Create A Successful Circulation Plan
Step 3: Calculate an “afford” rate. This is a contribution calculation with list costs subtracted, the total of which is then divided by the number of names per 1,000. I frequently use a standard 10,000 quantity-ordered just so I don’t have to carry so much data into a pivot table. The afford rate is the dollar amount you can afford to spend on that list to break even if you use your company’s standard contribution formula. If you already know you can afford to prospect for new customers at some negative dollar figure, include this in the contribution formula, or calculate what it costs per new customer based on the chart you just created.
- Companies:
- Lett Direct Inc.
Steve Lett graduated from Indiana University in 1970 and immediately began his 50-year career in Direct Marketing; mainly catalogs.
Steve spent the first 25 years of his career in executive level positions at both consumer and business-to-business companies. The next 25 years have been with Lett Direct, Inc., the company Steve founded in early 1995. Lett Direct, Inc., is a catalog and internet consulting firm specializing in circulation planning, plan execution, analysis and digital marketing (Google Premier Partner).
Steve has served on the Ethics Committee of the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and on a number of company boards, both public and private. He served on the Board of the ACMA. He has been the subject of two Harvard Business School case studies. He is the author of a book, Strategic Catalog Marketing. Steve is a past Chairman of both the Catalog Council and Business Mail Council of the DMA. He spent a few years teaching Direct Marketing at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.
You can contact Steve at stevelett@lettdirect.com.
