The outlook for the rest of 2007 and early 2008 is positive, but the mailing outlook calls for slower growth, according to Don Libey, founder of Cherry Hill, NJ-based advisory Libey Inc.
For the quarter 2007, even with the signs of slowdown in the economy and in overall businesss, Libey recommends maintaining normal strategies for circulation and investment prospecting plans. He advises increasing circulation, but by just 10%-15%.
“The economy is going to slow further in the fourth quarter, but there are still no indications or good reasons for reductions in either prospecting or customer circulation or both in the fourth quarter or in the part of 2008,” Libey says in his newsletter, Libey Economic Outlook, adding that he’s advising modest increases in prospecting levels where small pockets of concentrated niche related prospects can be found.
For the circulation and prospecting outlook, Libey uses an amalgam of data from six different economic indicators, such as data from the U.S. Federal Reserve and the U.S. Commerce Department.
“Do not fall into the trap of reduced mailings; the end results is always diminished customer acquisition performance,” he says in the report.