Direct marketing is widely acknowledged as one of the most popular and effective marketing communications tools. Marketing professionals, and those studying for marketing qualifications, need to have an overall understanding of the scope and potential of this whole area.

In a marketplace increasingly defined by customer categories with high expectations for service, quality, and responsiveness, companies are discovering that traditional mass marketing approaches are giving way to more targeted approaches that communicate directly with their customers. But to many consumers, direct marketing has a bad reputation, associated with intrusive door-to-door salesmen, dinnertime phone solicitations, junk mail, and, most recently, e-mail spam. In Direct Marketing in Action, a team of experts in the field dispels common myths and misconceptions about direct marketing and showcases the most current practices, principles, and techniques. The authors cover the full range of issues that must be considered in developing an effective direct marketing strategy, including competitive analysis, information and data management, media and channel selection, building brand loyalty, and measuring the results of campaigns. Bridging the gap between research and practice, clearly defining terms and concepts, and featuring numerous examples, Direct Marketing in Action will serve as an essential handbook for marketers and a comprehensive overview for students, teachers, and researchers. From the dentist who sends check-up reminders to his patients to the hotel chain that customizes room amenities based on their guests' profiles, direct marketing is infused with the idea that the best allocation of our marketing dollar is one that focuses on and communicates with our particular micro market—and reinforces the distinctive benefits that we provide to those customers. In Direct Marketing in Action the authors cover the full range of issues that must be considered in developing an effective direct marketing strategy, including competitive analysis, information and data management, media and channel selection, building brand loyalty, and measuring the results of campaigns. Bridging the gap between research and practice, clearly defining terms and concepts, featuring numerous examples, and presented in a format that can be read cover-to-cover or in modular fashion, Direct Marketing in Action will serve as an essential handbook for marketers and a comprehensive overview for students, teachers, and researchers.

Attract New Customers and Exceed Revenue Goals with iDirect Marketing! “A simple concept ties this incredibly useful book together. Every marketer now is an iDirect marketer. You ignore this concept, and this book, at your own peril.” Al Ries, author of War in the Boardroom “How do you get your brand heard, trusted, and remembered? The answer is in the confluence of digital and direct to form a torrent of minimal cost/maximal result opportunities. Rapp’s vision of an iDirect future and the insights of the book’s contributors put marketing supremacy in your grasp.” Tim Suther, SVP, Acxiom Global Multichannel Marketing Services “The internet brings about the reinvention of everything. Now it is marketing’s turn. Rapp compiles the best thinking on a future with low-cost and no-cost connections between products and consumers. Essential reading for marketers.” Chris Anderson, author of The Long Tail “Direct marketing is interactive, and interactive marketing is direct. With an ‘iDirect’ mindset, digital platforms and innovative analytics impact the data-driven, online, offline, lead-generating, customer-retaining, multichannel direct marketing process. Rapp’s vision for reinventing marketing is a wake-up call for CMOs to think and act differently in a profoundly changed world.” John Greco, President and CEO, Direct Marketing Association “It’s increasingly important to rely on an agency for accountable iDirect solutions. The advertising agency of the future must be adept at reinventing yesterday’s interactive, direct and branding. Rapp’s cohort of experts show the way in this book.” Michael McCathren, Chick-fil-A Conversation Catalyst About the Book Reinventing Interactive and Direct Marketing focuses on how to benefit from a fundamental truth about marketing in the digital era. Interactive Marketing is direct. Direct Marketing is interactive. What has been seen mistakenly as separate disciplines actually are one and the same. Every marketer now is an interactive direct marketer. To help you profit from this new reality, Stan Rapp introduces a new paradigm—iDirect—the 21st-century growth engine at the intersection of digital technologies and direct marketing practices. The gap between what you once took for granted and the iDirect Marketing future is so vast that a team of thought leaders is needed to deal with it. No one person has all the answers. In this book, Rapp brings together marketing luminaries with a variety of perspectives that will open your eyes to astonishing, new opportunities. It contains surprising insights from the top minds in direct marketing, including: John Greco, President of the Direct Marketing Association: How to Market Directly or Be Left Behind Professor Don Shultz, PhD, Northwestern University: Media Allocation for a Mass Networking Landscape Lucas Donat, President, Donat/Wald: ROIpositive Advertising via TV and Print for the iDirect Marketer Mike Caccavale, Founder and CEO, Pluris Marketing: Instant Delivery of Thousands of Individualized Messages Michael Becker, VP Mobile Strategies, iLoop Mobile: Hold the Consumer in the Palm of Your Hand with Mobile Melissa Read, PhD, Vice President of Research and Innovation, Engauge: The Psychology of Motivating Desired Behavior On- and Offline Tim Suther, Acxiom SVP Global Multichannel Marketing Services: Releasing the Full Power of iDirect Fundamentals

Kennedy dares marketers to dramatically simplify their marketing, refocusing on what works. Updated to address the newest media and marketing methods, this marketing master plan — from marketing master Kennedy—delivers a short list of radically different, little-known, profit-proven direct mail strategies for ANY business. Strategies are illustrated by case history examples from an elite team of consultants—all phenomenally successful at borrowing direct marketing strategies from the world of mail-order, TV infomercials, etc., to use in ’ordinary’ businesses including retail stores, restaurants, and sales.

...aims to motivate, inspire, and educate readers about successful direct marketing. --dustjacket

Marketing professionals and those studying for marketing qualifications need to have an overall understanding of the scope and potential of this area. To cater for that need, Direct Marketing offers a practical guide to the subject. Topics covered include campaign planning, database management, mailing lists and telemarketing.

Fact: More commerce and wealth is created by direct mail than by any other media (true before the internet and true now) Reported in 2013 as the marketing channel that "delivers the best ROI for customer acquisition and retention" by Target Marketing’s Seventh Annual Media Usage Forecast survey of B2C, direct mail is surprisingly outdated and under-represented on the marketing bookshelves for small business owners — authors Simpson and Kennedy change that. Millionaire-maker Dan S. Kennedy and direct mail marketing specialist Craig Simpson urge small business owners to drive the momentum built via social media and other marketing avenues into the mailboxes of their target consumers. Unlike other direct mail marketing books on the shelf that specialize in one aspect of preparing a campaign such as copywriting or design, this comprehensive solution covers all — the organizational, technical, and creative including designing, budgeting, tracking, and assessing effectiveness. Also covered is how direct mail can be used in today's online marketing funnels. Benefiting from the authors' combined 30 years in direct marketing, business owners are given the guidelines for what works and what doesn’t, illustrated by real-life business campaigns that show step-by-step how to build a results-producing promotional campaign.