The Complete Guide to Direct Marketing: Creating Breakthrough Programs That Really Work [Paperback]

Chet Meisner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2006

Direct marketing is a trillion-dollar industry and a marketing discipline that produces the bottom-line results most companies want to achieve.  Many businesses are becoming more aware of the potential direct marketing offers, and as new technologies and opportunities emerge, more marketers are including this discipline in their marketing mix.
 
In The Complete Guide to Direct Marketing: Creating Breakthrough Programs That Really Work master marketer Chet Meisner provides a step-by-step overview of direct marketing from strategic approach to execution.  You will learn important insights and essential tricks of the trade, including: 

·       The strategic role direct marketing can play in your overall marketing programHow to buy lists and manage your data effectively
·       The time-tested ways to create powerful direct marketing creative
·       The most common rules for direct marketing that work in all the media including email, web sites, mail, print, and broadcast

·       How the discipline of direct marketing can have a direct impact on a company’s sales and profitability 

The Complete Guide to Direct Marketing: Creating Breakthrough Programs That Really Work is the complete primer for any marketing professional engaging in direct marketing, including veterans and those new to the discipline.  Cover-to-cover this valuable guide includes the essential information you need to be a successful direct marketer and brings it to life with actual case studies from well-known companies and more than 50 charts, illustrations, tables and other graphics.  
 
 
 
 

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Chet's knowledge of direct marketing goes long and deep. His expertise is invaluable—this book will help any business looking to implement smart and effective direct programs to succeed."—Rena Kilgannon, President, Kilgannon, Inc.

“Chet Meisner’s The Complete Guide to Direct Marketing is a highly practical and comprehensive guide to direct marketing.  What I particularly liked about this book is the integrated approach to all types of direct marketing:  mail, phone, e-mail campaigns and their use as lead generation for the sales force.”—Jagdish N. Sheth, Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Marketing, Goizueta Business School, Emory University
                                                          

“The title says it all. You can spend millions of dollars figuring out what really works in direct marketing, or you can buy this book and get results immediately. It’s packed with real-world, practical advice and examples. I just wish Chet had written it 20 years ago.”—Chris Coleman, author, The Green Banana Papers

About the Author

Chet Meisner has spent more than 20 years creating direct marketing programs for over 50 companies including such distinguished names as Sharp Electronics, Oracle Corporation, Prudential Bank, Peachtree Software, Fleet Finance, MCI, Wells Fargo Bank, and many others.  He is president of Atlanta-based Meisner Direct, Inc., is a frequent speaker at industry conferences, and has held numerous leadership positions in a variety of marketing organizations.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Kaplan Publishing (June 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1419526936
• ISBN-13: 978-1419526930
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #703,264 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Marketing should Drive Sales - This Book tells you how., June 19, 2006

By 

Mark Buckingham - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Guide to Direct Marketing: Creating Breakthrough Programs That Really Work (Paperback)

For business people who have to sell stuff, this is the best, most up-to-date book on direct marketing I've seen. A lot of the other direct marketing books are second and third editions of older books that seem like they were written when direct marketing was just about direct mail. But Chet Meisner's book is more up-to-date and, in addition to covering "snail mail", he also provides practical advice on direct marketing on the Internet, email, television, radio, print, and the latest technologies like interactive DVR and text messaging --- how to do them and where to get lists for them etc

I really liked the chapters on strategy and business metrics. It helps a lot to understand how to plan your marketing and track your results so you can prove the success of your program on the bottom line: something I have to do every day. And the case studies were really great and informative. The chapter on creative was really helpful. I didn't realize there were so many "rules" for direct marketing copy and art. Also the chapters on lists and databases were very thorough.

There are definitely longer direct marketing books out there (this one is about 280 pages) but this book seems to be just long enough. You get the sense that the author has really "been there and done that." ---no soft fluff or useless theories for filler. Useful facts on every page. If you're looking for a way to increase your bottom line with direct marketing this book will definitely help you learn what you need to know without making you slog through a lot of extra text.

Mark Buckingham
VP Sales and Marketing
Callpod
www.callpod.com

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A beginner's book. Too much background info on Direct Marketing., May 30, 2007

By 

S. Goo (Honolulu, HI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Guide to Direct Marketing: Creating Breakthrough Programs That Really Work (Paperback)

After reading the reviews, I thought this book was what I was looking for (a book to help me improve my direct marketing campaigns). However, after reading it, it is for someone who is getting into direct marketing and needs a crash course. It has sections that provides tips to improve copy or creative, but most of the book is foundational stuff. He tries to ingrain that Direct Marketing is a strategy and repeats it way too much times throughout the book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Complete For This Beginner, March 31, 2007

By 

K. Cudworth (Pismo Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Guide to Direct Marketing: Creating Breakthrough Programs That Really Work (Paperback)

I needed a quick read to get my first direct marketing campaign started. This book provides comparisons to other marketing techniques and direct marketing examples. Also, it provides guidelines for approaching your audience and testing your approach. Easy read. I will read this book again to fine tune my approach down the road.