Response to the Two articles

What are some of the benefits of direct mail compared to electronic means of marketing? Bar codes (addressed in one article) seem so promising, but what are some of the possible concerns with their use? Do you think e-marketing techniques will replace traditional forms of marketing (direct mail, phone calls, newspaper ads/promotions)? Besides the types of business and examples that are mentioned in the article, what are some other companies who would benefit from direct mail efforts? How would they benefit?


Personally, I hate to receive electronic mail, and I rarely read it. Direct mail might cost more, but it is much more personalized and if the mail was created properly it will catch someone's eye and let them know that a company is thinking about them and trying to start doing business or retain their business. As William Kapas, president of J.C. Kapas Real Estate Co. said, "I think it's easier to delete the electronic junk mail without taking a second look." Unless I am expecting an e-mail from someone or it is from an e-mail I know I usually delete it. Plus, when people receive mail it usually is unexpected while I know that every day I am going to have spam mail in my in-box that I am going to have to delete and it becomes bothersome.
On the subject of bar codes in magazines to help identify items, those are never going to work. The technology is available, but I highly doubt that anyone is going to take the time to read a magazine and if they find an item with a bar code that they want, take out their phone, buy/download an app, take a picture of the bar code and wait instead of just googling the product or going to the companies website. Remember that Americans are really lazy and desire to do as little work as possible? I do not believe that there are going to be enough people with subscriptions to these special magazines who also have a smart phone and are willing to pay for this new service, because lets be honest this is going to cost money either through the magazine or through the cost of the application.
E-marketing will never replace the good old mail system. Sure, e-mails have taken a chunk out of the bulk and spam shipping's, but having a physical letter or flier will always trump an email, even when companies have a small budget. As said in the second article that we read, Ms. Settle noticed that she "started hearing from customers that they never got their 'reminder' in the mail." People definitely take notice to changes like this and they do not want to be shortchanged or stiffed just so a company can save a few thousand dollars.
Some companies that would benefit from direct mail efforts would be companies like JCPENNY, Sears and Staples where they send out catalogs to their customers and can physically see what the company is offering and what the prices are. Some companies that would benefit from increased mailings would be any graphic design company producing advertisements, any shipping company and any paper or stationary company.
Lets think of this idea from a different angle, with the huge boom in cell phone usage, why have people not switched or turned off their landlines? It is the same idea that they want a physical and direct connection to the source, and what happens if a satellite gets destroyed and there is no more cell phone reception? It all has to do with the paradigm of people liking what they are use to and everyone is use to mail. I'm sure that in the future mail might become obsolete, but it will take a long time for people to get use to their bills being sent through an e-mail as opposed to a letter.