The correct answer is B. Direct marketing.

Delivery services offered by restaurants and other food chains via phone calls represent an example of direct marketing. This method of reaching out to customers directly through phone calls allows businesses to promote their products or services and directly interact with potential customers.

Let’s explore why direct marketing is the correct option and why the other choices are not as suitable for describing this marketing approach.

Why the correct answer is B. Direct marketing:

1. One-to-One Communication:

Direct marketing involves one-to-one communication between the business and potential customers. In the case of food delivery services, the restaurant or food chain directly contacts customers via phone calls to promote their services and take orders. This direct, personalized communication is a hallmark of direct marketing.

2. Promotion and Sales:

The primary purpose of direct marketing is to promote products or services and facilitate sales. When restaurants use phone calls to offer delivery services, they are actively promoting their food and encouraging customers to make purchases. This aligns with the core objectives of direct marketing.

3. Response-Driven:

Direct marketing is often response-driven, meaning it aims to elicit a specific response from the recipient of the marketing message. In the context of food delivery, the response sought is the customer’s decision to place an order. By directly contacting customers through phone calls, businesses can prompt immediate action, which is a characteristic of direct marketing.

4. Measurable and Targeted:

Direct marketing allows businesses to measure the effectiveness of their marketing efforts. They can track the number of orders received through phone calls, assess the return on investment, and make adjustments to their marketing strategies based on the results.

Additionally, direct marketing can be highly targeted, as businesses can focus their efforts on specific customer segments likely to be interested in food delivery services.

Why the other options are not correct:

A. Sales Promotion:

Sales promotion refers to short-term marketing activities aimed at boosting sales of a product or service. While offering delivery services can be a form of sales promotion, it is a specific tactic within the broader category of marketing.

Sales promotion often includes activities like discounts, coupons, and limited-time offers, which may not be the primary focus of delivery services via phone calls.

C. Publicity:

Publicity involves generating media coverage or attention for a business, product, or service. While the introduction of delivery services may attract media attention or public interest, the act of offering these services directly through phone calls is more aligned with direct marketing.

Publicity typically involves media outlets, press releases, and news stories, and it often has a broader scope than direct marketing.

D. Personal Selling:

Personal selling is a one-on-one sales approach that typically involves face-to-face interaction or direct communication between a salesperson and a potential customer. While phone calls involve direct communication, the use of personal selling is more characteristic of in-person sales interactions.

Phone calls in the context of food delivery services can be considered a form of direct marketing but do not necessarily represent the traditional approach of personal selling.

In summary, offering delivery services through phone calls is a form of direct marketing. It involves one-to-one communication, promotes products or services, aims to elicit a specific response (placing an order), and is measurable and targeted.

While aspects of sales promotion, publicity, and personal selling may be present in the overall marketing strategy, they do not capture the essence of this direct interaction with customers through phone calls, which is a hallmark of direct marketing.