The Direct Marketing Tactics That Actually Work (And Ones That Don’t!)

Last Updated on 13 May 2026

Direct marketing still holds a place in the modern world and it can be a good way of growing your business. The issue that many business owners or marketing teams run into is that they prioritize the worst types of direct marketing. We’ll mention a few of these later on in this post, but they’re basically the tactics that pester consumers too much without bringing in any results. 

In a world dominated by indirect marketing, you need to focus on the direct marketing approaches that still work. Don’t be fooled into thinking that all of your marketing should be indirect – there are plenty of ways to target your audience directly, so let’s look at the best options. 

SMS Marketing

Anyone can grow ecommerce sales through SMS marketing by using the right tips and tricks. It’s one of the most valuable direct marketing tactics out there because a whopping 98% of texts are read within minutes – and 45% receive a response of some kind. Most consumers will have notifications on their phone to tell them when they receive a text, but the same isn’t always true of things like email. 

More to the point, a text message feels a bit more personal, and you can generate plenty of leads by incorporating links in your texts. Present people with offers or valuable messages, followed by a link, and they’re way more inclined to click on it. SMS marketing is also useful for retargeting campaigns, as you can send current customers quick messages about: 

• New offers based on their previous purchases
• Reminders to re-order the same product if they regularly re-purchase it
• Exclusive sales that are coming up

The crucial thing here is that you make your texts look professional and use a proper business number to send them. This will mean the recipients know who sent the text, rather than seeing a random number that seems quite ominous and may trigger scam warnings in their minds. 

Email Marketing

Email marketing continues to be one of the best forms of marketing in general, let alone a great way to implement direct marketing. Studies show that the ROI for email marketing ranges from 10:1 to 36:1. In other words, for every dollar you spend on email marketing, it could help you earn 36 dollars back. 

What makes it so successful? 

It’s mainly down to how segmented you can make email marketing campaigns. It’s one of the best marketing channels for splitting up your audience and sending different messages to different consumers/customers. Also, the fact that someone has provided you with their email address means they’re likely to be a good lead that just needs a bit of nurturing. 

Like SMS marketing, email marketing offers a way to get really personal – which makes it ideal for retargeting. You can also produce slightly longer content in your email, almost like a mini landing page, to convince recipients to open the message and complete your desired actions. That’s the main way to get email marketing to work: it has to feel personal, rather than look like just a mass-produced marketing email. 

If the user receives an email that strikes at the heart of their interests, there is every chance they’ll open it, read what’s inside, and maybe even make a purchase. 

Personalized Direct Mail

Yes, believe it or not, but direct mail genuinely still holds a place in the modern marketing world – but only under certain circumstances. There’s a theme here that focuses on personalization, and that couldn’t be more important than when it comes to direct mail through someone’s letterbox. 

Posting offers and deals to someone will work if it’s a personalized offer that’s easy for them to claim. For example, you know that someone bought a subscription to your service one time, but they’ve either canceled it or are coming to the end. You’re in the ideal scenario to send them a special discount on their next subscription in the mail – complete with a QR code they can scan to claim the offer in a pinch. 

Why use this over email or SMS marketing? Some businesses find that direct mail cuts through the saturation of both of those markets. People get loads of emails and a fair few texts every day, but they’re unlikely to receive a lot of real mail. So, when something does come through the letterbox, they’re more likely to actually open it and see what it’s about. 

Bad Examples Of Direct Marketing Tactics (These Never Work)

If the three previous examples showcase direct marketing at its best, what are some tactics you should openly avoid? 

• Mass email marketing: As good as email marketing is, it only works when you use it sparingly and personalize the messages. Don’t send out loads of generic marketing emails because many email clients filter them as spam, but most people won’t open them anyway. 

• Cold calling: Most of the time, cold calling doesn’t work anymore. People see it as too pushy; they also use call screening to get around it, and it’s really easy for someone to just hang up the phone if they’re not interested. 

• Door-to-door sales: A surefire way to get people to hate your business is by running door-to-door sales. Nobody likes it when someone knocks on their door to try to sell something. It’s incredibly annoying as the consumer feels like they’re being pressured into a decision. As a result, most people won’t even answer the door and are likely to turn you away.

• Random flyers & leaflets: Stop handing out random flyers and leaflets to people on the street. They’ll throw them in the bin immediately. Instead, it’s better to spend your money on personalized direct mail campaigns. 

Looking back at this post, it’s really easy to understand why some people think that direct marketing is dead. If you only ever focus on the worst tactics, then it will obviously feel like your marketing campaign keeps failing. On the other side of things, if you spend time and effort perfect personalized SMS, email, and direct mail strategies, then direct marketing will be more effective than you realize.