There was a time when the term direct marketing was virtually synonymous with what others called direct mail marketing. Over the past two decades, the DM vista broadened to the point where one no longer could assume that doing direct marketing meant marketing by mail. For some, the lion’s share of their marketing dollars were dedicated to other media.
In certain individuals’ minds, mail had become DM’s less glamorous stepchild. A few short years ago, online marketing was the darling of the industry, and telemarketing was booming. But more recent developments suggest the business communication/marketing landscape is about to change again.
Several states, and soon the federal government, will require businesses to remove from their lists the names and phone numbers of those who opted out of telemarketing campaigns.