Stephen Lett

Not all direct marketers are familiar with matchbacks and why they're important. I thought it might be helpful to explain the matchback process and why it's a critical tool for evaluating results and developing mail plans. Matchbacks are the process of having your order file “matched back” against your recent mail files in order to…

Who doesn’t like a good money-saving deal? It’s human nature to want to save money. "Free shipping! $10 Off! Gift with order! Save 20%! Buy one get one free!" These are all common offers that motivate customers to purchase. We all know that promotional offers increase the rate of response. How do you keep from…

In a direct marketing business, a customer list (i.e., housefile) is your most valuable asset. Therefore, it's important to manage your housefile and to keep it segmented and always up-to-date. To keep your housefile current, you need to merge/purge it regularly. What does this mean? Merge/purge is a process that identifies and removes unwanted or…

I want to discuss the basics of list segmentation and why it's an important part of maximizing profitability. Segmenting your customers (i.e., house file) will help you know who to mail and, just as important, who not to mail. The days of mailing your entire house file every mailing is over. It's time to begin…

What would happen if you mail down to the breakeven point and stopped there? In other words, eliminate all the R-F-M cells that fall below the incremental breakeven point. This sounds like a financially smart thing to do, but is it? The cold, hard facts are that if you elected this mailing strategy it would…

Most of you would say “yes” to this question. But do you really know the level of customer service you're providing in the eyes of your customers? According to an article in a local newspaper by Gad Allen, faculty director of the Jerome Fisher Program of Management and Technology at the University of Pennsylvania, “statistics…

The horrific pandemic caused people to stay home most of the year, which created a large spike in orders for many direct-to-consumer companies, both catalog and digital. The increase in demand was so significant that it caused issues for the supply chain. Many retailers scrambled to purchase inventory in order to meet the order demand…

What is direct mail? It's unsolicited advertising sent through the mail to existing customers and prospects. Examples include postcards, solo mailers, catalogs, self-mailers, etc. Unlike mass media, direct mail is targeted so that you're reaching your most desired audience. It’s a rifle vs. a shotgun approach to marketing effectively. In this post, I'll discuss the…

We've rounded the corner and thank goodness we feel the country is on the backside of the COVID pandemic. What a ride it has been! It's far from over, but under control. For many consumer companies, COVID caused a surge in business with more people working and shopping from home. It has put pressure on…

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are important to any print catalog or digital marketing business. Knowing how often and which KPI to track can make a huge difference to your profit and loss (P&L) statement. You need to separate the “nice to know” from the “need to know” information. Tracking nonessential KPIs might make you feel…