ABSTRACT
Direct and database marketing (D&DBM) evolved from direct mail advertising and mail order catalogues. The direct marketing association definition defines it as: an interactive system of marketing which uses one or more advertising media to effect a measurable response and or transaction at any location. The chapter suggests that direct marketing is a collection of techniques aimed at delivering marketing messages directly to the consumer and mostly trying to directly link a response to a message. A measurable and attributable response to a specific message, rather than on an overall campaign for which the return on investment from individual components may be difficult to separate out. Direct and database marketers use a variety of tools, including interactive media advertising, direct mail, telemarketing and personal selling. In email marketing, permission marketing has actually been made compulsory in the EU in order to avoid spam. The main advantage of permission-based marketing is that its response rate is considerably higher than 'cold calling'.
