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Noticed that increase is Spam have you…….

I suspect that many of you will have. There certainly is an overwhelming increase is spam. While many such emails are automatically relegated to the Junk email box, a ton of stuff is still crawling its way unsuspectingly into our inboxes.

Barring the obvious consumption of bandwidth and the time-consuming exercise of periodically clearing the Junk email box, the relegated mails are not so much of an issue. What I find disconcerting is the fact that Direct Marketing specialists are clearly getting these messages spam-tested before hitting the send button. They are relying on this to push their way into my inbox.

Why are these specialists spending money and taking the time to do this instead of directing their energies toward segmenting their client base and targeting their message correctly? I believe that many are applying a shotgun approach, bombing audiences to getting their message “out there” ahead of October’s legislation designed to curb this type of technique.

A bomb’s job is to destroy…

A bomb is designed to take people out or destroy something. It will never build something up, so why employ the tactic? If yours is a well-established brand, this bombing modus operandi is unnecessary and potentially damaging. Rather, retain your brand’s credibility by researching your client base, initiating a dialogue and letting them help you build your brand equity.

I cannot emphasise this point sufficiently. If you fail to apply the correct kind of marketing intelligence, you will be relegated to the league of undiscerning marketers with whom no-one wishes to be associated.

It is never too late…

If this has been your path hitherto, cease it immediately. It is never too late to change the way you operate. Don’t be fooled by outdated results. Direct Marketing no longer yields a 3% return and outcomes between 15 and 20% are now commonplace. If your current campaigns are not performing at this level, you need a new strategy.

A correctly focused and targeted campaign should always deliver double-digit returns. If yours falls short, chances are that the problem lay in the methodology of your original analytics.

Data-driven success….

You need to partner with businesses that have the expertise to take your data, analyse and segment it and then help you to develop campaign-specific messages. Once you invest your time and effort in this arena, success will be yours.