Acquisition Cost
The cost of signing up a new customer.
Affinity
People who are similar in lifestyle
Affinity Analysis
A process of finding relationships between customer purchases.
Affinity Marketing
A targeted way of marketing products and services by linking complementary brands. Can develop them into lasting partnerships and strategic alliances.
Audience Profiling
Defining the target market audience that is most appropriate for a given product or service
Below the Line
A form of advertising involving direct contact with the customer using less conventional methods and media to promote products and services.
Bounce back
The practice of sending another identical (or similar) catalogue back to someone who has just ordered something from one of your catalogues.
Campaign Strategy
A marketing communication plan for a client, including analyzing the company and the consumer, choosing the message strategy, building the brand, setting media objectives, and designing sales promotions.
Churning
The practice of customers switching to another supplier based on special discount offers.
Co-op mailing
A mailing in which two or more offers — usually from different companies — are included in the same envelope, and share the costs.
Continuation
A mailing to the same list following a successful test of a portion of the list.
Continuity
Products or services bought as a series of small purchases, rather than all at one time.
Cross-Selling
Encouraging customers to buy products from other departments or categories.
Customer Acquisition
Methodologies and systems used to manage customer prospects and inquiries.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
A combination of policies, processes, and strategies that unify customer interactions and provide a mechanism for tracking customer information.
Data Analysis (DDA)
Evaluation of data.
Data Capture (DAC)
Collecting, formatting and storage of data.
Data Consultancy (CDA)
Assists companies with the development of their data strategies.
Data Enhancement (DAE)
Appending additional information to existing data- e.g. date of birth.
Data Harvesting
Obtaining information about customers/groups to identify patterns and establish relationships that have no previously been discovered.
Data Hygiene (DAH)
Running data against a number of checks and suppression files to ensure it is up-to-date and accurate.
Data Seeding (DAS)
Provision of independent names and addresses to be used to check the deliverability of a direct marketing campaign.
Data Services
The gathering, modelling, and transforming of data with the goal of highlighting useful information, suggesting conclusions, and supporting decision-making.
Database Building
Assistance in the setting up of a customer and prospect database.
Database Management/Hosting
Third party management or hosting of data.
Database Marketing Collecting
Data on customers and using it to provide recognition and services to customers, resulting in increased customer loyalty and repeat sales.
Database Software & Equipment
Provision of technologies and hardware to build and hold databases.
Direct Marketing Interactive
Marketing that produces a measurable response or purchase.
Direct Response Advertising
Promotion that seeks not just to provide information, but to generate an inquiry, order or visit.
Door-to-door Marketing
A form of direct marketing involving selling via direct contact with the prospective customer.
E-commerce Response Handling
Facility to process responses either by email or via website response devices.
Email Marketing
The process of promoting a product or service or an idea by sending direct emails to the target audience.
Enhancement
Appending demographic or lifestyle data to a list.
Envelope Converter
Conversation of flat printed sheets into envelopes for dm purposes.
Envelope Manufacturer
Production of plain envelopes.
Fulfilment
Fulfilment of direct marketing campaigns including the despatch of ordered items.
Guerrilla Marketing
Unconventional marketing intended to get maximum results from minimal resources.
International Mailing
Everything from the design of mail pieces to the actual mailing.
International Mailing Consolidator
Company who collates items for international mail from a variety of customers, despatching them when a minimum weight or quantity for that town, region or country has been reached.
Lifestyle
Data about a neighbourhood.
Lifetime Value
The contribution to overhead and profit made by a customer during his total relationship with your company.
List Broker
Buys or rents lists on behalf of clients on a commission basis.
List Building & Research
Researches and builds lists on behalf of clients.
List Manager
Maintains and sells lists on behalf of list owner for negotiated management fee.
List Owner
Generators of business mailing lists.
Litho Printer
Producer of printed matter for direct marketing purposes.
Mail Tracking
Ascertaining of the position of items of mail in the Royal Mail delivery chain.
Mailing House/Letter shop
Personalisation of plain or pre-printed material, enclosing produced and supplied items for final mailing.
Mailing list
A list of customers or prospects used to mail catalogues or sale announcements.
Market Penetration
The percentage of buyers you have as compared with the total households or businesses in the area you have selected as your market.
Mobile Marketing
Marketing in a moving fashion including technology road shows, moving billboards, and mobile phones.
Modelling
A statistical technique determining which pieces of data in a customer database explains the behaviour of your customers.
Personalisation
The process of including personal references in an outgoing mail piece.
Polywrapping Manufacturer
Manufacturer’s polywrap to be used for direct mail.
Post Response Handling
Facility to process responses, which come by mail.
Postal Operator
National/international postal operator.
Print Management
Providing solutions to print and communications needs including print purchasing, direct mail manufacture, distribution, consultancy, etc.
Prospect Identification
Identifying new audiences.
Referral Rate
The percentage of new customers that begin buying this year as a result of encouragement from last year’s customers.
Relationship Marketing
The process of building a relationship with customers which results in the customers becoming more loyal, buying more, and staying as customers.
Response Management
The strategy of responding to competitors or market developments rather than being a leader.
Retention
The tendency to keep customers buying.
Retention Rate
The percentage of customers who continue to make purchases from you in a second period, such as a year.
Sampling Campaigns
Placing a product directly in the hands of the consumers in order to increase product awareness by allowing consumers a trial run of the product.
Satisfaction Survey
A survey of customers designed as much to learn something about customers for relationship building purposes as it is to learn about good and bad features of your servicing of the customers.
Telemarketing
The use of the telephone as an interactive medium for promotion and sales.
Telephone Response- Automated
Processes telephone responses through interaction with recorded operators.
Telephone Response- Live
Processes telephone responses through interaction with live operators.