I have observed that the balance of power between marketers and the legal department has changed in favor of the lawyers.

I am constantly amazed at the profit killing decisions some companies make by not remaining hyper sensitive to their customers’ buying behavior.

There is another compelling reason to test during your rollout periods. It makes sense to test during the same time of the year that you expect to rollout the program should it prove successful.

One of my favorite business thinkers, Peter Drucker believed that to lead into the future, you must first abandon the past. He essentially defined this skill as “abandonment.”

Knowledgeable direct marketers understand the critical importance of the brand and product positioning in generating short and long-term profits. But now, more than ever, direct marketers are routinely relegated to tactical rather than strategic roles.

We say its junk mail only to those who are not interested in our products even though the power of analytics to select an audience based on interest prior to mailing has existed for years. Or we say that not every one will respond by mail

If you make any one of these desires your main selling proposition and support it with an offer that at least partially meets that same need or another from the above list, then you are well on your way to creating a direct mail new control.

I’m driving down the road during lunch hour and hear a radio spot from a well-known printing press manufacturing company promoting a new digital press that I know sells for well over $300,000.

I see dozens of promotions using envelopes containing brochures, postcards, coupons and self-mailers combining all of these. But more and more, these packages contain no letter.