Poorly thought out and badly executed mailshots - "junk mail" - were once the scourge of the corporate and domestic postbag. These days, however, technology has transformed advertising's poor relation into one of the marketers most powerful tools.

A recent survey by Direct Mail Information Services has shown that direct mail is an indispensable factor for business success; companies that use direct mail are simply more successful and have better customer relationships than those that don't.

Direct mail's importance is growing, broadening its traditional role from lead generation and product introductions, into loyalty building, list and database development and relationship support. As we get closer to our customers, it is imperative that we learn as much about them as possible and that we apply that knowledge accurately. Thus data management has become an important adjunct to direct mail.

The effect is to enable companies to communicate directly with both customers and prospects that are ideally suited to receive information and offers, so producing a more effective response from fewer contacts. The final comment is one of the results: the direct mail industry has shown that properly targeted mailings get better results, are more cost-effective and create less animosity and aggravation amongst its recipients.