average lift in response rates is usually 200% to 300% above response received from more heavily mailed larger DM markets. There are about 85 particularly responsive smaller markets. You mail these from offshore in the English language (so you can fulfil and build the relationship in English) and your offer should be in US dollars or Euros. So is there any fundamental reason for not mailing into these markets right now?

There is - but the whiff of change is in the air. The "hot" smaller markets have been hurt by the same affliction affecting the larger markets. Fewer mailings have led to fewer fresh names being available and lower volume mailings have led to yet fewer fresh names leading to lower response rates, higher acquisition costs and an overall decline in multinational DM activity. This is reversible - but more of that in a moment.

It would be a fair observation to also point out that direct response everywhere has been damaged by consumer disgust and alienation caused by the overwhelming, escalating volume of deceptive, misleading and fraudulent DM activity which has inundated letter boxes and computer in-boxes over the past few years. This has reached the point where even bonafide, completely authentic, offers are regarded with suspicion by consumers until credibility is firmly established and a relationship is in place.

One of the more positive developments out there forcing change is the enormous popularity, and growing power and ubiquity of social networks. Facebook users go online and warn their "friends" about fraudulent offers. Their friends warn their friends who warn other friends... The average Facebook user currently has 167 friends. Multiply this out and take into account Twitter, Myspace and the other social media and calculate how quickly good news can spread - and bad news too. Very quickly, massive damage can be inflicted upon the perpetrator of a scam, and one-by-one (there are too many to name) these companies are closing down. The market place loathes to be deceived and consumers now have a powerful, fast way to communicate with each other and collectively, if there's a common will, they can begin to eliminate some of the more persistent and aggressive fraudulent players.

There are other reasons to begin thinking about the smaller markets. Not only are they less inundated with postal DM offers, but the mail gets delivered with more certainty (local postal administrations are well compensated under the UPU terminal dues system for delivering foreign mail), there are no bulk mail penalties, taxes (such as VAT) are not mandatory if you're based offshore and fulfill from offshore, and response rates are consistently higher than from developed markets.

With the collaboration of major clients and colleagues MLA has decided once more to accumulate raw data from the internet (done cheaply through our office in the Philippines) and to convert these names into responders. I personally have been mailing into the smaller markets in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Central America now for over 30 years, and MLA has been active in these markets for 27 years - so corporately we know something about this strategy and will be in a position to help open up smaller markets again quite soon.

Social Networks Are Here to Stay. Discover What Works.

A few weeks ago I visited the annual Australian Direct Marketing Association (ADMA) Conference & Exhibition in Sydney. Over 80% of the presentations were about digital direct marketing and 70% of the participants were users. Last month I spent a day at the "Digital Ripple" Conference in Manila which was 100% focused on social network marketing. I've looked at the program for the U.S. DMA: 2010 Conference next week in San Francisco and much of it will be devoted to social media (with just one little session only on "global DM"!). The message is clear. Social media marketing is here to stay and we just have to discover how to get into it in the most responsible and effective manner. You'll discover what works (and what doesn't) very quickly indeed - and there will continue to always be something new around the corner.

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