Database Problems in Marketing
I have been working on a direct mail campaign for our team in many areas and we are finding that the yellow page listings and business list CDROMS contain so many closed companies that we are spending too much on the mailings, which are opened a little less because of the anthrax scare. Even customized lists are of little value. No one is keeping these lists fresh and deleting the ole data. Book of Lists are outdated as soon as they come out, CDROMS rip people off by disallowing lots of search downloads, yellow pages forget it. Phone numbers are wrong, addresses are wrong as a matter of fact most business parks are 30% unoccupied, downtowns about 15% and industrial areas about 28% nationwide, so with all these jobs and companies gone, there is no one keeping track of the data.
Yet we are told the recession is over? Whatever.
Are we judging by the stock market? Because it is not real either. T
he NASDAQ de-listed any company that might bring the market down over the last year and a half, except right after 9-11. It is a gambling casino anyway and the market always leads the real economy by 6 months. So if the market is just now going back up from its 9-11 average then we still have 6 months to get back to where we were then, which was terrible, remember all the lay offs before 9-11, starting back this time last year? Companies sell us lists all the time, the lists are wrong and rather than change the lists and update, they sell us old data and say we do not have the staff to fix the data more than once a year. Yet it needs to be changed every three months to even be + - 15% real. Yet if your Direct mail nets you only 1% we are really hurting. Direct Mail also termed junk mail is what pays for over 75% of the US Mail budget.
So if we lose the direct mail marketing technique we also raise our postal rates by that same percentage. Less mail means even higher prices. Big problems, since this is a major us infrastructure we need to keep civilization strong in America. If we replace the mail with e-mail then we will get tons of junk e-mail. Then important e-mails will be buried in 300 e-mails a day.
Why doesn't the FTC look into the list makers and their advertising, they are way off when they tell you that their data bases are updated and are (+) (-) 2%.
Small businesses are being hurt and that hurts America, since 2/3 rds of Americans are employed by small business and not by government.
"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.worldthinktank.net/wttbbs
Lincoln Stretch rentals Alsip ..When you awoke this morning, you found yourself buzzing with... Read More
At first blush this idea might be difficult to wrap... Read More
One of the biggest fears people have about starting a... Read More
When should you leverage the relationship?Leveraging sometimes brings a negative... Read More
Paul Leonard's BirthdayCards2Go.com paid greeting card service offers convenience when... Read More
Boston itself covers 50 square miles of concrete and traffic,... Read More
Thinking of starting a business on line? If so there... Read More
Are you a motivational speaker who consistently gets rave reviews... Read More
Back when I owned an inventory-based business, one of my... Read More
What is a Virtual Assistant?A Virtual Assistant is a person... Read More
You know what makes me really happy? Drinking a Starbucks... Read More
The story is told of a tiger chasing some goats... Read More
Last week we discussed the importance of performing an autopsy... Read More
Great question!Freeing your time is an indisputably key element in... Read More
Your grandfather probably told you to "learn something new everyday".... Read More
In these days of insecurity and uncertain futures, the tendency... Read More
Franchisors of home based and mobile businesses need to carefully... Read More
When starting a business, you have to determine the method... Read More
Continuing from the second article:6. About the aground mathematical model,... Read More
One of the most common horrific mistakes a business can... Read More
Completion not Perfection Five Keys To Doubling Your Productivity and... Read More
Just recently, I took a break and caught "The Return... Read More
Many times small businesses want to expand their businesses and... Read More
1. TargetYou are not all things to all people. Decide... Read More
What kinds of things effect mobile service businesses P and... Read More
Western Springs shuttle limo ..There were only an estimated 1800 active franchisors in this... Read More
Hew Hampshire car wash market. Well we have visited every... Read More
When does your ego get in the way?Let's go back... Read More
One of the most common horrific mistakes a business can... Read More
Writing a business plan for your Solo Entrepreneur business doesn't... Read More
Success is the desire of everyman on the face of... Read More
One of the critical success factors for service-related businesses is... Read More
Often smart entrepreneurs look for out of the way businesses,... Read More
We all know that a building has to have a... Read More
Are the promoters and consultants destroying the market for Reverse... Read More
Before you read any further in this article, I'd like... Read More
Car wash businesses are unique to other businesses. In fact... Read More
Until the day I learned to play chess I loved... Read More
Someone new to business ownership recently told me, "Before I... Read More
The home-based business market, sometimes called the SOHO (small-office/home-office) market,... Read More
The Federal Trade Commission is upgrading the franchise law and... Read More
Purchasing a franchise has become one of the most popular... Read More
Running a small business requires many skills. However, to do... Read More
Whether you are an Entrepreneur or Business Professional there are... Read More
Washing the exterior of a truck. Sounds easy right? Well,... Read More
One of the best ways to make money in the... Read More
So it's time to invest some finances into advertising your... Read More
"What do you do?" It just might be one of... Read More
Winning small and home based businesses today must continually shake... Read More
If you own a mobile truck washing, pressure washing or... Read More
Small Business |