Journal of Direct Marketing最新文献

This article develops the technology for evaluating contact decisions over time. It is assumed that a company has a database of inquirers and wishes to determine who should be selected to receive a potential stream of contacts. Individuals are first evaluated for receiving the initial contact with a break-even rule based on customers’ lifetime values and the potential of receiving up to four contacts. Those contracted who fail to respond are reevaluated for the second contact, and so on. The latter half of the article discusses the longitudinal response model that is needed to predict conditional response probabilities for evaluating the decision rules. This model is based on recent work on discrete survival models using logistic regression.

Testing new lists is the lifeline of the direct mail business because it provides access to new customers, which is necessary for future growth and profit. Mailers often lose money on list testing. This article proposes a procedure (method) that is cost-effective, and at the same time, provides adequate information about the universe so that the mailer can make the right decision whether to go slowly on a list or to jump from a sample test to a full run. Many articles have been written suggesting, on a theoretical level, how the rollout response can be predicted from a sample test, but no one has shown whether or not that method works when applied to real data. This article not only proposes a new method for predicting rollout response from a sample test, but also tests it with real data. Furthermore, it compares the results of the two methods. The results show that the method described here gives far better rollout predictors than the other method. This article also suggests a mailing strategy that can be used as a guide.

Direct mail marketers are generally given a comprehensive mailing list from which they must select and contact prospects. Specifically, they must decide 1) whom to mail to, and 2) if the prospect does not respond to a first mailing, should they mail a second solicitation? A third? A fourth? This article builds models to help answer these questions in a rigorous manner. We model the expected response from a given prospect based on a set of descriptor variables. The model will help the direct marketer to prioritize prospects, set budgets, and allocate resources. We demonstrate the applicability of the model in the contexts of university alumni club renewals and a direct mail health insurance offer.

There is growing concern among consumers that several marketing practices are invasions of consumer privacy. Specifically, this study addresses the issues of buying and selling names and addresses of consumers, the role of government in protecting the privacy rights of consumers, and the use of an automatic number identification system. A survey was conducted of 190 marketing professionals from the American Marketing Association, National Association of Purchasing Managers, and Direct Marketing Association to determine their beliefs regarding these issues. The results are compared to an earlier consumer sample to determine differences and agreements. The results are also compared statistically among the three professional associations.

The results of a national survey of mail order customers assessed differences between repeat customers who presently purchase from firms that charge a sales tax and repeat customers who do not buy from such firms. The results of a discriminant analysis, with these two groups serving as the grouping variables, suggest that they are different in price sensitivity. Specifically, at various levels of increasing purchase amount and tax rate, repeat customers who don’t buy from firms that tax responded more negatively concerning intent to place an order. A potential problem for mail order companies is identified in the event that repeat customers who don’t buy from firms that tax are required to pay sales tax in the future.

Issues of customer safety in the retail store environment are becoming increasingly serious. However, little empirical research has tested the idea that consumers’ shopping safety concerns represent opportunities for direct marketers. The study sample included 152 undergraduate marketing students, ranging from 19 to 47 years of age: 65 women and 87 men participated; six hypotheses were tested. Women were significantly more concerned about shopping safety than men (p = .0004). Shopping safety concern scores were significantly related to the perception that shopping by direct mail offers greater personal safety than store shopping (p = .0455). Safety concern scores were related to more often considering shopping direct (p = .0000). Marital status and shopping safety concern were significantly related (p = .0104). Whether a respondent had been a crime victim, or knew someone who had, was partially significant (p = .0821). Age and shopping safety concern were not significantly related (p = .1559). Implications for direct marketers are discussed.