DIY Direct Marketing by Judith Donovan Described as an 'essential guide for beginners', DIY Direct Marketing is a deliciously jargon-free book that assumes no prior knowledge of the subject. The book considers direct mail; direct-response advertising; door-to-door; piggybacks; telemarketing; the Internet; and the use of catalogues. While the book is targeted at companies in the corporate sector, the quality and range of information communicated means that it is still a worthwhile read for arts marketers. On of the most powerful messages to come from the book is there is no point in engaging in direct marketing unless you measure the results. Donovan makes the case that direct marketing is about measurement, and that what you are measuring will depend on your objectives. She gives techniques to measure the cost per enquiry, the cost per lead, the cost per sale and the lifetime value. In doing so, she encourages the direct marketer to consider the longer-term impact of campaigns; something we do not always do in the arts sector. I loved Donovan's down-to-earth tone: it is surely no accident that the first case study summarises her campaign to increase UK sales of American bull semen. Puts our moans about selling 'difficult work' into perspective, doesn't it?
|