June Workshop

Speaker	:	Mr. Anton Li MCIM MBR Services Ltd.
Topic	:	How to Roll Out Effective Direct Marketing Programmes
Date	:	June 21 & 28, 2008

To render practitioners with a strong understanding of the fundamentals on effective direct marketing, a series of two workshops entitled "How to Roll Out Effective Direct Marketing Programmes" was held on June 21 and 28, 2008.

At the workshops, direct marketing was established as a sub-discipline of marketing with a primary focus on driving and building relationship with customers in a directly measurable manner by gauging response rate, sales, cost per customer and actual revenue.

The first step for an effective direct marketing is planning. The objectives of the programme need to be clearly spelt out. Insights on the market must be derived from SWOT analysis. The importance of a good master database of potential clients was addressed. These enable the formulation of the "right" direct marketing mix. A number of vehicles for direct marketing was discussed, including direct mailing, mass emailing, direct response advertising as well as telemarketing (inbound and outbound). Most importantly, the right offer must reach the right audience at the right moment.

Information technology has made its impact in direct marketing. User-friendly software can help marketing practitioners conduct direct marketing through intelligent features like built-in CRM and e-newsletter functions, option to perform random test market as well as the ability to generate timely report for management decisions. Other control mechanisms include such tools as response rate, response curve, order closing rate, total sales, productivity and cost per order as well as implementation quality. The need for regulatory compliance was also highlighted at the workshop.

According to a survey of the participants, the workshop has helped marketing practitioners gain a strong grasp of planning, implementing and reviewing direct marketing campaigns which drives robust results.

About the Conductor
The workshop conductor, Mr. Anton Li of MBR Services Ltd., is a seasoned professional on direct marketing who drove the successfully launch of American Express credit card and Cable Television pay TV service in Hong Kong.

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