Grand opening of new Linkedin Group – Direct Marketing Questions & Answers

Linkedin members can join by clicking here: http://www.linkedin.com/e/vgh/2080726/.

This is the place to get all of your direct marketing questions answered.

And if you are a direct marketing expert, this is the place to help gain notoriety.

You lost me there (part one, website issues that lose you business)

Part of that presentation dealt with improving Web marketing. Many e-commerce Web sites are good at taking orders, but not so good at capturing prospects.

Thus the goal of this series, which I’m calling “You Lost Me There,” is to help you get more of the people who visit your Web site to raise their hands and request to continue the dialogue with you. You want these people in your database, as they’ve expressed some level of interest in your products.

That said, here are three tips to optimize online sales:

FDMA Catalog Marketing Summit From The Basics to Beyond Thurs 4/16

FDMA Catalog Marketing Summit From The Basics to Beyond!
Date: Thursday, April 16, 2009
What does it take to manage a multi-channel catalog and thrive in this economy? Come join us on April 16 as our frank 5 person panel of experts teaches you from the inside out. Each expert has been hand chosen due to their expertise in specific area’s of catalog management. After each panelist makes their presentation, you will be able to get hands on and ask questions. Topics include…

Three Ways to Cut Customer Acquisition Costs

With response rates down and expenses up, now is a great time for you to look at alternative ways to acquire customers and even lower your customer acquisition costs… You’d be surprised at how many other companies there are out there with products that have an affinity to yours and that would be open to a marketing partnership.

Here are some examples of the types of programs you can set up

Consultant, Prosultant or Insultant? Part 1

Now more than ever, fear is driving the business process. To break it down, business owners/C-levels/boards of directors, terrified of the current economy, are making decisions based on fear. That said, here are eight things a consultant can do for you right now with a set of fresh eyes to balance out the fear-based decision making:

How To Create Catalog Split Test Scenarios That Matter (part 2)

This week in the final installment of this two-part series on the value of creating mail tests that produce measurable, and telling, results for your catalog, I provide takeaway lessons from last week’s example of how one catalog company tested the profitability of using an upgraded paper stock in its catalog. I’ll also list some tips to help ensure your company is conducting productive mail tests.

The Moral of the Story…

How to create catalog split test scenarios that matter

Catalogers these days are racking their brains thinking about ways to decrease costs. Many have turned to changing their books. But as I illustrate below, making universal changes to your catalog can have mixed results. Some of the earliest direct marketers called their work “scientific advertising.”

In part one of a two-part series on the value of creating mail tests that produce measurable, and telling, results for your catalog, this week I tell the story of one cataloger and how its testing proved to have inexact results.

The most basic direct and catalog marketing fundamentals (to learn and re-learn)

I recently had a conversation with another catalog consultant about a client proposal we’re jointly working on. The conversation worked its way to a discussion on the basic fundamentals of direct marketing. In essence, what’s the most basic fundamental of direct marketing that we need to present and our clients need to follow?

It came down to this:

Attention Catalogers: 3 surefire ways to add new names to your catalog mailings (and lower your cost per acquire)

if you’re looking to grow your housefile, there are a number of ways to generate new catalog requests and orders beyond the traditional list rental model. I’ve successfully used the following three services many times in the recent past. These companies are especially helpful to retailers operating in niche markets where there aren’t enough names to mail from rented lists.

1. Catalogs…

The direct mail list business – A primer for general management

Since last September, we’ve discussed printing, merchandise and catalog creative execution. Over the next few weeks, I’ll serve up some suggestions and insights regarding the list side of the catalog business.
Always remember, the 40/40/20 rule of direct marketing states that list selection can impact 40 percent of your direct marketing efforts. 
For starters, you’re probably paying [...]