News at Bresser's Information Service

09/05/08	"Direct Mail Versus E-mail: You Decide" eMarketing and Commerce.com, September 5, 2008, by Barry Abel "For direct marketers, the print-to-online transition is an ongoing one. Consider the following facts comparing direct mail to e-mail for marketing purposes." Click here to read more...
09/05/08	"Postal: Coming Clean - How to get the most impact from list hygiene" Target Marketing Magazine, August 1, 2008, by Jennifer Williams & Bill Singleton "As a direct marketer, you now that the list, creative, product, offer and mailer all play significant roles in motivating your customers to buy from you. The list-your file of customers-is often cited as the single most important factor in your marketing. We suggest that the delivery process is the second most important factor because the most beautiful package featuring a compelling offer of a marvelous product is wasted if it does not get into the hands of a potential buyer." Click here to read more...
09/02/08	"Broken Graphics and the 40/40/20 Rule" Direct Magazine, August 26, 2008, by Ken Magill "E-mail marketing executives talk incessantly about the importance of relevancy. And rightly so. But they often also talk about relevancy like it's new and unique to e-mail. It's not. It's related to a direct marketing concept that's as old as, well, direct marketing: The good old 40/40/20 rule." Click here to read more...
09/02/08	"3 Tips for Lifting Response and Profits" Target Marketing Magazine, August 27, 2008, by Joe Boland "These are tough times for direct marketers across the board. Postage and paper costs continue to rise, the economy is sluggish and response rates are falling as consumers become more judicious with their purchases. Customer files are shrinking, and marketers are taking a hit." Click here to read more...
09/02/08	"The B-to-B To Do List for a Down Market" B-to-B Online, September 2, 2008, by Dave Nelson "Yes, these are recessionary, inflationary times. Everywhere you turn there are tales of doom and gloom. However, as a resilient direct marketer, it's time for you to re-examine and refine your strategies. When you make it through this slowdown, you'll come out way ahead when happy days are here again." Click here to read more...
09/02/08	"Winning With Key Mail Moments" DM News, September 1, 2008, by Sheila Eletto "The recent focus on "customer experience" has a lot of people revisiting Web site designs, call center processes and customer relationship management platforms. It also means looking closely at your direct mail programs to ensure they are keeping step with other go-to-market channels." Click here to read more...
08/29/08	"IL AG Sues Car Dealerships Over Mailings" Direct Magazine, August 29, 2008 "Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan last week sued two Chicago-area auto dealers alleging deceptive direct mail practices, her office announced." Click here to read more...
08/29/08	"Hot Prospects: The Non-Buyers in Your House File" Multichannel Merchant, August 25, 2008, by Matt Morton "Are you segmenting your buyer file by original sources like web, retail and phone? It may also make sense to look at some of the non-buyers on your database. For example, you may have prospects generated by trade shows, e-mail referrals, space ad inquiries and store visits. If the quantities warrant it, segment out each group and test by mailing a portion or send the entire batch of names over to a co-op of your choice for optimization." Click here to read more...
08/26/08	"Abacus: No Shrinkage in Direct Mail" Multichannel Merchant, August 25, 2008, by Tim Parry "Direct mail circulation has barely shrunk since the May 2007 postage increase, according to the 2008 Abacus Trend Report. Mailers reduced their prospecting volumes by an average of 1%, compared with the prior year. But the report also documents a shift in circulation from prospecting to deeper house-file penetration, according to Abacus, a division of Epsilon." Click here to read more...
08/26/08	"Recycling Offers Direct Mail Another Chance to Make a Difference" B-to-B Online, August 18, 2008, by Amy Syracuse "Discarded direct mail pieces still have a shot at achieving great results, at least from an environmental standpoint. It's called recycling. The catch is that just because the capacity for recycling direct mail exists, that doesn't mean consumers are doing it." Click here to read more...
08/22/08	"6 Steps to Improve E-Mail & Direct Mail Content" Target Marketing Magazine, August 20, 2008, by Ethan Boldt, Inside Direct Mail "Because of today's challenging economic climate, consumers are time-crunched and cash-strapped. They not only have less time to read their direct mail and e-mails, they also are less willing to part with their money. These are significant hurdles for marketers who rely on direct mail and e-mail channels for building revenue." Click here to read more...
08/22/08	"5 Tips: improving Direct Mail ROI" DM News, August 22, 2008, by Kevin McKeefery "Though direct mail has always been a reliable channel, personalized copy and unique offers can heighten response rates and improve ROI. Five experts offer tips on how to optimize your mail campaign." Click here to read more...
08/15/08	"CMO Council Study Finds Gap Between Sales and Marketing" BtoB Online, August 12, 2008 "A qualitative study by the Chief Marketing Officer Council revealed several disconnects between sales and marketing organizations." Click here to read more...
08/11/08	"B-to-B Insights: Make an Offer The six key components of effective B-to-B offers" Target Marketing Magazine, August 1, 2008 "How important is the offer in B-to-B marketing? Answer: Very. I have seen numerous tests in which a simple change of offer has increased the response rate by 25 percent to 900 percent-dramatically improving return on marketing dollars. The best of these B-to-B offers share six common characteristics, and to lift your response rates, your offers should, too." Click here to read more...
08/06/08	"On The Rebound - How Direct Marketers can make the best of a bad economy" Direct Magazine, August 1, 2008, by Russell Kern "These days merely opening the paper or listening to the evening news is guaranteed to bring on a bad mood. Oil and food prices go one way while employment goes another - and the forecast is for more of the same. This makes consumers nervous. And nervous consumers are cautious ones, especially when it comes to their purchasing behavior. But remember, people still want to buy. To bring them around, marketers have to focus on two things: the essential drivers of direct response and the emotions that influence consumer behavior."
08/06/08	"USPS Publishes Fact Sheets for New Rules for Addressing Flats" Direct Marketing Association, August 5, 2008 "The US Postal Service (USPS) on March 29, 2009, will implement new address placement and formatting requirements for Standard Mail, Periodicals, Bound Printed Matter, Media Mail, and Library Mail flat-size pieces sent at automation, presorted, or carrier route prices. Also, the USPS will adopt related revisions for automation and presorted First-Class Mail flats."