We have all heard the basic philosophical question, “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?” Similarly, there is a question posed to marketers, “If a campaign is created and deployed and the product is not relevant to the audience, will there be a response?”

The marketing philosophy question is much easier to answer. Never expect a response from an audience not properly identified as having a propensity to respond. Direct marketing is no place for the faint-hearted. Leave the scatter gun approach to marketing for the corporate branding saturation marketing teams.

Spend time researching and understanding ways to communicate with your target audience. Ask yourself, “Who are my potential customers?” Every market segment has their own preferred method of communication. Not only do we marketers need to use the appropriate conduits when communicating, the content within the communication should be relevant.