For those of you who follow NFL on ESPN, they started doing segments where the commentators show a clip from the past week where a player often is caught doing a really dumb thing, followed by the expression, “c’mon man!” In my thirty years of direct marketing, I have witnessed some legendary mistakes, goof ups, Read More A View from the Marketing Trenches – “C’mon Man!”
Category: Marketing Strategies
What it takes to REALLY move the needle
As direct marketers, we all spend much time “fine tuning”, working under the premise that success will come from the cumulative effect of applying “best practices” in everything we do. This is especially true for us “data geeks” who are continually tweaking this or that model or contact strategy. This search is even more intense Read More What it takes to REALLY move the needle
Why your buyer file may not be as valuable as it used to be: A lesson in lifetime value
The internet is a wonderful marketing tool for most companies, but the impact it has on your house file is often not accounted for. Let’s take a journey back in time; say 5 years ago, when there was an explosion of online marketing services that helped deliver new customers, online, at an unbelievable return on Read More Why your buyer file may not be as valuable as it used to be: A lesson in lifetime value
Do You Really Want to Go Younger?!
This week a client lamented that his customers are growing older, and he intends to target younger prospects with his future catalog mailings. This “Ponce de Leon syndrome” is frequently expressed to me, and in fact, has led many direct marketers to disastrous results as they purposely pursue younger customers with their existing offers, or Read More Do You Really Want to Go Younger?!
Name Your Price, How to Set Correct Pricing Strategies
Again this year, as I reviewed the catalogs arriving in my mailbox and shopped on my favorite websites, I was completely baffled by product prices that seemed completely irrational. They reminded me of a client where I observed similarly abstract prices. When I asked about the prices, she informed me that she simply doubled whatever Read More Name Your Price, How to Set Correct Pricing Strategies
Be Careful with In Home Dates around World Events
Over 25 years ago, I was having dinner with a wise COO of The Sharper Image when he remarked that we were in for a bad year of sales. When I asked why, he responded, “it’s an election AND an Olympic year”? He had tracked the performance of all the various catalog companies he had Read More Be Careful with In Home Dates around World Events