| All of this technical stuff is great but what does
it have to do with direct marketing? When we first started in this business in 1965,
Addressograph plates ruled the direct mail
world (3x5 cards were pretty common too). In
those days I heard fundraisers say "computer
generated mass mailings would never work".
Today those same fundraisers are saying that
EMail won't work, people want a piece of
paper in their hands.
At The Data Center, we believe direct mail
will play an important role for a long time to
come, but other avenues will quickly take their
own market share. We want our clients to be
ready when that share is available.
As you know, the direct marketing universe is
a competitive arena. Those who are
unprepared for the new technology will fall by
the wayside.
What do we see for our clients on the
Internet? We see yet another method of
personally communicating with members and
donors. Just as a certain segment of your
database wants a piece of paper, others will
want to bank, invest, research ,and
communicate using electronic means. And we
want our clients to have the competitive edge.
In November of 1995 we announced our new groupware product based on
IBM's product Lotus Notes. This product allows your
organization to participate in the sharing of
information in a document, not database
forum. Through the use of replication (the
keeping of databases current) diverse users
can share their input through local area
networks, or through phone lines for mobile
users, or through the Internet. Now you can
share not only information with your staff, but
with chapter or state level organizations.
This broadly diversifies information and
increases the use of this information for
raising more money. The use of organization
-wide domains and networks is as instrumental
for company-wide participation as the
telephone was to business communications in
the first half of this century.
But it doesn't stop there; we see even further
uses of our new system.
Domino (a new product incorporated with
Lotus Notes) allows users to "publish"
documents to the World Wide Web. Since our
new systems are document based rather than
'databased', we are able to "publish" portions
of your information directly to the Internet.
This information is then available to anyone
with access to a web browser. Remember
those 50 million users? Wouldn't you like to
have access to your market share?
With the proper security in place, these
systems are separate and secure from our
mainframe data, thus assuring you of secured
data.
You can provide your donors and members
with a means of reviewing whatever
information you decide to make available to
them. For membership based organizations, it
means, with their permission, you can Email
them of expiration information, provide tax
receipts, allow address changes, accept
contributions and even join new members
without ever printing a piece of paper or
licking a stamp. That is certainly
environmentally friendly not to mention cost
effective.
We believe that the use of the Internet is
another avenue and a much less costly one for
providing membership services and member
communication..
Remember the video capabilities? With The
Data Center's new system, you can attach
these video clips to be viewed by anyone with
a multimedia computer. Now attached to your
Email for a renewal request, a film clip will
present your organization much better than a
printed piece of paper ever would. Film clips
can even be tailored to specific interests of the
donor. And all of this without paying any
postage costs. That should make your bottom
line look better.
Access to your Internet site can also provide
you with an unheralded means of grass roots
organization. We have seen sites that give
members the power to retrieve current
information on pending legislation, to send
faxes and Email directly to members of
Congress, and to join or contribute while
participating in interactive lobbying.
We at The Data Center see the Internet as a
new medium for communications in the future.
We have made a million dollar investment in
that future because we want our clients to
have that new medium work for them.
If you would like more information about The
Data Center's new systems or would just like
to talk with us about the future of direct
marketing please Email us today!
* All links are for historical purposes and are
no longer current
Here are some links that we feel are helpful in understanding why we chose Lotus Notes and the
Internet as the future for database management .
Lotus Notes
Cable Modems
Cable TV
The Data Center
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