Re: Conclusion?

Rick Parker (PARK1390@elan.rowan.edu)
8 Dec 93 17:34:21 EST 

Message-Id: <MAILQUEUE-101.931208173421.320@elan.rowan.edu>
To: cni-modernization@cni.org
From: "Rick Parker"  <PARK1390@elan.rowan.edu>
Date:         8 Dec 93 17:34:21 EST
Subject:      Re: Conclusion?

>  But I do check out a lot of my direct mail.
> 
> Just yesterday, I received something unsolicited that will result in my
> saving up to 9 cents/minute for my day phone calls.  That will make a big
> difference for me, so I'm glad I got it, and that I opened it and read it
>
> Richard Layman
> <rlayman@cap.gwu.edu>

Just a quick p.s. on this point. It is that, unfortunately, it is only
remarkable and reportable when a direct marketing solicitation IS of
value to us, precisely because it seems to be the rare exception.
Someone in a previous message mentioned getting junk mail "randomly."
The scary thing is that direct marketers haven't sent things out
randomly for years. Instead, they have worked hard at narrowing and
targeting their lists to true prospects -- defined demographically and
geographically and psychographically, not to mention by prior
purchase behavior based on other lists or available data -- which
saves the enormous waste of sending things at great cost that will be
discarded without being read, in some cases never even being opened.
So now they believe that they are only sending us "information rich"
solicitations consistent with our particular wants and needs.  OK, so
I teach that this is the procedure, but then have to admit that my
own mailbox is filled will junk that doesn't address my needs.
Somehow between the marketer trying to promote their product and the
consumer trying to be left alone as much as possible we still have a
big divide. So my concern is that on the net, as elsewhere, senders
will continue to believe that they are only sending messages to
people who will benefit from them, while recipients will continue to
resent these irrelevant and unwanted intrusions on their
consciousness.

__________________________________________
Rick Parker
Marketing Dept.
Rowan College of New Jersey
Glassboro, NJ 08028
(609)863-6461
Internet: park1390@elan.rowan.edu

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