A movie in theaters now continues to break box office records. As I hear about the film’s continued success, I got to thinking about it a little more, and realized that it actually had a lot to teach us about marketing a business.

Here are four lessons I picked up from the blockbuster.

(Spoiler alert!)

Don’t focus on one thing. Cross promote your platforms.
In the movie, it was when all the main characters, or the “good guys”, worked together that they were they able to defeat the enemy. Granted, in your world you’re not trying to fight any bad guys. But you are trying to win.

By cross promoting your business using different marketing channels, and furthermore, using different marketing channels to cross promote each other, you’ll strike gold.

Play to your strengths.
Each member of the team uses his or her strengths to win; one character uses his leadership, another uses his superhuman strength and another uses her agility and fearlessness.

When are you using different kinds of advertising channels to promote your business, be sure to have a clear understanding of how each channel can be best used. For example, use SMS text to send your current opt-in customers offers that are good for a limited time only, and use direct mail to accomplish the broader goal of customer acquisition and retention.

Be bold.
All the main characters take risks. Some get hurt. One character is overtaken by the enemy and another one gets stabbed. But they all survive and end up winning.

The same can be said about marketing and doing business in general, really. You’re an entrepreneur so risk isn’t something new to you. It’s important to think the same way about marketing.

Test new offers, new angles and new creative. Pull what doesn’t work and keep what does.

When you buck tradition, sometimes that’s when you find success.  Just see how successful  these well-known CEO’s are, while they broke the rules. Remember: It’s good to go bold as long as your risks are calculated and you’re not getting distracted by “Newfangled Whizbang syndrome.”

Continuously promote your brand for the ultimate response.
This one is a lesson in strategy from Hollywood’s promotion of the movie.  Many of the preceding films did their part to promote this one – at the end of the earlier movies, there were teasers that these stories were not yet finished.

Filmmakers planned all along to create this blockbuster. Over the years, they’ve created excitement and used every opportunity to build momentum. Each film built on the other.

And the result?  The movie broke box office records.

The same goes for marketing. It’s a long haul. It takes planning. It’s an investment. Sometimes results are immediate and sometimes they aren’t. It takes time and cross-promotion.  But when sustained over time, it pays off.

If you haven’t seen the movie and you’re reading this, hopefully I didn’t spoil too much for you. If you have, what do you think about the marketing lessons I learned here? Can you think of any other lessons to add to the list?

You work hard and your employees do, too. You provide quality products and services. You always put the customer first. But, for any business owner, there is bound to be a time when you are approached by an upset customer, whether he is standing before you at the counter, demanding apologies over the phone – or these days, venting on Twitter or Facebook.

Most of us will agree that disgruntled customers are an opportunity. Think about it. They’re already engaged with your business on an emotional level, so if you can find a resolution that satisfies them, they are likely to share the positive emotion as well and stay (positively) engaged with your company.

So, how can you turn an unhappy customer to a happy one?

Here are some tips from on how to diffuse the situation to turn a negative into a positive.

1. Acknowledge their anger by listening. Let them speak their mind, make eye contact if in person, and don’t interrupt. Show that you understand why they are upset and show them that you’re on their side and they have a right to their emotion. Just as we’ve said before, it’s pretty simple: building trust between a customer and business strengthens through simply listening to them.

1. Keep emotion out of it. In Business Week’s Three Steps to Calming Angry Customers, experts recommend that when a customer’s voice rises, you should lower yours because this “sends a signal to the brain that helps reduce anxiety for both your customer and you.”

1. Apologize quickly. Before they demand one.  If a mistake was made, then own up to it. If you don’t think a mistake was made on your behalf, still show the customer you’re on their team by apologizing for the problems it caused them.

1. Don’t get hung up on the technicalities. This is common in businesses that provide complex services, like computer or auto repair, Tech Republic’s 10 Things You Should Not Do When Dealing With An Angry Customer offers great advice on this saying that upset customers just want the problem resolved and acknowledgement that the problem did occur. They may not really care about the why’s of how the situation occurred.  By focusing only “on the technical problem while failing to recognize and mention the inconvenience to your customers, chances are they’ll remain dissatisfied even after you resolve the technical problem.”

1. Find a solution, and make the customer a part of the process. People are successful when they are a part of something they helped create. So, try asking the customer what can be done to correct the problem. If their suggestions are not feasible, carefully explain why and offer up a compromise you can live with.

1. Stop online chatter. If the customer complaint or negative post is online, my blog post, How to Handle Negative Online Reviews, has some tips that will help. The most important rule of thumb to remember when handling upset customers online is to respond online but then take the conversation offline by offering your phone number or email address.

1. Follow up. There’s excellent advice in 10 Powerful Steps to Diffuse Angry Customers from BusinessKnowHow.com including our final reminder to follow up with your customer if feasible to see that the solution has been effective.  Try a simple phone call, email, or postcard. This attention sends a strong message that you really do care about your customers and are dedicated to seeing that issues stay resolved.

What advice do you have for other local businesses dealing with upset customers? Do you have any stories to share about turning an angry customer into a loyal one?

I’ve heard it said that if you aren’t out there taking market share by advertising your business, you’re giving it to your competitors. And I believe it!

It is natural and wise to consider the costs of advertising your business. And it is important to weigh that cost against what you’ll get out of it. But it is easy to lose sight of what you’ll gain in advertising if you get hung up on price.

Myth 1: The immediate cost is the most important thing to consider.

All too often people only pay attention to the short-term cost rather than thinking about what their advertising will get them in the long run. But, when you see the dollar amount and think ‘I can’t afford that,’ just remember that if you aren’t out there taking market share, someone else is.

Remember, investing in yourself, even on a tight budget, helps you grow your business. Advertising helps you acquire new customers and retain customers you already have to get repeat business.

How to Overcome It:
It helps to think like this:

• If I spend X dollars on marketing, I have less money in the short term. But, I can expect to make more revenue in the long term from the new customers my advertising brings in, and the returning customers who are responding to my ads.
• If I save those X dollars by not advertising, I may have more money in the short term. But, I will have less in the long term, because I did not draw in those new customers, and my past customers may not return if a competitor is showing an attractive offer.

This is why I always preach detailed tracking to my clients.  You have to know real ROI of a marketing investment to know whether it’s working for you.

Myth 2: If You Build It, They Will Come

Another common mistake is thinking that having a great product or service is enough, and that customers will find out about your business through word of mouth alone.

In the real world, this idea doesn’t hold water. The climb to success takes good marketing – and good marketing involves planning, persistence, testing and refinement and yes, a reasonable budget. As a small business, stretching that dollar should be your goal. Knowing your financial situation and planning ahead helps you to do that.

How to Overcome It:
Take a look at the big picture: what is my business goal this year? Short term approaches like “I need more customers right now, so I’ll do a mailing next month” can give temporary success, but can bust your budget. Good marketing means planning ahead so that you can keep your budget in check. Planning enables you to make sure that all marketing efforts are cohesive, and consistent. Consistent, cohesive marketing sends the right message to consumers. And, you’ll know if you can afford to run shorter offers for an unexpected opportunity. Use marketing tools like these  to get ahead of the game and take that market share.

So, get out there and take that market share you deserve! What else is holding you back?

She may not always give you the answer you want, but she’ll give you the one you need to hear. She’s the one you can trust to tell you like it is.
He may not be known for his tact or for “putting it gently.” And he may annoy you on occasion when he starts poking holes in your newest business idea.

But, when you’re a business owner, you need them around.

I’m talking about the brutally-honest employee.

As a business owner, you know your company best. You have the passion and determination to deliver high quality products and services to your customers. You have the vision for growth. And you have the vested interest in seeing your idea through.

Unfortunately, all of that passion can sometimes overpower logic and may cause you, like any well-intentioned business owner, to miss red flags, great opportunities, or signs that it’s time to change.  It’s human nature – you love your business and think it’s the best thing since sliced bread – but sometimes that love gives us blinders.

One of the great things about owning a small business is that decision-making can be “agile.” We can change much on a whim, a luxury that large companies don’t experience because they’re hindered by red tape and layers of approvals.

In order to change, though, every business owner needs someone who can see the need for change and is willing to speak up about it. This person is invaluable, because he or she looks out for the good of the company without ulterior motives.

The “Yes Man” can lead you astray by not challenging your ideas. It is important to remember not to shoot the messenger. Instead, take a step back and consider what they have to say.  Sometimes that additional candid consideration can lead you to move forward with confidence, refine your plan or maybe, even scrap the idea.

A successful entrepreneur named Kirill Sheynkman was interviewed by Inc about this very topic and discussed how having a “real jerk” on board was one of the keys to his success. He learned the lesson the hard way, after failing when he didn’t have one on his team.

“’The truth is you can get lucky once, twice, even four times. That happens.’ But at some point, your luck will run out. When that happens, your company will need to have built a strong foundation capable of weathering the storm. The only way to establish that foundation is by being brutally objective about the weaknesses of your business and fighting to fix or eliminate them.

Sometimes, it takes a jerk to do that.”

 Do you have a “bad guy” in your office that you trust to point out the hard truth?

1. Showcase your every-day values.  Find the things on your product roster that are always a bargain, or the service you can deliver as a value-add every time. An example for a restaurant might be $.50 wings every Tuesday. If you offer a competitive every day price for a popular service, feature the low price point as the offer.
   


2. Lead with the offer or value statement. “Sell a good night’s sleep, not the mattress,” once said an Academy of Art University instructor. Think about what your customer will gain from your products and services and make it the theme or leading headline.
   


3. Got a new product? Discount it. There’s no better way to get awareness – and drive sales – for your new gizmo than to let people try it for free or at a discount. If they like it, they’ll probably tell their friends. They might even Tweet about it and, hopefully, come back for more.
   


4. Reward multiple visits to the business. For example, if the customer eats at your restaurant three times, the fourth visit could be free. Think about turning the ad itself into a loyalty card.
   


5. Require the purchase of another item that has a high mark-up such as beverages.
   


6. Put multiple offers in one ad. (Warning: the danger here is in making the ads and offers too busy, but this can be a great way to drive business.) For example, advertise a kid’s night and a dinner-for-two “date night” special. Or, get an oil change for ½ price when you get buy new tires. Another way to think of this is diversifying an offer to appeal to different types of people at the same time. The other bonus is that you are creating an offer that will encourage repeat visits.
   


7. Once consumers do respond, measure results against your objectives.  Was your goal to generate new customers?  To drive phone calls?  To promote a new menu item?  Was the response immediate or did the offers get redeemed over a longer period of time? Make sure you compare results against your goals. Then, adjust the next offer based on what you learned.
   


8. Tie in with the trends. Think about how to leverage seasons and local events.  Run an offer good for Moms around May for Mother’s Day. Give discounts to folks wearing “I Voted” stickers on election day.  And it’s okay to have a little fun to get people’s attention, too.   
   


9. Promote charities. Use your ad space to show support for the local charities your business supports. In lieu of an offer, remind people that you’re donating $1 during an entire month to a local cause. 
   

 Have you been inspired by these ideas? Did this help you get out of a creative rut?

Plan Ahead.

Sounds simple enough, right?

But we both know all too well about “the best laid plans”.

Some days you feel like a firefighter, putting out unexpected fires at work.  A short meeting turns into a long one, an unexpected phone call, you get slammed with orders, something breaks and you have to fix it … the list goes on.  Despite your intentions, in the hustle and bustle of running a business sometimes very important things keep getting pushed to tomorrow’s to-do list over and over.

Such as planning out your marketing from now until the end of the year.

We get it. That’s why we’re writing about planning in April (ha!).  It’s never too late!

In this second post about planning ahead, we’re sharing some of the most common reasons businesses fall behind without realizing it and tips for making sure you’re not one of them!

1. The Short Sighted Approach: Sometimes looking at the entire year can feel overwhelming, but if you’re only planning a month or two out, it’s going to be hard to lose that panicked feeling when you have to throw things together at the last minute. So take some uninterrupted time to analyze the full cycle of your business and how to tie into seasons, trends and annual events to find that peace of mind.


2. The Mismatched Goals Approach: First, do you have goals? Are they S.M.A.R.T goals? (Specific. Measurable. Attainable. Relevant. Time-limited.) If you don’t have your business goals specifically written out somewhere, stop what you’re doing and go do that now! Ok, now that we’ve got that done, make sure your business goals and your marketing efforts match. If what you’re attempting to do in marketing doesn’t match your short and long term business goals, you’re setting yourself up for frustration.


3. The “I’m Not A Numbers Guy” Approach: One of the scariest words in business is also one of the most important: financials. It can be a little intimidating, but if you don’t have a good grasp on the actual ROI of a new customer and the lifetime value of a retained customer, you will struggle to see value in marketing. Don’t let the “numbers” get the best of you. Find a trusted business expert who IS good with numbers to help you figure out the value of a customer to your business. Then, you can feel confident about the money you’re investing into marketing to get each customer!


4. The Bright, Shiny, Eye-Catching Approach: “But wait, shouldn’t my marketing be eye-catching?” Yes! And it’s fun to wordsmith every line, agonize over whether the headline should be in blue or green, and experiment with the size of your logo. But don’t just focus on the eye-appeal of the ad, it’s equally important to think about the overarching campaign and big picture. Double check that it doesn’t just LOOK good, it WORKS and helps achieve those goals we talked about in #2. The graphics, slogan, etc. should be paired with a powerful call to action. Ask yourself, “Does it connect with the audience? Does it offer something the market wants? Is the call to action for the customer obvious?” Plan ads in advance so you not only have ads that look good, but they actually work hard for your business.

If any of these sound like you, it might be time to stop and make time to plan ahead for the rest of 2012. Sure, it will take a few hours on the front end, but the long-term benefit to your business will far outweigh the time cost. (Not to mention to stress benefits, and who doesn’t want one less thing to worry about in business?)

This is where a local marketing or business consultant come in handy. We help you see the big picture and obtain market research about your target audience. We help you plan and create handy planning calendars to keep yourself organized.

To encourage you to start planning today, you can download our free planning calendar to get started:

PLANNING CALENDAR FOR DRY CLEANER

PLANNING CALENDAR FOR RESTAURANT

PLANNING CALENDAR FOR AUTO SHOP

Waiting to plan your marketing means you’re missing out on getting new customers, and possibly losing the ear of your current customers. “Out of sight, out of mind” can have a pretty powerful impact, so make sure to keep your business front of mind.

What kind of procrastinator are you? Have you tried using a marketing planning calendar? What are the most important elements on your marketing calendar? 

It’s already April and whether you haven’t made a plan for the rest of the year, or it’s time to do a quick performance review of your existing plan, we’ve put together some suggestions on how to get all of your marketing ducks in a row to get more mileage out of your marketing investment.

We know how chaotic it can be to track all the advertising schedules, dates, offers, promotions, specials, etc., especially when you’re using multiple marketing channels and partners to promote your business (such as radio, direct mail, online, SMS texting, print, and TV). To help bring it all together, we put together this 2-part series on best practices for organizing your marketing campaigns.

Let’s kick things off now with our tips on how to get started with planning your advertising.

1. Take inventory. The first thing to do is to assess where you are. Take a step back and list out all of the marketing tactics you have used (including results) and plan to use throughout the year.


2. Determine your goals. As you assess your plan, think about your business needs and goals, whether it is to retain customers, acquire new customers, fill a slow time, or simply awareness – or all of these.  The, prioritize what you want to accomplish for your overall business growth plan.


3. Consider timing, frequency and audience. Think wide and long-term: Think about trends. Are there seasonal patterns, annual traditions, and holidays to consider? Are there shopping patterns? Consider local community events throughout the year that you can leverage or events that may compete with it. Is one time of the day better than the other for reaching your target audience? Who is your target audience?  How will you reach them: in their homes, in their car or on their phones? How often should you reach out to them? Create a marketing planning calendar for your business.


4. Get a handle on financials.  Do some homework and establish costs and estimated return for various marketing tactics.  Then look at your cash flow and budget and identify what you can spend on advertising.  Establish a break-even point for each tactic so you know what you would need to generate to have positive ROI.


5. Determine realistic ROI. Ask yourself, “What ROI will I use to determine if my advertising is effective?”  Redemptions, average ticket, leads generated, seats filled, etc.  Know exactly how you’ll track your metrics of success and have a backup plan to be able to adjust your plan based on opportunities that arise.


6. Evaluate and prioritize the tactics.  Sure, there are plenty of options but which are most likely to achieve your business goals with an ROI that makes sense for your business? Rank them based on achieving the goal and ROI.


7. Commit the money. Invest the money you need to in order to be successful. Don’t forget back-end tracking, either. This is your hard-earned money being spent, so you need to make sure there’s a process in place to measure each campaign so you can tweak it to improve.


8. Don’t be afraid to adjust or try new tactics along the way.  Test channels, offers, messaging, design, and other pieces of the campaign. Give programs time to work but don’t be afraid to adjust the plan when it makes sense.  Pull out what’s not working as well and keep doing more of what gets the most results. Apply lessons learned as you go but don’t lose sight of the long-term goals.

The main thing to remember is that what works for one channel at one time, may not work for another channel at another time. Generic mass marketing with one message everywhere all the time usually doesn’t pay dividends. It’s best to strategically plan each piece of your campaign to grow your business, which is why it’s critical to start with identifying your business goals.

Are you thinking about your marketing this way? Have I missed a step? If you’ve got stories to share and lessons you’ve learned about planning – or not planning – advertising campaigns, I want to hear about them in the comments!

People expect discounts, and even prefer businesses that offer them.  In fact, there are some items people refuse to buy without a coupon.  Check out more statistics to find out what those products are.

Obviously, I like coupons as a business strategy. I have seen them work wonders for a business to generate new business and bring existing customers back.  But there are times when discounting (more specifically, deep discounting) might not make sense.

(Yes, I just said that.)   

After all, the goal of using discounts is actually to make more money for your business – not damage your bottom line. So, here are six questions to ask yourself to know when it’s the right time to offer deep discounts.

    
1. Does the offer make sense?  “Buy One Get One Free” is a strong offer on the surface, but if your customer would not typically buy multiple items at the same time, it is not likely to work well. Find a compelling offer that will also drive business to make it worth your while for you and your customer.



    

2. How low can I go and still earn a profit?    Sure, offers have to drive consumers to act, but not every deal has to be a drastic one. It just has to make an impact. Look at your product mix and margins so you do not get burned.  Milder offers or even every-day-low-price offers can work if they are compelling, depending on timing, competitive price points, and market penetration. Just see the success some pizza places have had with their milder offers.



    

3. Can I make the offer more than once? Unless your offer is 100% irresistible, then you have got to “pepper the market”. In other words, whatever advertising channels you use –   newspapers, text campaigns, billboards, radio ads, television spots or Valpak- repetition multiplies results. Frequency works! Sometimes a consumer sees the offer but may not respond right away. One of the most important parts of any advertising campaign is repetition, allowing a consumer to see the offer and respond when they are ready.  So, be prepared to keep your business top of mind with frequent offers and ads to keep attention.



    

4. What exclusions should apply? Be smart and evaluate what you can reasonably offer.  Do not be afraid to protect yourself by excluding items or situations that do not fit with each offer (but avoid having so many restrictions that it makes it difficult for consumers).



    

5. Do I have enough staffing and supplies? A good deal is no substitute for providing good customer service. After all, why offer a deal to bring them in, only to create a poor or so-so customer experience that won’t bring them back?  When you create your discount offer, make sure that you not only have enough product to meet demand, but there is plenty of staff who have all been prepped and are ready to handle the response.



    

6. How will I measure the results?  Technology has given advertisers the ability to measure response on all kinds of marketing campaigns, so make sure you’re getting regular reports from your provider and tracking response rates so you can adjust as needed. Make sure your staff knows how you want to track redemption and consumer expenditures.
   

So, there we have it. Knowing how to create promotional offers and discounts that work for your business is a big part of a successful campaign.  It is partly scientific and partly an art – which, I suppose makes me a savings artist… “The “DaVinci of Discounts”… The “VanGogh of Values.”

So what do you think? Do you agree? What other things should be on this list?

In Part 1 of my list of “Direct Marketing Terms You Need to Know,” I explained some key direct marketing buzzwords.
It’s time to get the flashcards out again because here’s a list of terms that covers digital marketing.
Sure, these terms may sound like a foreign language, but getting familiar with these terms and the ideas behind them could help to grow your business.

1. Digital marketing: (The obvious term to define first, right?) “Digital” is a widely-used term with varying definitions, but it essentially refers to any form of marketing that uses the Internet, online ads (including display ads), or mobile devices.
   


2. Mobile Marketing: Includes all forms of marketing and advertising to reach customers through cell phones and other mobile devices such as iPads and other tablets.
   


3. SMS Text Marketing – The industry term for promoting your business with “text messages.”  SMS is the acronym for Short Message Service.
   


4. QR Code: Short for “Quick Response” codes. (I think they look like those “hidden image” pictures that were popular a few years back.) QR Codes are popular in Japan and becoming commonplace in the US and Canada.  Businesses are using them mostly in ads where consumers are asked to scan the codes with their mobile phone. When scanned, customers can be driven to a website, see a photo, read text, watch a video and various other actions to get more information about the product. Using barcodes on print ads to drive consumers to online media has been very effective.  Ask me about some examples if you’re interested.)
   


5. Display Advertising – Most often, this refers to online advertising. The most common examples are the ads you see on the sidebars of a website.
   


6. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – Wikipedia does a great job defining this term as the process to improve a website’s rankings in search engines via “natural”, “un-paid” or “organic” ways – meaning you are NOT paying the search engine to appear at the top of a results page.
   


7. Pay Per Click (PPC) – The paid form of search engine marketing where products and websites related to the term you searched for appear on a search’s results page. The company buying the space to place the word only pays for the ad when it is clicked.
   


8. Hashtags – Most commonly associated with Twitter, using a hashtag (#) before a word or phrase makes it easily categorized and searchable. Hashtagged words that are most popular are called “trending” topics. Example: #JustinBieber
   


9. Trending – When a topic/word/phrase is so popular in Twitter that it is “trending”, it means that that topic/word/phrase appears on Twitter’s home page.
   
10. Timeline – If this word is uttered by a marketer in 2012, you can bet they are referring to the layout of Facebook pages for businesses and organizations.  Read up on getting the most out of Timeline for your business page here.
    


11. Connection – I’m referring to LinkedIn here. It’s like a “friend” in Facebook, or a contact in your rolodex; it’s a person you want to stay in touch with or get to know better professionally. If you haven’t connected with me on LinkedIn yet, come find me there today!
    


12. SoLoMo – Short for “Social, Local, Mobile Media”, this term is picking up steam. Believe it or not, technology is changing so fast that the way that consumers now search for products and services is different that it was a few years ago.   So, making your business accessible to local consumers on social channels and mobile devices is becoming increasingly important.
    


13. Content Marketing – Articles, videos, blog posts, Tweets, whitepapers, photographs, brochures, emails, websites… Content marketing describes these forms of valuable information that can lead to sales, leads, loyalty and other “customer actions”.  This form of marketing is now so popular that there is a Content Marketing Institute and Content Magazine.
    


14. Pinterest – This is the name of a website.  But not just any website. This is the fastest-growing social media site EVER. It’s a place where people “pin”, or bookmark/save, images about things that interest them like food, recipes, products, activities, vacation destinations, etc.  Including images in your digital marketing is becoming more important than ever.
    

Whew! What other words have you heard lately that I can define for you?

Are you ready for your pop quiz on digital marketing now?

Every business has their own language…

Like…“So let’s mail four NTAs, which is 40M this month, with your CP44 ad.”

Or… “For your solo mailing we’ll mail 1MM 4/4 with an aqueous coating.”

Huh?

Spend enough time around a direct marketer in his element too long and you’re bound to hear some jargon-filled sentences like these.  I’m even guilty of using the lingo, sometimes forgetting that not everyone who is listening always understands what I’m saying.

Since you’re running a business, you’ve already got more than enough “stuff” to worry about but, there are a FEW direct marketing terms you SHOULD know. That’s because understanding what these buzzwords can do for your business may very well grow your business and give you a better understanding of the industry and the product you may be using to advertise your business’s products.

It’s time to break out the flashcards.

1. KPI – An acronym referring to “Key Performance Indicator.” KPIs are how you will measure performance of a campaign such as redemptions, average ticket, total spend, and/or ROI.
2. Value Proposition: This is the characteristic, feature, benefit and/or advantage you provide a customer. It’s the reason why someone would choose your business over the competition.
3. /M:  Per thousand.
4. /MM:  Per million.
5. AOV (average order value): or Average Ticket: The average amount of each customer order.
6. Affinity:  A logical connection between a mailer’s offer and the names/data on a list.
7. Barcode: The nine-digit ZIP code translated into a coding structure of vertical bars and half bars used in order to speed the sorting of mail and enabling mailers to take a discount on postage. The USPS had asked mailers to switch to a four state barcode, which would replace the 30-plus codes throughout the postal system currently.
8. BRC: Business Reply Card.
9. Break Even Analysis: Calculating the number of customers and/or average ticket sales needed to cover the cost of a promotion.
10. Carrier Route: A specific code used by the postal service to specifically identify a geographical area. Carrier routes are used to define an NTA.
11. DMA: Designated Market Areas (DMAs) are used by Nielsen Media Research to identify TV stations whose broadcast signals reach a specific area.
12. NTA: Neighborhood Trade Area – Mapped mailing zones typically composed of 10,000 non-duplicated household addresses within a geographical area based on income levels and carrier routes.
13. Response Rate: Amount of responses received as a percentage of total promotions mailed.
14. Deal: As in “limited time deal” provider that offers hyper-local, deeply discounted, group-buying opportunities online.

Next week, we’ll cover digital marketing terms, but what other direct marketing jargon, buzzwords or acronyms do you hear that should I define or explain?