Cover Story: 50 Best Tips of 2009

3. Segment “pure” web buyers.
When doing a matchback, you have buyers who gave a source code to either your call center or shopping cart, online buyers who didn’t give you a source code but received catalogs, and buyers who ordered but didn’t receive catalogs. Flag those who didn’t receive catalogs as “pure” web buyers and segment them separately because they respond very differently to catalog mailings.
Jim Coogan, Catalog Marketing Economics
“6 Questions to Ask When Cutting Catalog Circ, Part 2,” March 24, Catalog Success: Tactics & Tips

4. Consultants should disagree with you.
Find a consultant who disagrees with you a lot. Most of the time, consultants are brought in to fix problems that exist within an organization that can’t be fixed internally.
Jim Gilbert, Gilbert Direct Marketing
“Consultant, Prosultant or Insultant, Part 2,” March 2, AllAboutROIMag.com columns

5. Coordinate internal integration matters.
Appoint an employee to be responsible for multichannel results communication. This employee should be able to illustrate the unique activities that drive ROI across all channels, while teaching company leaders how to balance the conflicting initiatives that drive results in channels.
Kevin Hillstrom, MineThatData
“Gauging ROI on Retail Email Marketing: A Complex Puzzle,” Aug. 24, AllAboutROIMag.com columns

6. Focus on response, not AOV, for prospects.
Don’t worry about increasing average orders to prospects, because it can impact response. When prospecting, the goal should be to add as many new buyers to the housefile as possible by maximizing response.
Stephen R. Lett, Lett Direct
Print-Plus column, “All Hands on Deck,” October, All About ROI

7. If using auto-reply, answer the question.
If your company uses automated customer service technology to respond to customer emails, double-check each automated reply to make sure it really answers the question. It’s helpful to have the response acknowledge the email and provide a time frame for a human response.
Reggie Brady, Reggie Brady Marketing Solutions
Email Applied column, “Email’s Mounting Role in Customer Service,” September, All About ROI