Throughout the book I will draw on experiences in my career as a direct marketing specialist. It will be very useful for you to start your own case file.

To start this process, I would like you to collect three or four direct response advertisements from the press or from magazines. Follow their call to action; ring the call centre or follow the drive to Web. Make notes about the fulfilment process and the level of interaction allowed on the Web site. How competent were the call centre staff? This file of best practice (or even a rogues’ gallery) will prove invaluable throughout your career.

Try to find examples for a range of industries and include consumer and business-

to-business markets.