About two-thirds, or 66 percent, of consumers in the United Kingdom are happy to receive direct marketing if it is relevant to them, according to the Direct Marketing Association (UK) Ltd.'s first-ever study dealing with consumer perceptions of DM.
The study was released this week at the International Direct Marketing Fair, taking place at Earl's Court in London.
The findings also revealed four personality types involving attitudes to direct marketing:
· Open all hours: younger, generally female consumers receptive to direct marketing. They pick and choose, being quick to reject marketing that doesn't impress but slow to throw away customer magazines.
· Pragmatists: usually midmarket consumers in the family life stage. They are concerned with value for money and are the most likely to welcome and respond to DM.
· Pressured Butterflies: likely to be older, upmarket and female. They value fast response, preferring newspapers and magazines as a source of marketing information.
· Guarded Privatists: probably retired and male, they tend to dislike targeted communications, preferring to obtain consumer information from television and radio advertising.
The research was conducted by the Future Foundation and consisted of 762 face-to-face interviews, representing the demographics of the UK's adult population, and 505 completed diaries. Other findings:
· More than half of consumers (57 percent) have purchased through or requested further information from direct marketing.
· 35 percent of respondents claim that personal contact is the most important factor when dealing with companies.
· Consumers get just under five direct marketing communications daily, yet half underestimated this volume, suggesting that consumers do not feel swamped by DM.
· Nearly one-third of direct mail recipients made a purchase, requested more information or filed the document for future use.
· Customer magazines are the most-liked DM medium, with 45 percent holding onto them or responding in some way.
· Home shopping material is most likely to be filed for further use, with nearly 40 percent filing the material or asking for more information.
· E-mail marketing also scored highly, with 30 percent filing, requesting further information or buying.
Melissa Campanelli covers postal news, CRM and database marketing for DM News and DMNews.com. To keep up with the latest developments in these areas, subscribe to our daily and weekly e-mail newsletters by visiting www.dmnews.com/newsletters
