail-call-mail) or alternatively a call-mail-call campaign is started.

Dialogue marketing by mail

In today's times, this may sound a bit outdated, but mail is still popular today. Within dialogue marketing by mail, a distinction can be made between fully addressed, partially addressed and unaddressed advertising customers. While existing customers open the mail in up to 50 per cent of the cases, this is more difficult with potential new customers because they have not yet established a relationship with the company. The combination of letter mail and telemarketing is more successful here.

Dialogue marketing via online marketing

Online marketing is a fundamental aspect of dialogue marketing. This includes search engine marketing, website advertising, social media marketing and e-mail marketing.