Target Marketing

There's this idea in marketing that you need to target the people who would be interested in your product or service, and not waste your money and time with those who would never buy what you're offering. That's what they mean when they talk about targeted marketing.

Direct mail is a very expensive way to market, but if your audience is really targeted, it can be money well spent.

Today I got something that is so not targeted it's almost funny, except that I know people wasted money. I got a direct mail piece for carpet cleaning. I don't own a single scrap of carpet. I used the carpet that was in my house for drop cloth when I painted and then it was all gone.

Of course, there's no way to know this and there is the real problem with marketing. PT Barnun was right - half of your advertising money is wasted - you just don't know which half. And anybody who tells you they can tell you which half is blowing smoke up your you-know-what. Some marketing expert probably told them to buy my name from a list.