Fact: Customers who engage with a marketer through multiple channels have higher response rates, increased average order values (AOVs) and better lifetime values (LTV). That cross-channel relationship should begin during acquisition. The most effective acquisition contact strategies not only reach prospects through their preferred media or channels, they also engage them at each point of contact.

Being proactive is a big buzz phrase in our industry. But many direct marketers continue to engage in practices that seriously undermine the effectiveness of the contact strategies that, in large part, determine their performance and profitability. Once these practices have taken root, they can become so entrenched that marketers no longer even recognize their insidious effects. What can you do?

Being proactive is a big buzz phrase in our industry. But many direct marketers continue to engage in practices that seriously undermine the effectiveness of the contact strategies that, in large part, determine their performance and profitability. Once these practices have taken root, they can become so entrenched that marketers no longer even recognize their insidious effects. What can you do?

It’s become clear that every traditional direct marketing metric has found an online counterpart—its "cousin." The "cousin" analogy is especially appropriate for two reasons. First, cousins are part of the same family. You like them, and to a degree, you understand them. These online metrics are familiar because they are closely related to those we’re accustomed to watching in our offline direct marketing efforts. Second, you may not immediately recognize the cousins you only see once a year, but once you do, you quickly become comfortable with them. In the same way, we must embrace our online "cousin" data.