Multi-channel marketing = the web + other electronic media, says ERA

E-commerce stands on its own as a direct sales channel, but it can be even stronger as one link in a cross-channel, direct-to-consumer effort that includes TV and even radio, says Jack Kirby, the CEO of direct marketing company Continuum Commerce and Electronic Retailing Association chairman, who’s made that message a key part of this year’s ERA platform.

Direct response sales on TV can benefit from incorporating with web sites, and marketers’ e-commerce sites gain by linking up with direct TV, Kirby says. They all benefit by being part of the same continuous loop Kirby calls the circle of commerce, he adds. “If you as a marketer say I’m only a TV, an Internet , or a radio marketer, you are not just leaving crumbs on the table--you’re leaving loaves of bread,” Kirby tells Internet Retailer. “Consumers are using all three of those electronic channels.”

Electronic retailing in all its forms last year represented about $186.3 billion in sales annually, estimates the ERA. That includes $106.7 billion in direct TV sales, $39.6 billion in radio direct marketing, and an estimated $40 billion in online sales. While retailers may more often think of commerce channels as the combination of stores, web and catalog, Kirby is seeking to expand their definition of multi-channel retailing to include the rest of direct-to-consumer media. Stores also benefit from direct sales marketing efforts, Kirby contends; according to the ERA, more than a third of viewers polled indicated they have purchased a product in a store that they were first exposed to on direct TV.

“Savvy marketers today know they need a presence on television, on the web, and in some cases, radio and other distribution channels as well,” says Kirby. “They have to be where their consumers are.”