Direct Marketing and the Economy
Direct Marketing and the Economy
In the midst of all of this, DM News has reported that Silver Lake and Value Act's acquisition bid of data compiler and database giant, Acxiom, has fallen through. According to Bruce Biegel of Winterberry Group, “This deal was announced back in May, with Silver Lake jumping in with ValueAct Capital, but the credit markets have changed since then. Consider this pricing issue with the fact that Acxiom has a substandard quarter and the risk of a second one doesn’t create a comfort level for investors.”
The article goes on to state that Biegel does remains confident in the potential for growth in the data sector. However, he points out what we already know (at least those of us who have clients within the financial services sector) -- "that the bad credit market is not helpful to Acxiom, many of whose clients are credit card companies and financial services firms suffering from the current economic slump and subprime issues. In addition, he acknowledged challenges to the postal increase earlier this year and the expected increase next year."
However, as you'd expect, Acxiom's retiring CEO, Charles Morgan, remains confident about the strength of his company, and promises to work harder than ever to show value to Acxiom's various stakeholders.
What all of this proves to us is that during the peaks and valleys of our economy, the playing field is strangely leveled. It doesn't matter what size firm you are . . . it seems that everyone is impacted in some way or another.
The other takeaway from this experience is that though you are working hard in the present to assist your clients, you must do so with an eye towards the future. If you can effectively diversify your client base or product offering, you simply have more staying power as the economic factors shift.
Obviously, Acxiom is going to be A-OK -- and then some. They are a giant in the industry and it sounds like they are already planning their next critical steps. As Morgan puts it, “Acxiom has been an industry leader for over three decades. We will continue to execute on our long-term strategy to remain the market leader in database marketing, services and data products.” And, the beauty of the economy is that it tends to be cyclical. Those of us who have been around for awhile remember when this sort of economic pullback happened in the 90s . . . and the 80s . . . and so on.
So, as 2007 enters its final quarter, we advise you to start planning exciting new things for 2008. One of the best places to start your planning is to take a hard look at your overall marketing strategy. We've written some Holiday Tips that may help to spark some good ideas as you begin this planning process. They were written at the end of last year but now is the time to take them out, dust them off, and re-look at them to get some ideas flowing for your 2008 Marketing Strategy. After all, the Annual DMA Conference is right around the corner. By putting these plans into place now, you'll be armed with some great ideas so that you can do some solid research at the conference and come home with your 2008 strategy well on it's way to being completed.
You'll be so far ahead of the game that you'll look like a hero to your CMO. It's like having all of your Holiday
Direct Marketing and the Economy - To learn more about this author, visit Nancy Arter's Website.
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This is the time of the year when we all start looking at our revenue performance and begin to set our strategy for 2008. Over the past several months, we've reported some wonderful results for the direct marketing industry on this blog. We've reported how data sales are increasing, direct mail numbers are up, higher results from using e-mail marketing, and so forth. While we've been talking about the strength of our industry, the US Economy has been going through some definite shifts. With the flailing about of the mortgage market and the tightening of credit, some economic analysts consider this the start of a recession, while others state that we are firmly ensconced in one already. Whatever you believe to be the actual case, this bears some looking into as we plan for next year . . . or the next few years.
In the midst of all of this, DM News has reported that Silver Lake and Value Act's acquisition bid of data compiler and database giant, Acxiom, has fallen through. According to Bruce Biegel of Winterberry Group, “This deal was announced back in May, with Silver Lake jumping in with ValueAct Capital, but the credit markets have changed since then. Consider this pricing issue with the fact that Acxiom has a substandard quarter and the risk of a second one doesn’t create a comfort level for investors.”
The article goes on to state that Biegel does remains confident in the potential for growth in the data sector. However, he points out what we already know (at least those of us who have clients within the financial services sector) -- "that the bad credit market is not helpful to Acxiom, many of whose clients are credit card companies and financial services firms suffering from the current economic slump and subprime issues. In addition, he acknowledged challenges to the postal increase earlier this year and the expected increase next year."
However, as you'd expect, Acxiom's retiring CEO, Charles Morgan, remains confident about the strength of his company, and promises to work harder than ever to show value to Acxiom's various stakeholders.
What all of this proves to us is that during the peaks and valleys of our economy, the playing field is strangely leveled. It doesn't matter what size firm you are . . . it seems that everyone is impacted in some way or another.
The other takeaway from this experience is that though you are working hard in the present to assist your clients, you must do so with an eye towards the future. If you can effectively diversify your client base or product offering, you simply have more staying power as the economic factors shift.
Obviously, Acxiom is going to be A-OK -- and then some. They are a giant in the industry and it sounds like they are already planning their next critical steps. As Morgan puts it, “Acxiom has been an industry leader for over three decades. We will continue to execute on our long-term strategy to remain the market leader in database marketing, services and data products.” And, the beauty of the economy is that it tends to be cyclical. Those of us who have been around for awhile remember when this sort of economic pullback happened in the 90s . . . and the 80s . . . and so on.
So, as 2007 enters its final quarter, we advise you to start planning exciting new things for 2008. One of the best places to start your planning is to take a hard look at your overall marketing strategy. We've written some Holiday Tips that may help to spark some good ideas as you begin this planning process. They were written at the end of last year but now is the time to take them out, dust them off, and re-look at them to get some ideas flowing for your 2008 Marketing Strategy. After all, the Annual DMA Conference is right around the corner. By putting these plans into place now, you'll be armed with some great ideas so that you can do some solid research at the conference and come home with your 2008 strategy well on it's way to being completed.
You'll be so far ahead of the game that you'll look like a hero to your CMO. It's like having all of your Holiday
Direct Marketing and the Economy - To learn more about this author, visit Nancy Arter's Website.
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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