Marketsmith Mourns the Loss of a Great Friend and Industry Icon
A Note From Monica C. Smith
On September 10, 2009, Mrs. Rosemarie Montroy passed away. She was a pillar to me and a steadfast beacon. I knew no matter when we connected, saw each other, or touched based over a decade we never lost our place.
She called me “kiddo” and I called her “Mrs. Montroy.” For sure she will be considered an industry icon, one of the great ones, known best for her kind heart and tough persona. I was introduced to her through Karen Isenberg in 1999. I had just been infamously fired from a list company that was making its name for itself. The industry was abuzz with the drama surrounding me. All I wanted to do was get back to work, but for myself.
I walked into her office and I sat down. She was not interested in why I was fired; this took me off guard. She was clear as to why I was there and had done her homework. She understood I could be a threat to her business if I ended up at another list company. She was at the time running the largest list management division in the industry. She was very practical and was hurrying my long winded nervous answers along because I think she wanted a cigarette. She offered me a job immediately, and I was grateful. But I wanted something different; I wanted to start a company. She sat back in her chair with puzzlement and said “What kind of company?” I told her that I believed that service providers can be holistic and that by centralizing data, service providers would be smarter and better partners.
She told me she would make a phone call. Within a week I had my first client, Direct Media/Axciom, and within a month I had been introduced to the highest level executives, and with unlimited access. It was a great start to my journey as an entrepreneur, and I owe much of it to Mrs. Montroy.
Through the years, we would grow closer. We would share more of our personal worlds than we would of business. She would go on to live through changes at Direct Media and in her personal life. Some great losses and great joys. In my head I hear her boisterous laugh; I will remember her big eyes and her even bigger heart. I think I would do her a complete injustice if I made l her larger than life as a marketing executive. The plain truth is that she was great at what she did because she was an awesome people person; she wanted to give people or ideas a shot; and she chose to share success. She was loyal and dedicated, not only to Direct Media as a Brand, but to those friends she made along the way. She loved her family. She and I shared a common bond; that is, commitment to those things we find precious, friends, family and faith.
Mrs. Montroy, know that you will be missed. But your legacy is great, and I will never forget all that you did for me and my Brand.
Always,
M-
Please read an interview with RoseMarie Montroy from 2005 – “Conversations with Legends”.
Rosemarie Montroy
Chief Marketing Officer, Direct Media, Inc.
MCS Introduction: In business, as in life, there are people you meet who seem larger than life, transcending the boundaries of your interaction with them. This month’s Legend, Rosemarie Montroy, is one of those people.
The myth of her reign as one the most important people in the Direct Media organization is legendary. She is feared, loved, admired, strong, client-centric, and driven. She knows and has worked with many companies over the years and is respected by mailers across numerous industries.
While I knew her only by reputation until just about six years ago, it is now my good fortune to know Rosemarie as both a business associate and trusted colleague.
Rosemarie will be forever enshrined in my memory. She was the first Marketsmith client. I thought my career had come to a screeching halt, and then my phone rang, and my life as entrepreneur began. Rosemarie wanted to create a strategic plan for Direct Media, reflecting her optimism to move the needle on DMI’s business, factoring in internal constraints. I drew up a plan and, as they say, the rest is history.
Not only do I have great respect and admiration for her because she had faith in my abilities, but also because she has tremendous understanding of the marketplace and a clear picture of what needs to be done to be successful within it.
When I talk about transcending boundaries, Rosemarie is not just a business associate or friend, she is a figure of strength and greatness wrapped in a warm-hearted and loving soul. She is a savvy business woman who understands well the rules of the game. She focuses on the needs of her clients. And, at the same time, getting home to family is paramount to her. She is a woman of honor and integrity, I believe in all areas of her life.
In addition to her business expertise and insight, Rosemarie has provided me with some valuable life lessons. She has reaffirmed for me that our role is to do our best, recognize and take responsibility what’s in our control, and let the rest go.
Rosemarie Montroy is a Legend. She has weathered some incredible highs and fierce lows, decades of roller coaster economies, new products and practices, mergers/acquisitions/buybacks, and she has met it all with a unwavering directness and vision. For that she is respected and awe-inspiring to those coworkers, clients, friends, and others lucky enough to have her on their team or in their life.
For me, I am grateful to have those lunches, which are all too infrequent, where we talk about the mosaic of the world in which we live and share one great common bond, a love for our industry, for our clients and for our families. She says she and I will be in this until death, and she has bet on it (I was hoping not to be in it until death, but her track record of knowing outcomes is pretty good….) We will see if she’s right again. To be continued…
Now please join us as we ask her opinion on some burning questions of the day.
- MCS: I appreciate you taking the time to speak with me today; thanks so much. And thanks for the pictures of your birthday trip to Paris. It is certainly an interesting time to travel overseas. Do you think other countries are luring Americans abroad through great marketing tactics or are we faced with the Ugly American Syndrome?
RM: Monica, it’s not great marketing nor is it the UAS…it’s something called “the dollar is dirt.” Basically most of my friends who travel are looking for the least expensive way to go and they’re not buying very much once they arrive. On the other hand, I hope that US vacation spots are marketing their brains out to the Europeans now…the value of the Euro is a great incentive.
- MCS: I have to ask this—What is the pulse you are getting from mailers about the state of the economy? Do you see a difference among catalogers, nonprofits, and publishers?
RM: Just like the marketing mix, there is a mix of impacting factors and the economy is just one of them…there is the state of the world, costs, consumer frustration, the lack of time, and the lack of new or interesting product to name just a few. And for each industry segment, these factors and others have a unique impact. For example, most non-profits are concerned that fundraising for the horrific tsunami disaster will have a deleterious impact on the health of their own fundraising efforts, as well they should be. Just how much will this devastation impact their organization? For publishers, there is the lack of a real value proposition. For the most part, they’re marketing with a voucher package and price incentives, because most publishers can’t find a vehicle that works better. What room does this leave for them to offer the consumer value in their product? Catalogers have to battle mega-retailers, and retail incentives that form a price perspective are awfully hard to overcome…and once again, how much discretionary income does the average American have? If the proposed postal increases go into effect in 2006, the landscape will change substantially, and not for the better! There are multiple factors any marketer has to contend with in order to be successful.
- MCS: What do you think is the strongest marketing channel today, the one that will dominate in 2005? Do you think brand marketers are using that channel to its utmost?
RM: When I think in terms of “brand marketers,” it’s got to be television—both network and more importantly today, cable. That’s just my impression. I’m really not proficient in the general marketing arena. For the direct segment, it’s got to be the Internet regardless of whether we’re talking about customer retention or service. What better way to really get to know your customers and provide them with the things that most appeal to them. As for acquisition, you still can’t beat the power of direct mail.
- MCS: What do you see as the most important issues facing the largest list management and brokerage houses these days?
RM: Education and support. From an educational perspective, when I started in this business it was not nearly as frenetic as it is today. There was the time to learn…my mentors could explain, challenge and allow me the luxury of experimentation. Today, we’re not taking the time or making the effort to teach new direct marketer. Very frequently, the time is simply not available to us. We take bright, young, educated people and we throw them into a mix that has a language and beat of its own. I hear brokers lamenting all the time about how difficult it is for them to get accurate answers from young managers. From a management perspective, I listen to complaints about getting substantive feedback or an ear to listen to a viable new idea.
I’m not certain how we can resolve this situation but I do know that those of us who are entrenched in this business need to make the time to explain and challenge.
From a support perspective, as corporate marketing budgets are cut, more and more responsibility is being shifted to the supplier sector and, in particular, to brokers. The situation is compounded by the fact that commissions are being cut as well. So the broker is being asked to do more for less. To further compound the situation, mailers need price and net negotiations. Many times the better job a broker does, the less money they earn. As an industry, we have a “traditional” model that needs fixing.
- MCS: What is your hot ticket this year, that you are offering, that will drive value to the mailers? I heard about this new database you have sounds very interesting. Can you tell me about it?
RM: Our new product is called dataMart. Essentially it’s the marriage of direct mail generated sources, compiled sources and statistical modeling. The product is a partnership between Equifax, Blue Hill Data Services, the response data provider(s) and Direct Media. The idea started as a result of the fact that there are not great, new sources of lists available for direct mail prospecting. Additionally, with the prominence of cooperative databases, mailers are churning the same pool of names.
Thus far, we have six full dataMarts: apparel, collectibles, home décor, health and beauty and gifts. Within each of these files, we can narrow down the selections by type of product and by dollar amounts plus, of course, all demographic and psychographic segmentation. We update these files every quarter and can provide good customer match modeling in three working days from receipt of properly formatted materials.
It’s very exciting and frankly, I could take up your entire web site with segments available and marketing possibilities. But I will behave…for now.
- MCS: Now I know you are a major catalog shopper (I hope I did not let the cat out of the bag.) What would you say is the best communication catalogers are using, and what is old news and should be thrown out?
RM: No, you didn’t let the cat out of the bag. In my case it’s more like letting the shopping tiger out of the cage! I love to receive email confirmations. I like them both as order confirmations and shipping acknowledgements. What I really think needs to be thrown out are the paper confirmations on top of the email confirmations that some companies provide. I’ve already specified that I want an email communication. I certainly don’t need both. What a waste of time, energy, paper and postage!
- MCS: This Holiday Season, what was the most interesting thing you have seen in your mailbox or ebox?
RM: Well, there were a couple of things I really liked! I absolutely loved getting those special sale emails along with the guarantee of delivery before Christmas. Of course, like everything else, some were very good and some were pretty lame. For example, to acknowledge me as a new customer, one cataloger sent me a letter from the president along with some very “special” discounts available only to new customers just like me. That week I received an email from the same marketer offering the exact same discounts to all of their customers. That was absolutely not special.
Another marketer had what I thought was a terrific approach. As you know, many of the food/gift marketers will send you a list of the individuals that you ordered for the previous year to make it easier for you to shop. One marketer not only sent the individuals I had ordered for at Christmas in 2003 but sent a list people for whom I’d ordered all year long and they accompanied this package with a very impressive discount. Needless to say, I ordered more than I did last year…great job!!
- MCS: Okay, now to retailing. What retail shops, if any, are getting your money, and how did they get you there?
RM: I’m really not much of a retail shopper. I’m very pro-direct mail/Internet and I hate malls. Those I do frequent get business because they’re offering me great prices. Chain retailers are really using the mail to entice customers. They’re mailing elaborate catalogs chock-full of sales, coupons and incentives.
- MCS: I still see mailers mailing to a breakeven through RFM and I think it is a mistake. From my perspective, using a true lifetime value score in a circulation plan brings direct mail to a whole new level of sophistication. What are your thoughts?
RM: I agree completely and there are some marketers who are investing in their customers. With the Internet playing a larger and more impactful part in customer retention, mailers should be thinking about offering prospects incentives to shop on line and factoring LTV based on the decreased cost of customer maintenance. It simply makes it more affordable for mailers to invest in acquisition because if they are marketing properly, they’ll be saving promotion costs on retention.
- MCS: I am winding down now, I promise. I am hoping that marketers get better at mining their data points for a tighter contact strategy, but I am not sure that has caught on just yet. Tell us what stands out to you as the single greatest improvement in customer contact strategy in the last couple of years and is it a practice that we can improve upon, or will it go away as the world gets faster and it becomes replaced?
RM: I probably sound like a broken record but I’m so pro online contact strategy that I really can’t help myself. Is it a practice that can be improved upon? You bet. We’re just starting to understand just how good it can be, and as technology improves, it’s just going to get better. It’s so exciting for marketers and it provides such a bright future for all of us.
MCS: Thanks so much for talking with us. As always, your insights are thought-provoking and illuminating. My best to you always.
You can learn more about Rosemarie Montroy at www.directmedia.com.
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