The other extreme would be to use a highly-targeted (and very expensive) list that would result in a very high success rate. The telecommunications industry has typically used lists more oriented toward volume than quality. This is appropriate because no single prospect or customer would have much impact on the financial results of the telecommunications company. They need volume, so they use a large list. As an example, if they are successful only one-tenth of one percent of the time, the program will be deemed successful, because the mailing list is large, perhaps numbering in the millions. Some telecommunications companies have reduced the mailing costs by including promotions within the monthly bill, also solving the question of how to obtain a mailing list.

             Once direct mail has been selected as a strategy, the list has been obtained, and mailings completed, it is important to repeat the process. It has been said that ninety percent of success is just showing up. As applied to this discussion, it can be said that repetition is the key. All studies of direct mail have shown that the results are much more favorable, if there is repetition. Marketers know that it takes the average consumer about seven times viewing a message to respond to it. In every campaign, part of the goal is to reach people who have never heard the message before. Another part of the goal is to re-mail to people who will build a file of companies whose services they need, and yet another part of the goal is to re-mail to people who will never know where they received the information about the telecommunications company, but will purchase the product or service because the company has created product awareness.

             Another part of the process must be measurement of the campaign"s effectiveness. As part of the campaign, telecommunications companies are constantly monitoring the results they achieve from each mailing.