Direct Marketing articles from February 1996

Direct Marketing archives from February 1996

CD-ROM technology forges direct links to buyers.
February 1, 1996... Marketers use CD-ROM technology to strike a new value equation with customers. This series of articles examines the way new technologies are overcoming practical database and direct marketing problems while building more rewarding customer...

Bad targeting can sometimes be overcome by good process. (pointers for effective direct marketing)
February 1, 1996... The wrong lead-generating package, however, followed by inadequate processes, can compound the problems of bad targeting. Will they ever learn? Not in our lifetimes, it seems. I'm talking about automobile manufacturers, who have all the tools...

Why do they do that? (experiences with misleading advertisements and bad service)
February 1, 1996... (Part three of an every-once-in-a-while discouraging column) We began this series more than a year ago, listing some concerns we had with "selling" events that occurred to us during the preceding month. It struck a nerve. We quickly received...

Cruisin' down the "hyper-space" road: how to write copy for the (gulp!) Internet. (Part 5)
February 1, 1996... Never has the future of any medium of communications been murkier. But Internet "Principles of Power" have emerged and can guide writers who send commercial messages on this exciting... and frustrating... new medium. What does the future...

Back to school: the benefits of selling to the college market.
February 1, 1996... What are some of the major characteristics of the college market? What are some of the most effective ways to reach this segment? There is a long list of alternative media for reaching college students. As I talk with marketing executives about...

Two winners with help from a friend. (catalog companies Ben Silver Corp. and Mastercraft Industries Co.)(Cover Story)
February 1, 1996... Two catalog companies sell different product lines to consumer markets, but they have many things in common. What do these two catalog companies have in common? Many things. They are both aimed at consumer markets, although their product...

Waging war on the 98% barrier. (versioning to eliminate mass marketing)
February 1, 1996... The ability to marry databased targeting with an appropriate message can be accomplished by what is known today as "versioning." At the DMA's Fall Conference in Toronto several years ago, the father of modern direct marketing, Lester Wunderman,...

For the most effective telemarketing, build your database while you use it.
February 1, 1996... The most accurate, and therefore most effective, databases are those that are constantly updated with new information. And the best way to keep databases current is to amass information routinely while using the database to phone customers and...

Are you really practicing marketing database? Four steps toward dynamic customer management.
February 1, 1996... Four Steps Toward Dynamic Customer Management A real marketing database, or dynamic customer management, is much different than the single mailing list approach followed by many consumer goods companies. Just because your company has a...

Targeting tourists in Traverse city. (Traverse City, Michigan)
February 1, 1996... Desktop mapping software provides access to a wide range of data for making key decisions. The turquoise blue water and white sand of the beaches along the West Bay of Lake Michigan are as beautiful as the Caribbean. Nature has done its part...

Thomasville Furniture crafts an effective Inbound Service Desk. (Thomasville Furniture Industries Inc.)
February 1, 1996... One of the most effective ways for consumers to reach a company is via an Inbound Service Desk. This is essential for providing customers with product material in an organized, efficient manner. Business success is driven by a company's...

Canada. (brief news items on the Canadian marketplace)
February 1, 1996... A reader service devoted to the Canadian Marketplace Mosaic Direct Opens in Canada Cathy Preston, Scott Pinkney, and Dean Maruna have launched Mosaic Direct in Toronto. Preston was previously senior vice president of Marketing & Promotion...

Database marketing has a good year. (Legal Outlook)(Industry Overview)
February 1, 1996... USA Today headlines the obvious "Shoppers Skip Malls To Mail Order."(1) Somehow this was "the surprise success of this holiday season." "Visa says its mail-order charges are up 19.6% so far this holiday season to $2.12 billion. That beats...

PRC issues recommendations on classification reform. (Postal Rate Commission)(The Postal Service Center)
February 1, 1996... On January 26, 1996, the Postal Rate Commission issued its recommendation on the classification reform rate case presented to it by the United States Postal Service. While the recommendation by the PRC closely follows many of the rates presented...