2006 Articles

The Trouble with the "New"
Direct Marketing

April - May 2006



By Warren Hunter and Linda Reed

There is much to be satisfied with in direct marketing today. For example, there exists a healthy exuberance for the next big thing - the magic bullet that will not only improve upon current performance, but also shoot results into the stratosphere and beyond the reach of the competition. This appetite for reinvention is exciting and energizing for all involved with such a marketing program.

Unfortunately, there is a disturbing new trend emerging as well. The boardroom's concentration on quarterly profits and immediate returns has unfortunately trickled down to the direct marketing program level. The key discipline of "test, test, and test again" is being replaced by the demand for instant results.

While all marketers nod in agreement that an investment in audience understanding - produced by profiling, modeling, and other developmental analytics - is most critical to sustainable success, business-to-business marketers (and their consumer counterparts) are being pressured to forego marketing testing in hopes of finding the magic bullet.

It is apparent that the basic tenet of direct marketing - testing - is rapidly being eroded by an "investment in today" mentality. The management teams behind today's direct marketing programs are no longer seeking a lift in response. They are charging their marketing departments to produce results that are far greater than the client has ever experienced - but within the same market using the same selection criteria, or through an untried medium with no benchmark for success. There is much danger in this thinking and it is destroying the potential for direct marketing and its ability to produce measurable return on investment.

This is not a problem that will be solved overnight. However, restitution starts with the belief that the true power of effective direct marketing lies in the power of testing - and testing done right. Testing cannot be rushed. Testing requires strategic thinking. And testing must have management buy in to work. Done properly, testing can help marketers determine what has worked, what needs reworking, and what can be done to save time, money, and resources - for the long haul. It's been said, "If you can't measure it, it's not worth doing." There is no truer statement when it comes to direct marketing. The challenge facing today's direct marketing practitioners then is to somehow preserve the value of testing. It is the job of today's direct marketers to hold the course against the new "overnight success" mentality and to push for testing as the mission-critical way to produce ROI over the long term. This is the only magic bullet that works.

About Warren Hunter and Linda Reed
Warren Hunter is president and chief executive officer and Linda Reed, CLU, is chief marketing officer for DMW, a full-service direct response advertising agency with offices in Wayne, Pa and Plymouth, Mass. The agency provides strategic planning, creative, database management, broadcast, media, production, fulfillment, and Website promotion. Hunter can be reached at 610-407-0407 or via e-mail at whunter@dmwdirect.com. Reed can be reached at 610-407-0407 or via e-mail at lreed@dmwdirect.com. Visit DMW on the Web at www.dmwdirect.com.