How Important is Promotional History?

It seems like common sense. If you mail Mary Jane your catalog, as a customer (because she spent $500 three years ago) or a prospect (because she shops from your core lists) for two years and she never responds, perhaps she is likely to never respond and you should stop mailing her the catalog.

We find that:
1) Promotional history is very rarely used in developing contact strategies for customers, and
2) For those who have done the analysis, promotional history is not as predictable as it seems it should be. Mary Jane repeatedly appears on your core prospect lists, so you keep mailing her even though she doesn’t buy, AND studies show that you should keep mailing her because a recent hit on a core list is more likely to predict a response to purchase.

The reason I bring this up is that I have been receiving the same home décor and furnishings catalogs for years without buying anything. I suspect I get them because I am a gift buyer from catalogs like Sundance and Acacia, and these catalogs are core files for many home brands.

Here’s the thing- even though I have not bought from these home décor and furnishings catalogs in a long time, I really enjoy looking through them. Now, I am buying a home and suddenly these old catalogs are coming off the shelves and my wallet is coming out.

How important is promotional history?