Lexmark 110, 720 manual Dialog, Would like to subscribe to the Color Business Report

		Color Business Report
marketing, one tends to do more of what is effective,				monetary return. Making direct mail a continuous
and one avoids what is not effective. Pilot programs are				process rather than a batch process has several
the experiments that help marketing executives tell the				advantages. For one, if updating or extending a large
difference. A well-run experiment can help a marketing				database is too expensive, one can key single pieces of
manager make a decision with confidence. The decision,				outbound mail to the receipt of inbound database
in such cases, often is to extend the pilot effort to a				updates. Since one controls inbound orders (and
reachable population with the same characteristics. If				telephone inquiries) by controlling outbound mail,
the costs of establishing a CRM infrastructure are too				orders will come in at a steady rate rather than being
much of a burden for a pilot program, wonít the costs of				compressed in a single time period. In addition, with
extending data collection (address and industry				personalized mailings, incoming orders or calls can be
confirmation in the case of this utility) to a larger group				directed to particular call center staffers, fostering the
also be burdensome? If one looks for return on				dialog that is implicit with CRM.
marketing investment when making a marketing				Dialog
decision, linking one-to-one marketing techniques to
broader deployment of a customer relationship					The concept of dialog marketing is raised in the IIW
management program may act as deterrent to adoption				Instituteís report, with the implication that, on a
of variable-data marketing.				customer-by-customer basis, the fields of a multi-faceted
	Extending a pilot program to a larger population is			customer database will become populated with
a traditional way of thinking about direct mail				information about customers. The information will be
marketing. And for the purposes of comparing results				available to all who are involved in customer contact,
with conventional direct mail marketing techniques, the				and will be updated as the ìdialogî with the customer
two programs have to be similar. But once the results				continues. One-to-one mailing pieces are but one
are proven and the concept of one-to-one marketing is				possible application of the information in a very rich
accepted, direct marketing can become quite				customer database. Added-value Analysis of Four-color
unconventional. Why not work the economics in reverse,				Digital Printing provides evidence of benefits to be
and stop doing mass mailings (anathema to direct mail				derived by using document technology in marketing,
professionals)? Instead of extending a 1,500-piece test				while cautioning that achieving results requires both
to 150,000 or 1,500,000 pieces, the campaign can be				long-term thinking and implementation of customer
spread out over 100 days, presumably with the same				relationship marketing techniques.F
		Color Business Report
		Subscription Form
I would like to subscribe to the Color Business Report:
❑	A check for $545 is enclosed for 12 issues ($595 outside North America, in U.S. funds drawn on a U.S. bank).
	Make check payable to Blackstone Research Associates. Massachusetts subscribers add 5% sales tax.
❑ Please send me an invoice. P.O. number:
❑	Please charge Visa/MC/AmEx/Discover No:					Expires:
	Signature
❑ Please send instructions for wire transfer.
	Name			Title
	Company
	Address
	City		State				Zip
	Phone			Fax
Mail check/P.O. and order form to:
Blackstone Research Associates, 10 River Road, Suite 104 Uxbridge, MA 01569-2245
Phone (508) 278-3449 Fax (508) 278-7975		E-mail mike@blackstoneresearch.com
Page 18								March 2001