Impact of Identity Theft on Direct Marketing
Introduction
The history of direct marketing dates back in 1872 when Aaron Montgomery Ward developed his first mail order catalogue for his business. Using direct mails, the entrepreneur would buy goods from customers and then resell them directly to consumers. In this way, Montgomery removed middlemen from his business chain, and thus allowed his customers to enjoy the benefit of quality goods supplied at reduced prices (Bischoff, 2005). In 1967, Lester Wunderman, the entrepreneur associated with 1-800 toll free number coined the term “direct marketing”. Wunderman defined direct marketing as the sale of goods and services straight to existing and potential consumers (Meisner, 2006). Currently, the most conspicuous modes of direct marketing include telemarketing, fax messages, mobile marketing and emails among others.