In the MarketingProfs "Daily Fix" blog, veteran direct-marketing consultant Lee Marc Stein reiterated in 6.28.06 post that marketers shouldn't lie. Then he points out the direct-mail paradox-- that the deceptive technique of disguising direct mail as an "official" communication (a lie) actually works based on the only metric that matters-the almighty response rate.

"Even in the 'Age of Disbelief,' consumers of all stripes and business people, too, are swallowing these deceptions time and time again," says Stein. When they discover they have been duped, enough respond any way to validate the campaign and keep the irritating practice alive.

The practice Stein calls "irritating" actually skates on thin ice legally as well as ethically. In 2000, a law suit settled with automobile dealers ended several deceptive direct mail tactics in New York, including using envelopes that look like those of a government agency. In the press release announcing the settlement, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said, "these mailings were a textbook example of how to mislead consumers. Very often, the purchase of an automobile is one of the most important financial decisions that a consumer makes. Consumers should not be lured into an auto dealership through the use of deceptive marketing practices…that violate state law."

So is a satisfactory response rate really worth it? Do the responses turn into sales and the sales into profits? And are the profits achieved "good profits" of the kind described by Reichheld in his book The Ultimate Question? "Good profits" are those made from customers who are so satisfied with the product or service that they not only buy more, they also become active promoters recommending the purchase to others. (For example, I love Netflix and XM Satellite Radio.) Bad profits are those from customers who become so disenchanted with their experience that they knock your product or service every chance they get. I wonder if deceptive campaigns might have actually set the table with detractors, who can poison the well of customers and have a damaging effect long after the phones stop ringing for the "successful" mailer.

Nancy Heifferon, Consultant Nancy.Heifferon@phelongroup.com