The B-to-B Mailer’s Rules of the Road

Consumer Direct Marketing

The universe has roughly 110 million households. Most receive mail in a box or through a slot in the front door. They answer their own telephones. True, in the words of Chicago freelancer Lea Pierce, “All mail is opened over the wastebasket.” But, chances are pretty good that if you want to reach consumers, your messages will either get into their hands or their ears. All of these households need basic consumables: food, cleaning supplies, light bulbs, toilet paper—all of which are to be found in the local supermarket. Further, these households are made up of individual consumers, who are profiled in vast electronic dossiers that describe every facet of their lifestyles, affinities, ability to pay and their propensity for being manipulated from a distance (i.e., mail order buyers).