In a number of tools of FMCG goods promotion direct marketing does not have a position it really deserves. The problem is in a common stereotype: if the goods belong to FMCG group then there’s no need to promote them by means of mass communications, for example, by means of TV.

Meanwhile, the consumer audience is not homogeneous. It consists of Personalities realizing their importance and they constantly tend to strengthen and increase their importance. Addressing to each Personality personally, we can receive not angry reaction of a person annoyed by advertising pauses, but an ardent supporter of your goods and your trade mark.

How can it work? A DM professional and a hospitable hostess of the International Business Forum «DM Days in Ukraine», Head of “OS-Direct” DM Agency, Liliya Gorelaya is sharing her point of view.

- What role does DM play in the promotion of goods of FMCG segment? How effective is DM in an increasing competition of brands?

- Direct marketing allows working with the most active part of an audience – leaders of representative groups. These are direct communications from person to person. DM promotes creation of various emotions towards a brand. It stands to reason that we will be loyal to that product which causes our positive emotions.

Today, when we are speaking about FMCG products, mass channels of communications are of paramount importance. However, impersonal communication even of the most advanced trade mark works much worse.

Indirectly it is proved by world tendencies of the advertising market – the share of DM is constantly growing in a total amount of marketing budgets. Vision of marketing policy in Ukraine is gradually changing.

- According to your experience, how does our advertiser understand DM opportunities and efficiency?

- Alas, we have noticed a sad tendency concerning the reasons with which the clients usually address DM agency: «A competitor is holding a certain action – I want such action too!» And they launch a cloned action, not understanding their tasks thoroughly. Very often such actions «buy and win» are explained by an aim «to create a base of loyal consumers». Such substitution can cost very expensive since during the action many consumers get a product in order to receive some additional benefit instead of the product itself. And here is the result: when another trade mark promises the same additional benefit, a consumer goes to this company. An example: two leading brewery companies had actions to maintain their consumers’ loyalty, as it seemed to them. As a matter of fact those actions were absolutely identical – they were of the type «collect and win». With consent of brand-managers of both companies we have compared their databases and found that 60% of consumers are available in both bases. It is clear that the loyalty to this or that trade mark is out of the question.

- But nevertheless the understanding of importance of DM is growing, isn’t it?

- On the one hand, the understanding is growing, on the other hand – there’s still some misunderstanding. So, there is a tendency to wider use of DM tools, however this use is not always correct. Sometimes, having tried various tools and having convinced that in the given situation they do not work, the client starts to listen to recommendations of an agency. For today there are more and more examples when our clients set a correct task and know what they want to get as a result of carrying out DM.

For example, recently we have had a meeting with a potential client. He has set the task - to build a loyalty club. In the course of the talks we’ve come to the conclusion that not a loyalty club but actually a discount program is needed. Or even easier – it is necessary for a client to sell all warehouse stocks more quickly... But in fact, it is an absolutely another task.

It is necessary to distinguish a role of DM in the formation of loyalty clubs and simple action-draws for supporting sales. Loyalty clubs are necessary to choose those people in our huge potential audience who are the most active towards the brand and are really ready to do something for the brand. These people promote the brand in their surroundings.

Thus, the brand is trying to handle not only the relations with these people, but the relations with the surroundings of these people. This is the most important.
The second case where DM effectively works is various discount programs and actions of the type «collect and win» which are directly directed to sales increase. DM will allow informing an audience about such campaign as quickly as possible.

- Please, give some examples of successful DM campaigns when your understanding of DM and its role coincides with a customer’s understanding?

- The example of our cooperation with «Oleina» ТМ is the most prime example. How has this brand promoted itself? Yes, there was a fan club of «Oleina» ТМ, there was a Hot-line support and all possible actions were held including «buy and win». But the most important factor was how the company’s brand-managers worked with consumers. 
How does a Hot-line usually work? Consumers can call, ask questions or complain. More often such calls are answered with a formal «voice reply»: «Thanks for your call; your opinion is important for us».

How did it work in «Oleina» ТМ? Every day we really entered all received questions and complaints into a special file and in the evening we received the answer of a brand-manager of mark which we forwarded to a consumer. And this communication was personally from Marketing Director Nataliya Zagorodnova. She gave a personal answer to all atypical questions. Our employees called back and told: «I am an assistant of Nataliya Zagorodnova, I accepted your question. Unfortunately, Nataliya cannot call back to you. But she asked me to inform you ...». I am sure, that consumers who called to a Hot-line and received such answer told all their friends about it.

Or, for example, such complaints that “Oleina” oil tastes bitter. In this case a special group went to take samples and to find out where and when this oil had been purchased. Then, an irrefragable answer was given. It is some kind of a show, the brightest event of a person during the month. He tells about this to everyone. Even if there were some problems with oil quality, after such actions the trust to the brand has grown.

In this case DM is a network of small transactions – from a consumer to a brand and from a brand to a consumer.

- What was the real effect of this campaign?

- This campaign lasted for 2,5 years. Not all sales data, unfortunately, are open. But since the brand-manager of this TM considers it necessary to constantly invest in the support of loyalty, we assume that it is effective. There is one more indirect indicator - a wish to recommend. For example, we launched such research: we informed our audience that we would like to know more about our consumers and enclosed a questionnaire to the letters offering to answer the questions. In order to get representative answers it was necessary to send 2 labels as a proof that a respondent really uses this oil. We explained how important it was for us. Besides, we asked women-addressees to give their friends questionnaires too, thus involving them as experts. And what about prizes? They received a New Year pin-up calendar. Responses to these letters exceeded 91% of addressees. And more than half of club members involved their friends in this action. The wish to recommend is one of criteria of brand existence in the market.

- How do you see the perspectives of DM development in the Ukrainian FMCG market?

- Every year we hold the International Business Forum «Direct Marketing Days in Ukraine» where the best Ukrainian and foreign DM experts present themselves as experts and lecturers. We constantly carry out marketing educational work with our clients and offer them free-of-charge workshops. It allows us to observe the development of Ukrainian DM, so to say, in a close proximity to it. And we see redistribution of budgets of the companies when carrying out actions towards DM tools. All this allows us to optimistically look at perspectives of direct marketing in FMCG sector.

- How can the role of DM increase in a view of prohibition of advertising of certain goods in mass-media?

- I shall tell straightly that DM branch earned pretty well, when tobacco advertising was legislatively restricted. Then DM companies noticeably cheered up because tobacco manufacturers bought up all databases in legal and illegal ways and carried out very active dispatches. The more restrictions for advertising in mass-media we have, the better opportunities for DM market we get. Whether is it better for advertising market as a whole? It’s another kind of question.

- Let’s return to a forum «DM Days in Ukraine». You are going to hold it for the seventh time. What changes in the audience structure and its interests can you point out? 

 - Several years ago «DM Days» caused interest of В2В companies only and manufacturers of FMCG segment was skeptical about it - «it is not my size».
As of today the situation has changed. Huge interest is observed. Therefore during “DM Days - 2007” we are planning to have a separate stream at a conference “DM Technology” where the range of problems in В2С segment will be considered only.
DM is not only epistolary communications with consumers. These are any personal communications. It is possible to name various general educational programs launched by trade marks in schools, for example, training on how to use the means of personal hygiene or, for example, professional consultations to consumers. Practice shows: up to 80% of the consumers, who communicated with consultants, afterwards buy the goods promoted.

There are a lot of such ways and methods, but the main problem is to be able to choose them correctly, clearly understanding your strategic task. Taking this opportunity, I invite all readers of “Food and Drinks” to visit the International Business Forum «Direct Marketing Days in Ukraine» which will be held on May 24-25, 2007.

Interviewed by Aleksey Furman

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