Using targeting software and carefully studying your demographics you can really increase your direct mailing and direct marketing results. There are many great software makers and demographic data companies, which run in ESRIs ArcView, ArcBus and ArcData.

Knowing which zip codes, portions of zip codes, census tracts, blocks and etc can insure that you are always targeting the right demographic and target customer and therefore you are playing percentage shots and will get better results.

For years and years we did this and we got so darn good at it that we could almost peg 3.7 percent call back rates and convert at least half to sales. Now for a mobile car wash and fleet pressure washing business, you know that is kicking butt. When others talk of their direct mailing; I talk about direct nailing; that is to say winning the game and playing the odds.

You should learn from my observations and experiences and if you decide to do your direct marketing on your own rather than hiring a company to do it, which actually I recommend then consider what I have said here today and perhaps think about direct mailing a direct nailing and hitting that nail right on the head. Target your target market and make you company a direct mail winner. Consider all this in 2006.