DIRECT MARKETING TO CONSUMERS

This article explores how the introduction of a family of advanced information management sciences has dramatically altered modern direct marketing in the consumer marketplace. In particular, a relatively new breed of consumer segmentation databases has been commercially developed to segment customers into demographic and psychographic “clusters.” This segmentation has allowed innovative direct marketers to combine commercial data with their own proprietary computer‐controlled consumer databases to appreciably improve their marketing impact. This type of data‐based direct marketing permits a more targeted offer and message and introduces new marketing effectiveness and economic efficiencies. The article concludes with management recommendations for adopting a high‐tech direct marketing program as a significant addition to a company's overall consumer marketing strategy.