Many entrepreneurs are so close to their own companies that it’s hard to perceive them through customers’ eyes. Two cases in point that I’ve encountered this week: (Click on the headline for more…)
Catalogs
Will Direct Mail Soon Trail Behind Newspapers?
A recent report by research company Borrell Associates titled Direct Mail Falls, Email Soars has sparked widespread discussion in the direct marketing world.
What caught my attention was that the study, as reported on page 1 of DM News, predicts that over the next five years direct mail will “fall from the No. 1 position for ad revenue to No. 4, behind the Internet, broadcast TV and newspapers.” (Click on the headline for more…)
Are You Missing the Boat?
I just got an email from a cataloger who had recently returned from the ACCM catalog conference in New Orleans. He reported with dismay that attendance had dropped significantly, down to about 500 from around 2,000 just a couple years ago.
What I found interesting was this particular cataloger is the quintessential example of doing what so many companies do –
(Click on the headline for more…)
The “Do Not Mail” Disconnect
Direct marketers who do a lot of testing know for a fact that there’s often a disconnect between what people say they do and what they actually do.
I started noticing this decades ago when I had my first job at a direct response ad agency. Friends would gently berate me (Click on the headline for more…)
Court Your Customers, Even the Opt-Outs
My friend Amy recently decided to cut down on the large number of catalogs she received regularly. After emailing her opt-out request to a wide variety of companies, she reported that only one tried to nurture the relationship any further. (Click on the headline for more…)
