According to Dun & Bradstreet, the global direct marketing services market is predicted to reach close to $6.7 billion by the year 2027.
The US direct marketing services industry is made up of 2,500 companies. They all have a combined revenue of around $9.5 billion. The direct marketing industry forms part of the larger marketing and advertising sector.
What Is Direct Marketing?
Direct marketing depends on direct communication with individual consumers by means of email, mail, texting campaigns, social media and other delivery systems. Where there is a lack of “traditional direct marketing infrastructure”, global marketers rely on e-mail marketing to reach customers. It is referred to as direct marketing because there is no middleman (i.e., advertising media).
Why direct marketing works is that the emphasis is placed on “measuring the positive effect.” The only downside to this form of marketing is that it usually gets a negative response from receiving what is typically referred to as “junk mail” or “email spam”. In other words, receiving unsolicited electronic or paper mail.
Chargebacks Plague The Industry
The direct marketing industry has fallen into the unfortunate hands of fraudsters, leading to widespread chargebacks. Adding insult to injury, direct marketing merchants have long struggled to find direct response marketing payment solutions that are not only affordable but reliable.
The reason that direct response merchants struggle to find reliable merchant account providers is that their higher incidences of chargebacks have secured their place as high-risk merchants. As high-risk merchants, they will need the service of a reputable high-risk merchant account provider.
Look To EMB For Your Direct Response Marketing Merchant Account
EMB has been working with merchants in high-risk verticals for many years. If you are looking for a trustworthy and reliable direct response marketing merchant account, look no further than EMB. EMB offers a highly-experienced team ready to provide you with custom solutions that suit your individual business needs.
EMB offers direct marketing credit card processing where you can accept securely through mail, over the phone, or through a payment gateway. All of EMB’s processing solutions are protected by PCI DSS compliant services.
You also have the option of accepting checks in a variety of ways, including electronically through the use of the automated clearing house (ACH).This is an ideal method to accept payment as a direct response business because payments can be taken securely and access to funds are quicker.
EMB is a full-service provider, which means that, with the best pricing and customer service, they offer additional solutions such as chargeback prevention, merchant accounts, iChecks, and business funding.
Direct Marketers Should Be More Transparent
There have been many poor players in the direct response marketing field. Specifically, the industry has had a tendency of displaying fraudulent company information. They are also guilty of using “underhanded business practices with customers.” This has further pushed the industry into the high-risk category.
Mastercard has specifically cracked down on “non-compliant” merchant accounts. Chances are higher to secure a merchant account if you as a merchant aim to meet the following criteria:
- Terms of billing should be clearly displayed on the website
- All trial periods must be a minimum of 10 days
- Verbiage must clearly express enrollment into the membership
- Merchants must provide numerous “outlets for cancellation” including e-mail, phone, chat, and mail
The Bottom Line
Although the direct marketing industry has been plagued in the past by some unsavory players, you don’t have to suffer those consequences. EMB is ready to partner with you to take your direct marketing business to the next level. Get in touch and see how we can be of service to you, today.
