DMA Conference
Positive News on Macro Issues Highlighted at DMA Conference
There was a great deal of positive news coming out of the Annual DMA Conference regarding many of the larger issues facing direct marketers today. The DMA’s advocacy initiatives have been successful in ensuring there will be no increase in postal rates in 2010. This news was just announced last week. Additionally, the “Do Not Mail” bills that were pending in six states including California have all been defeated.
Other headway has been gained in the DMA’s environmental efforts with the debut of DMAChoice.org, a consumer-based program of opt-in initiatives that allows for the customization of mail messages consumers want to receive.
John Greco, President and CEO of the DMA credits the association’s preparedness and proactivity for these recent wins.
The other big battle the DMA is gearing up for is the new pending tax laws. These taxes would be imposed by the states as a way of generating new revenue from muliti-channel retailers. The DMA stressed the need for more individual involvement on this issue from all direct marketers, urging each of us to write to our state officials voicing our opposition to these taxes. This isn’t the first time I have heard that 2010 could be “the year of the taxes.” So, I’ll end this post now so I can write my Congressmen.
Omnipresence Theme Permeates DMA Discussions
The need for marketers to be everywhere was a theme that threaded through most every discussion at this year’s annual DMA Conference and Expo. Martha Stewart articulated it for everyone in her keynote remarks that ushered in the event stating, “we want eyeballs and we don’t care where we have t
o go to get them.”
Not surprisingly, harnessing digital media lead the conversations on how to become increasingly omnipresent. With 96% of all Millennials reporting that they are members of social media outlets and women over 50 being the fastest growing segment on Facebook, marketers have been quick to embrace the channel while openly admitting that we’re still pioneers working to understand the space.
Increasingly, “Voice of the Customer” research is being used by both B2C and B2B marketers to help determine which digital conversations to engage in and where. In discussing the needs of the customer, they are also uncovering their online whereabouts. This valuable information helps marketers, engage more appropriately, project a more authentic voice and prioritize online destinations and the connectivity tools to implement on their websites.
If you’re still wondering where to ramp-up your quest for omnipresence, CBD panelists Pam Evan of IBM and Bart Zehran of E-RM stated it best during our presentation on Millennials as the new B2B buyer, “first, get right with Google then make sure your website works as hard as possible to engage prospects and customers.”
