Microsoft Word marketing doc

Mail order Business 
Mail order refers to ‘shopping by post’. It is a distinct form of retail 
business wherein the orders are accepted and goods delivered by post. It is a 
method of non-store, impersonal and direct selling that eliminates the 
middlemen. Thus mail order business can be defined as an establishment that 
receives orders by mail and make its sales by mail, parcel etc. 

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Origin and growth 
Mail order business was started in the USA in the last decades of 19
th
century. The popular departmental stores of USA like the Scars Roebuck, 
Montgomery Ward & Co., Butler Brothers etc. have opened mail order houses 
in the last quarter of the 18
th
century. The reasons for the growth of the mail 
order business are development of efficient postal system and communication, 
widespread literacy, improvement in techniques of advertising etc. 
In India, Mail order business has not become popular due to illiteracy of 
the people, ineffective advertisements, defective standardisation, domination of 
agricultural products in trade, lack of efficient postal services in rural areas, lack 
of faith in traders due to their image and unfair trade practices etc. 
Selling Procedure 
The following selling procedure is followed in mail order business : 
a)
It prepares mailing list of potential customers from the source of 
government records like municipal records, road transport office records, 
telephone directories, list of members of associations and clubs. 
b)
It must send catalogues, price list and other relevant literature to all the 
identified customers by post. 
c)
If no reply order is received, enquiries should be followed through reply 
cards or follow up letters. 
d)
The preparation of mailing list is to be followed by an advertisement in 
news papers, magazines etc., 
e)
On receipt of orders, goods must be properly packed and parcels are sent 
through VPP (Value Payable Post) or registered mail.