Mailing Lists Direct Blog

Archive for the ‘Economy’ Category

NORWALK, CT – In a two-part YouTube webcast produced by 1to1 Media and Peppers & Rogers Group, a management consulting firm out of Norwalk, CT, four industry experts explore the changing landscape of direct marketing and its impact on businesses and marketers today.

Today's economy and changing marketplace demands a holistic approach to direct marketing.

This post is the first of the two-part series and features the following industry experts: ... Read Full Story

Businesses who wish to maximize ROI need to understand the dynamics of today’s marketing environment. Today, the most successful marketing is accomplished by a shrewd integration of online and offline marketing. The more traditional methods of direct mail and mailing lists play a key role.

But the smart marketer must also grasp the importance of brand loyalty because even with the best integrated marketing strategy, existing customers can drift away unless you keep them focused on your brand. ... Read Full Story

Today businesses can easily make the mistake of changing how they use their mailing list in direct mail marketing because of the increasing trend in online marketing.

J.C. Penney changes its direct mail marketing strategy

After the catalog giant, J.C. Penney decided to stop publishing their semi-annual “Big Book” catalog, sales suffered more than expected in the second quarter of 2010. ... Read Full Story

DENVER, CO – A new law makes it harder for banks and credit card companies to prey on college students and lure them into debt, but despite this fact, colleges are selling their mailing lists to financial institutions who, in turn, generate steady profits from them.

University of Colorado at Boulder

Colleges also make millions of dollars in the deals that they make with the banks and credit card companies. Although the new law is more restrictive than before the law was passed, nevertheless the banks and credit card companies have figured out how to profit from the college mailing lists and ATM machines placed on campus. ... Read Full Story

Marketing Report

SAN JOSE, CA -  Market research company, Global Industry Analysts, Inc. announced the release of it’s new report entitled, Unified Communications: A Global Market Report on August 22, 2010. According to the report, Direct mail marketing campaigns are expected to increase significantly over the next few years. The report predicts that global marketing expenditures for direct mail will reach $25.45 billion by the year 2015.

Unified communications includes all forms of call and multimedia/cross-media message-management functions. It can include the integration of real-time communication services such as instant messaging, video conferencing, telephony, IP telephony. It is a set of products that provides a consistent unified user interface and user experience across multiple devices and media types. ... Read Full Story

VSS Forecast For 2010-2014

NEW YORK, NY – On August 10, 2010, private equity firm, Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS), announced the release of its Communications Industry Forecast for 2010-2014. The forecast predicts overall growth in the communications industry for the next five years.

The forecast provides a five-year forecast of spending for 2010 – 2014 plus a five-year historical record from 2005 – 2009.

The report is available for purchase, but VSS has provided an article which includes a summary of some of the key points in the report on their website.

Visitors to the VSS website can view the article at http://www.vss.com/news/index.asp?d_News_ID=190. The article includes a few charts and a PowerPoint presentation which is helpful and describes how the forecast breaks down by industry sector.
... Read Full Story

FT MEYERS, FL – Florida based mailing list company, Alesco Data is providing mailing lists for troubled Gulf Coast businesses in the wake of the BP oil spill. The local coastal areas, well-known for their beaches and tourist attractions, have been hurt by the recent oil spill from British Petroleum.

Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa in Destin, FL just east of Pensacola

In an effort to help in the cleanup efforts, Alesco Data is helping contractors promote their services to local businesses by providing mailing lists that are specifically targeted to Gulf Coast areas. ... Read Full Story

USPS Proposes Postal Rate Increase

WASHINGTON, DC – The Postal Regulatory Commission began hearings on Monday, July 12, 2010 for proposed changes in for the U.S. Postal Service. The proposed changes being considered are postal rate increases plus the elimination of Saturday delivery plus shrinking the work force through attrition.

The end of Saturday delivery would bring about a major change from a six-day delivery week to a five-day day delivery week.

Included in the proposed rate changes would be the possibility of raising mail prices above the inflation rate. By law the USPS is limited to rate increases of no more than the rate of inflation. The inflation rate was 0.9% for the 12 months ended in May, 2010. ... Read Full Story

2010 Small Business Survey

WALTHAM, MA – According to the results of a recent survey conducted by Constant Contact, small business owners have a more positive outlook on the economy this year. Seventy-nine percent of small businesses revealed a confident to neutral economic outlook for the U.S. in 2010.

Constant Contact is based in Waltham, Massachusetts, and is a provider of marketing services for small organizations. Services they provide include email marketing, event marketing, and online survey tools. The results of the survey were announced in an April 12, 2010 news release at their website.

The survey, entitled “Small Business Attitudes and Outlook Survey,” was compiled from responses from over 6,800 small business owners and was conducted between February 22, 2010 and April 1, 2010. The survey was done by a targeted e-mail distribution. ... Read Full Story

Direct Mail and Email Integration Report

COLUMBIA, MD – A new marketing study from the customer relationship marketing agency Merkle, Inc. shows that integrating email with direct mail in a company’s marketing programs will improve overall return on investment (ROI).

Integrated direct mail/email marketing programs do bring benefits on both sides of the ROI equation, costs and revenue. In contrast, email only or direct mail only campaigns done in isolation are less efficient.

Integrated programs are able to optimize contact strategy across multiple marketing channels while delivering a consistent message and consistent offers. Companies with integrated programs avoid practices that sacrifice customer value by trading off vehicle-specific goals and objectives. Integrated marketing programs allow companies to fully leverage the strengths of each vehicle.

... Read Full Story