WHITE PLAINS, NY – At the 8th Annual MeritDirect Business Mailer’s Co-op and Interactive Marketing Conference, Don Libey, president of direct marketing consultancy Libey Inc., gave executives advice on meeting the pressures of increasing silent vendor partners, planning for the future, and improving profitability and valuation growth.
His 20 pillars include some classic musts – vision, product, talent, analytics, internal communication and new customer acquisition.
He said that despite postal increases, catalogs were still a viable channel getting new buyers. Another key pillar was distribution. Libey said it’s important to reach the customer and to do it fast. Make sure your fulfillment center is on top of things.
“Look into tools, they are there to help you,” Libey suggested. “You can create the very best things and without tools you still won’t go anywhere.”
The customer service pillar is absolute.
“Let’s not ship things out on time,” Libey said sarcastically. “Let’s not answer the phones fast and when we do answer the phones, let’s be rude. That makes sense.”
His other advice was to become the very best in the niche that you are in. Libey identified niche-depth as another pillar.
“Niche-dominance is extraordinary,” he said.
Image is everything. Who you are, what you do and how you do it all determine your image.
Libey said people aren’t being creative anymore. He advised marketers to devise creative offers and share tactics with trusted advisors, in order to grow the industry.
Having a board of advisers is a good strategy.
“You need people who are not Machiavellian,” he said. “And make sure they are not just dollar-oriented.”
