"Major in the Majors"

Clearly, it’s been a tough week. How our world has changed over the last few weeks and months:

-- We went from file growth planning to helping you determine the impact of closing stores. How much of the customer’s demand will shift to DTC and how much of it will be lost? What promotional contact strategies are necessary to continue to engage these store customers in other channels?

-- The focus on true contact strategies has kicked into gear, as you look to cut circulation and page counts in 2009 without impacting demand to the same degree.

-- The previous shift away from promotions to focus on the bottom line is swinging back to coupons as sales fall to plan and inventory backs up. Understanding the LTV of these discount customers is now more important than ever.

-- Communicating with investors is now part of our daily responsibilities as M&A activity continues in the world of direct marketing.

Yes, these are tough times. But for those who remain proactive and focused on those efforts that can truly move the needle, this is a time to fine-tune and evolve our marketing practices and come out on top. My mentor used to tell us to “major in the majors.” Now it couldn’t be truer.