Marketing

Direct marketers put a huge amount of time and money into examining, testing, analyzing, and fine-tuning their marketing on a campaign-by-campaign basis. The results of a single campaign are judged by response rates, average spend amounts, and often, the ROI generated by that campaign.

But less attention has been given to the long-term behavior of customers, says Don Austin, Ph.D., director of client strategy at Greenwich, CT-based list services firm Direct Media. In general, the amount of the first transaction predicts the amount of subsequent transactions. But Austin a variety of other variables can be used to segment customers into low long-term value and high long-term value groups.

When the 109th Congress convened in Washington on Jan. 4, catalogers received some encouraging news. Rep. John McHugh (R-NY) wasted no time in reintroducing the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (H.R. 22), which calls for postal reform.

After six years of selling to both consumers and businesses, Portland, ME-based Planet Dog is putting its consumer catalog in hibernation for a year.

When sales dip and protecting profits becomes critical, many catalogers respond by cutting back on mailings, as has been the case during the past few