Direct Response Decisions Proven in the Market

These engagements show how disciplined diagnosis, testing, and measurement helped leadership make stronger decisions about acquisition, conversion, and marketing capital.

The industries and tactics differ. The operating standard does not: define the required economic result, examine the evidence behind the visible problem, and prove the correction before scaling.

Selected Engagements

  • Preventive Healthcare B2B Acquisition

    A hospital-market acquisition program had relied on a digital-only approach that was not producing enough qualified sales opportunities.

    A coordinated direct response program combined personalized direct mail, telemarketing support, and sales scripts around a defined appointment objective. In 10 weeks, the program generated 44 face-to-face appointments and 27 qualified hospital-level sales leads at less than half the cost of the prior digital program.

    READ THE HEALTHCARE ENGAGEMENT

  • AARP Membership Acquisition

    A seven-year direct-mail control had become the standard against which new acquisition packages were judged.

    A disciplined outcome test produced a new control that increased response 40% while reducing package cost 15%. At a circulation of roughly 50 million pieces, the combination created substantial recurring savings and stronger acquisition economics.

    READ THE MEMBERSHIP ENGAGEMENT

  • Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas — Group Insurance Lead Generation

    A three-year trifold self-mailer control limited response and the number of qualified group-insurance opportunities available to the sales organization.

    A Snap Pack direct-mail test increased response more than 30%, materially lowered cost per lead, and supported circulation growth of more than 40%. The result gave leadership stronger evidence for expanding the program.

    READ THE INSURANCE ENGAGEMENT

How I Work Across Engagements

The engagement begins with the result the business needs—not an assumption that the answer is a new campaign, channel, or technology. I examine the evidence behind the current conclusion, identify the constraint most likely to change the outcome, and structure the next decision so it can be judged economically.

  • Before evaluating creative, targeting, or channel performance, I clarify the action the marketing must produce and what the business can afford to pay for the lead, sale, customer, member, appointment, or other outcome. That standard gives every later recommendation a common economic reference point.

  • I review the available evidence across objectives, audience, offer, creative, channels, response definitions, tracking, CRM, conversion, fulfillment, customer value, and reporting. The goal is to determine whether the visible symptom is the cause—or the result of a deeper weakness in measurement or operating logic.

  • Most organizations do not have one isolated problem. I identify which weakness most affects the required result and which correction should come first. Sometimes the answer is a campaign change. Sometimes leadership needs to repair tracking, clarify the allowable acquisition cost, strengthen follow-up, or stop a test that cannot answer the business question.

  • A test should improve the next decision, not merely produce movement. I help define the hypothesis, control, meaningful variables, response path, and economic evaluation so management can distinguish a promising result from an improvement that is strong enough to roll out.

  • The final judgment is not whether activity increased. It is whether response, conversion, Cost Per Lead, Cost Per Sale, customer value, and rollout economics support more investment. Leadership receives a practical recommendation: what to expand, what to correct, what to measure, and what not to fund yet.

Strategic Advisory Capabilities

  • Direct response growth diagnostics and performance reviews

  • Acquisition economics, Cost Per Sale, Cost Per Lead, conversion, and allowable-cost analysis

  • Offer, message, format, and creative-response strategy

  • Testing frameworks, control development, and rollout evaluation

  • Audience, database, CRM, segmentation, and targeting evaluation

  • Lead journey, follow-up, qualification, and conversion review

  • Independent guidance across internal, agency, media, production, and analytical teams

  • Leadership alignment around measurable growth priorities and capital-allocation decisions

Independent Judgment That Strengthens the Team

  • “Ted has helped us strengthen our direct marketing practices through improved lead and conversion tracking. He played a key role in shaping our list compilation strategy and consistently advanced improvements in our process and procedures. His depth of experience in direct marketing is rare and provided valuable leadership insight that complemented internal capabilities.”

    — Randy Starnes, formerly Sr. Director, Individual Products, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas

Before You Commit More Capital, Make Sure the Evidence Supports the Decision.

If your team is seeing encouraging activity but cannot yet show which change will produce an economically stronger result, I can help you examine the decision and identify what deserves attention first.

Discuss Your Direct Response Decision