In a marketplace increasingly defined by customer categories with high expectations for service, quality, and responsiveness, companies are discovering that traditional mass marketing approaches are giving way to more targeted approaches that communicate directly with their customers. But to many consumers, direct marketing has a bad reputation, associated with intrusive door-to-door salesmen, dinnertime phone solicitations, junk mail, and, most recently, e-mail spam. In Direct Marketing in Action, a team of experts in the field dispels common myths and misconceptions about direct marketing and showcases the most current practices, principles, and techniques. The authors cover the full range of issues that must be considered in developing an effective direct marketing strategy, including competitive analysis, information and data management, media and channel selection, building brand loyalty, and measuring the results of campaigns. Bridging the gap between research and practice, clearly defining terms and concepts, and featuring numerous examples, Direct Marketing in Action will serve as an essential handbook for marketers and a comprehensive overview for students, teachers, and researchers.
From the dentist who sends check-up reminders to his patients to the hotel chain that customizes room amenities based on their guests' profiles, direct marketing is infused with the idea that the best allocation of our marketing dollar is one that focuses on and communicates with our particular micro market―and reinforces the distinctive benefits that we provide to those customers. In Direct Marketing in Action the authors cover the full range of issues that must be considered in developing an effective direct marketing strategy, including competitive analysis, information and data management, media and channel selection, building brand loyalty, and measuring the results of campaigns. Bridging the gap between research and practice, clearly defining terms and concepts, featuring numerous examples, and presented in a format that can be read cover-to-cover or in modular fashion, Direct Marketing in Action will serve as an essential handbook for marketers and a comprehensive overview for students, teachers, and researchers.
Author Information: ANDREW R. THOMAS is a bestselling author, coauthor, or editor of fifteen books, including Soft Landing, Aviation Insecurity, Air Rage, and The Distribution Trap. The latter won the Berry-American Marketing Association Prize for the best book of 2010. Dr. Thomas is associate professor of marketing & international business at The University of Akron, founding editor-in-chief of the Journal of Transportation Security, contributing editor to Industry Week, and is a regularly featured commentator for media outlets around the world. DALE M. LEWISON is Founding Director of The Taylor Institute at The University of Akron. WILLIAM J. HAUSER is Program Coordinator for The Taylor Institute, and Assistant Professor of Marketing at The University of Akron. LINDA M. FOLEY is Assistant Professor of Marketing at The University of Akron.
