DMers have to forget about the traditional “gut-feel” approach and analyze the sales cycle with metrics and statistics to better understand their market. These same measurements should be used to evaluate the success or failure of marketing campaigns.
A good rule is to base 50% of the importance and effort on the list, 30% to 40% on the offer and 10% to 20% on the creative.
Once you have a clean database and your own targeted list, the data will tell you how much to spend, who to spend it on, and the type of offer to be made. You may determine it's worth spending $300 on a C-level exec or vice president at a top company because it will shorten the sales cycle. Or you may decide on a larger, less expensive campaign geared toward the recommenders, knowing they're the ones who may open the door to future accounts. Either way, if it's clean, the data will guide your decision.
