general — Direct Marketing Blog — Direct Marketing Agency

Selling by Intrusion

We hear a lot these about the negative effects of "intrusion advertising." Disruption represents the strength of traditional media and by comparison, the largest weakness of social media as an acquisition tool. They both have their place. But marketers should ponder this idea when developing their marketing strategies.

branding, general, new businessTed GriggJuly 29, 2013selling, interruptivemarketing, disruptivemarketingComment

5 Supplier Comments that Turn Capable Suppliers into Loosers

To all of you who supply clents with services, listen up. You can loose a great client within less than one minute with these 5 comments. 1. "Send that request to me in writing" 2. "Exactly, what do you want us to do?" 3. "We will optimize your website for $XXXX a month..." 4. "What charge do you think your client will accept?" 5. "Our company demands a Purchase Order. Your email order is not acceptable even though you are paying our estimate to you in advance."

customer service, generalTed GriggApril 25, 2013Suppliers, loosingclients, inferiorserviceComment

The Marketer's Job #1

We tend to focus on the tasks, tactics and strategies marketers use rather than their role. Positioning products, branding the company, analyzing the competitive environment, creating the messaging, outbound combined with inbound marketing, establishing an effective CRM program -- all of these are generally how the job is done and not why the job may or may not be getting done.

branding, general, marketingTed GriggMarch 7, 2013CEOmarketingsupport, marketingdefinitionComment

Marketing and Sales Are Not The Same Thing

The other day at a networking session, I met a highly skilled and seasoned sales trainer. During our conversation he made a comment that gave me pause. I had mentioned that marketing drives sales. He promptly disagreed with me saying that the opposite is the case and that sales drives marketing. From his perspective, marketing was a support to sales. I suppose there exists a number of executives and even marketers who see the world through this lens...

direct marketing strategy, generalTed GriggOctober 5, 2012Comment

CMO Success Hinges on the Company’s Marketing Culture

Marketing success is a corporate venture rather than a solo role carried by the CMO. The CEO, CFO, the board and every employee in the organization exist to make the company a successful selling machine.

direct marketing strategy, generalTed GriggMarch 19, 2012CMOtenureComment

How Do We Overcome Corporate America's Skepticism about Advertising and Marketing?

Many companies have spent a lot of advertising dollars that did not yield the revenue they needed or expected. So they draw conclusions about what caused the failure.

general, recruiting talentTed GriggNovember 2, 2011agencytrainingComment

What's Important to Today's CMOS?

For the first time in three years of taking this survey, research shows that the predominant driver for CMOs is marketing ROI.

direct marketing strategy, generalTed GriggOctober 18, 2010Comment

The State of Marketing in 2020

Borrowing heavily from my marketing peers, this compilation looks to the future of marketing. Some of the comments contradict each other because the comments come from a number CMOs who are MENG members.

direct marketing strategy, generalTed GriggSeptember 24, 2010Comment

Advertising Agency Suppliers Beware !

Suppliers to agencies, here's a disturbing question for you. When your agency contracts with outside suppliers, will the agency pay your bill if their client does not pay? The agency... right? Wrong.

generalTed GriggFebruary 5, 2010Comment

Just Cut the Top Off the Car!

Have you ever taken on a marketing project you just couldn't get your hands around because nobody was clear on the objective or even what questions to ask?

generalTed GriggNovember 7, 2009Comment