Direct marketing is still the best method to test, track results and quickly learn what works so that you can scale up marketing campaigns with confidence.
In his recent blog article, "
Getting to scale: direct marketing vs. mass market thinking", marketing strategist
Seth Godin reminds us that the old-fashioned benefits of direct marketing still apply in the era of mobile technology and social media.
Direct marketers, which includes those who use postal
mailing lists and/or email marketing, can:
* test on small quantities to learn which message copy and pricing offers work best, then roll out to increasingly larger lists of targeted prospects and buyers
* learn quickly what works and doesn't work from their marketing campaigns
* devote smaller amounts of money than mass marketers when testing new products and business ideas
Direct Magazine's recent Broker Roundtable asked the following questions of leading mailing list brokers:
* What's the biggest change you have seen to the brokerage profession in the past five years?
* What newer skills are needed to succeed? 
You can see the full article online. Here's a summary of the participants' answers.
Heather Cantley of Infocus Marketing
Biggest change: More and more mailers are looking to their list broker for solid recommendations on more than just lists.
Newer skills needed: Today’s list broker needs to be more educated regarding new rules, new regulations and new marketing strategies. Mailers need to feel confident that their list broker has their best interest in mind and will spend their marketing dollars in the most effective way possible.
Greg Branstetter of Hippo Direct
Biggest change: The widespread lack of new postal lists of direct mail buyers which a broker can recommend to clients, as well as the declining quantities of available names on the lists which mailers have been using for years.
Newer skills needed: The newer skills needed to succeed are mostly Internet-related. Today's broker needs adaptability and a willingness to learn new ways to help clients find new customers with traditional direct mail as well as online marketing, inbound marketing and social media.
Geoff Batrouney of Estee Marketing Services
Biggest change: The rise of social media and 24/7 connectivity between people, network members, companies and organizations. Twitter and Facebook are the new "high frequency direct-to-consumer" media of choice.
Joe Borellli of Borelli Direct Marketing
Newer skills needed: The skills needed to succeed have and will always be the same: Be smart, efficient and diligent; continue to learn; and above all, treat and respect every client as if they were your only customer, and always do what is in their best interest.
See this video which uses ham and cheese sandwiches as examples for setting up simple tests for your direct mail and email list campaigns. The video explains how to construct both two-part and three-part split tests, which are commonly known as A/B splits or A/B/C splits. The formal statistics term for this kind of market research is "multivariate testing".
Business marketers who want to reach top 
executives at nonprofit organizations have
easy access to mailing lists, email lists, and
other responsive marketing methods, including:
1. Most Popular Lists of Nonprofit Executives, each of which can be ordered from Hippo Direct.
2. Marketing2Nonprofits.com connects you with top sources for reaching nonprofit executives via:
Mailing Lists
Email Lists
Advertising in Print Publications
Advertising in Email Newsletters
Advertising on Websites
3. I recently completed a project for one of our mailing list clients who needed accurate market research on nonprofit organizations by employee size. Here's a summary of counts of nonprofit organizations by employee size
# EMP SIZE QUANTITY % of TOTAL
1 - 4 500,148 58.43%
5 - 9 186,599 21.80%
10 - 19 80,976 9.46%
20 - 49 53,137 6.21%
50 - 99 17,718 2.07%
100 - 249 12,810 1.50%
250 - 499 2795 0.33%
500 - 999 1005 0.12%
1,000 - 4,999 742 0.09%
5,000 - 9,999 63 0.01%
10,000 + 54 0.01%
TOTAL 856,047
SIC codes included in these counts:
8322 Individual and Family Services
8331 Job Training and Related Services
8351 Child Day Care Services
8361 Residential Care
8399 Social Services, Nec
8412 Museums and Art Galleries
8422 Botanical and Zoological Gardens
8611 Business Associations
8621 Professional Organizations
8631 Labor Organizations
8641 Civic and Social Associations
8651 Political Organizations
8661 Religious Organizations
8699 Membership Organizations, Nec
(Above counts by employee size from the InfoUSA Business Masterfile.)
Education association mailing lists are among 
the most responsive marketing methods
used by our list broker clients. The Hippo
Direct website contains datacards for the
most popular lists of college administrators
and faculty; K-12 teachers and staff; and
school district executives.
We also have ordered lists from dozens of leading educaton association lists which are not widely promoted. Contact Greg Branstetter via email at gbhippo@hippodirect.com for details on any of these higher education and K12 association lists:
American Colleges of Nursing ACN
American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education AACTE
American Association of Community Colleges AACC
American Association for Employment in Education AAEE
American Association for Public Opinion Research AAPOR
American Assn of Sexuality Educators, Counselors & Therapists
American Association of University Presses
American College Health Association ACHA
American College Personnel Association ACPA
American Educational Studies Association
American Evaluation Association
American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges AMATYC
Association for the Advancement of Computers in Education AACE
Association for Asian Studies
Association of College Unions International
Association for Continuing Higher Education ACHE
Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication AEJMC
Association of Fraternity Advisors
Association for Gender Equity Leadership in Education AGELE
Association for Higher Education and Disability AHEAD
Association for Institutional Research AIR
Association of Research Libraries
Association of University Programs in Health Administration AUPHA
Association of University Technology Managers AUTM
Broadcast Education Association
Collaboration for the Advancement of College Teaching & Learning
Council of Administrators of Special Education CASE
Council for Adult and Experiential Learning CAEL
Council of Graduate Schools
Council on Social Work Education
Council on Undergraduate Research
Education Law Association
International Alliance of Teacher Scholars
International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators
International Leadership Association
Middle East Studies Association MESA
Modern Language Association
NASPA Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education
National Academic Advising Association NACADA
National Association for Bilingual Education NABE
National Association of Colleges Stores NACS
National Association of College and University Attorneys NACUA
National Association of College and University Business Officers NACUBO
National Association of Colleges and Employers
National Association of Elementary School Principals NAESP
National Association for Multicultural Education NAME
National Association of Research in Science Teaching NARST
National Association of School Nurses
National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators
National Catholic Educational Association NCEA
National Council of Teachers of English
National Orientation Directors Association NODA
National School Public Relations Association NSPRA
National Women's Studies Association NWSA
Professional and Organizational Development POD Network
Society for Research on Adolescence SRA
University Continuing Education Association
University Council for Educational Administration
Medical association mailing lists are among 
the most responsive marketing methods
used by our list broker clients. The Hippo
Direct website contains datacards for the
most popular lists of doctors and medical
business administrators.
We also have ordered lists from dozens of leading healthcare association lists which are not widely promoted. Contact Greg Branstetter via email at gbhippo@hippodirect.com
for details on any of these medical association lists:
Academy Health
American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology
American Academy of Audiology
American Academy of Dermatology
American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation AAPM&R
American Association for Cancer Research
American Association of Feline Practitioners
American Association for Homecare
American Association for Study of Liver Disease AASLD
American Association of Zoo Veterinarians
American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians
American Botanical Council
American College of Cardiology
American College of Chest Physicians
American College of Medical Genetics
American College of Medical Quality
American College of Obstetrics and Gynocology
American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine ACVIM
American College of Veterinary Surgeons
American Gastroenterological Association
American Holistic Veterinary Medical Assocation
American Medical Directors Association
American Medical Group Association
American Occupational Therapy Association
American Pediatric Society APS Society for Pediatric Research SPR
American Physical Therapy Association APTA
American Physiological Society
American Public Health Association APHA
American Roentgenology Ray Society
American Society of Addiction Medicine
American Society on Aging
American Society of Anesthesiologists
American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation ASBMT
American Society for Clinical Investigation
American Society of Colon & Rectal Surgeons
American Society of Echocardiography
American Society of Gene Therapy
American Society of Hematology
American Society of Human Genetics
American Society of Neurorehabilitation ASNR
American Society of Nuclear Cardiology
American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses ASPAN
American Society of Pharmacognosy
American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
American Society of Plastic Surgeons
American Society for Reproductive Medicine
American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology ASVCP
American Thoracic Society
Association of Community Cancer Centers
Association of Emergency Physicians
Association for Healthcare Resource & Materials Management Association for Medical Education and Research in Substance Abuse Association for Molecular Pathology
Association of Reproductive Health Professionals
Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians
Association for Research in Otolaryngology
Association of Veterinary Practice Management Consultants & Advisors
Health Care Compliance Association
Health Physics Society
Heart Failure Society
Heart Rhythm Society
Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association
Infectious Diseases Society of America
International Society for Cellular Therapy
International Society for Quality of Life Research ISOQOL
National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers
National Association of Community Health Centers
National Association of County & City Health Officials
National Association of Healthcare Access Management
National Association for Healthcare Quality
National Association of Occupational Health Professionals
National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors
National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America
National Home Infusion Association
National Society of Genetic Counselors
North American Society for Cardiovascular Imaging
Research Society on Alcoholism
Society for Adolescent Medicine
Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons SAGES
Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions
Society for Epidemiologic Research
Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America SHEA
Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development
Society for Hospital Medicine SHM
Society for Industrial Microbiology
Society for Medical Decision Making
Society for Neuroscience
Society for Risk Analysis
Society for Social Work Leadership in Health Care
Society of Toxicology
Substance Abuse Librarians & Information Specialists SALIS
Veterinary Cancer Society VCS
Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society
As a mailing list broker I work with many different
types of clients. Some of them want to mail to the
continental US only. Others want to avoid military
and/or federal government addresses. Here is list
of special zip codes which mailers may want to
avoid for certain types of postal or email list offers.
Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands = zipcodes 00600 - 00999
Guam = zipcodes 96900 - 96999
Alaska = zipcodes 99500 - 99999
Hawaii = zipcodes 96700 - 96899
Military APO/FPO numbers:
Germany = zipcodes AE 09000 - 09299
Contingency = zipcodes AE 09300 - 09399
United Kingdom = zipcodes AE 09400 - 09499
Ships = zipcodes AE 09500 - 09599
Italy & Spain = zipcodes AE 09600 - 09699
Other Europe = zipcodes AE 09700 - 09799
Middle East/Africa = zipcodes AE 09800 - 09899
Central & South America = zipcodes AA 34000 - 34099
Korea = zipcodes AP 96200 - 96299
Japan = zipcodes AP 96300 - 96399
Phillipines = zipcodes AP 96400 - 96499
Other Pacific Islands = zipcodes AP 96500 - 96599
Federal Goverment = zipcodes 20200 - 20599
Deliver magazine's article "Follow The Reader" describes how St. Louis Magazine used postal mailing lists of former subscribers as their primary method for increasing circulation. (This article is on page 20 of Deliver's April 2010 issue.)
In the article, St. Louis Magazine circulation manager Dede Dierkes explains 3 reasons why she likes direct mail as a marketing method:
1. "Direct mail is a good way to reach a large group of people and show them what they've been missing."
2. "With mailings we'll be able to do more testing...we can see what's working and what's not throughout the year and make changes as we go along."
3. "With direct mail, recipients can open a piece at home on their time, see what they're getting and make a decision to respond."
St. Louis Magazine is using 4 direct marketing strategies which every marketer can easily adapt for their business:
1. More frequent, smaller mailings to house list, especially to expired subscribers.
2. Test new and different lists instead of relying on the same lists used for years.
3. More mailings to the most responsive zipcodes.
4. Use postal mailing lists to drive people online to subscribe.
Hippo Direct clients market to a wide variety of business professionals and consumers using email and postal lists. During the past week, we helped marketing managers reach these targets for their upcoming campaigns:
Business and Finance administrators at colleges and universities
Business Management seminar attendees
CEOs and top executives at nonprofit organizations
College Alumni Affairs executives
College Development and Fundraising executives
College Distance Learning faculty and administrators
College Education Faculty who teach future teachers
College Human Resource and Personnel Directors
College Nursing Department Chairs
Deans of Nursing
Dentists by specialty
Dentists who work for government agency
Development Officers at nonprofit organizations
Ergonomics professionals and consultants
Financial Aid Directors at colleges and universities
High School Coaches
International College Administrators and Faculty
IT and Technology executives at colleges and universities
Lobbying and Government Relations executives at colleges
Managers at business address
Mechanical Engineers
Medical Malpractice Attorneys
Motivational Products buyers
Occupational Health & Safety professionals
Occupational Health Nurses
Pediatricians
Periodontists and Prosthodontics in private practice
Project Managers in Hospitals and Healthcare companies
Public Relations executives at colleges and universities
Rehabilitation Counselors
Safety Engineers
Student Affairs administrators at colleges and universities
We can help you reach your target market, too. Contact Greg Branstetter at gbhippo@hippodirect.com for a rapid response!
The RainToday blog recently featured an article from Andrew Sobel, a leading authority on client relationships and the skills and strategies required to earn lifelong client loyalty. Andrew's article "Where Independent Professionals Succeed and Large Firms Fail" explains the reasons why marketing consultants and service professionals from small companies typically outperform their counterparts from large companies.
Sobel's traits of successful independent professsionals include:
1. Create personal brands by building individual market renown.
2. Regularly develop and disseminate intellectual capital.
3. Focus on conversations, not PowerPoint.
4. Try to achieve success, not perfection.
5. Have learned to eliminate non-value added activities.
6. Take responsibility for their personal development.
7. Organize around clients.
8. Truly act like it's their money.
I'll add the following traits of successful service providers such as mailing list brokers, advertising agencies, and financial advisors:
1. Speedy response to client inquiries and questions -- the faster the better.
2. Lifetime commitment to customers -- the same staff works with same clients for several years.
3. Responsibile for actions -- no hiding behind "company policy" or anonymous "others at the company."
4. Tech savvy -- expert at using the latest technology for research, and to present and share ideas.