Even the simple ROI calculation can be misleading - certain activity can have a very good Y1 ROI but fall down in 4Y ROI calcualtions. Direct Mail is an effective channel but in a more mature market such as Uk and USA we are increasingly seeing that other channels are more effective. Press Inserts drive cost effective response and ROI as does door drops.

KPI's change depending on activity - when looking to acquire new customers then ROI is key but when looking at upselling and x selling then Net income becomes more of an important indicator. Also, different chanels work for different products.

It is far to simplistic to simply state that Direct Mail returns better ROI as the answer to everything for many reasons, but priomairly due to a lack of good data in South Africa.