by Barry Blumenfield, ECommerce & Subscription Expert with extensive Software, Operations and Business Growth experience and MCNY Board Member

My father was a legend in the NYC direct response community.

He’s been gone nearly five years, but to this day when I attend an industry function people will tell me how much they miss him, repeat a joke that he had shared or that they still have the $1 million bill that he gave them.

As an early innovator of merge purge technology and inventor of personalized children’s books, my dad was heavily involved in the direct marketing community. He went out of his way to make friends, share a laugh, or to just make someone feel good about themselves. Along the way he built a successful business driven entirely by referrals which he (and then I) ran for 45 years. Here are some of the lessons he passed on to me, which I found invaluable in building and maintaining meaningful and lasting business relationships:

Treat everyone like royalty. Whether a former U.S. President, copier repair man or coffee barista, dad would always be sure to share a compliment, joke or a quick discussion which showed that he was interested in whomever he was interacting with. He also handed out million dollar bills to nearly everyone he met, which are still on the wall at his favorite deli, pizza joint and in many people’s offices.

Make yourself memorable. Whenever he had a meeting with the landlord, a doctor’s appointment or parking his car at a busy Times Square garage, he would bring a box of cookies (or a million dollar bill) for the front desk or the attendant. If we had a leaky pipe, he needed to change an appointment or when it came time to pick up his car, he was always remembered and received the highest level of attention.

Own your mistakes. They happen. But how you handle mistakes will have a long-term impact on a business relationship. Dad taught me to quickly notify a client when something went wrong, what happened, how it will be fixed and the steps being taken to prevent re-occurrence. We also had a policy to always make the client whole, even if that exceeded what was required by the contract. We found that a well-handled mistake could sometimes improve the long-term client relationship by demonstrating a high level of integrity and trust-worthiness.

Under-commit and over-deliver. As a custom-software shop, we were often asked to complete tasks within a specified time frame and budget. We worked hard to ensure that projects were completed on time, often under budget and with a higher level of functionality than was required (or added by “scope creep” after a deal had been made). This ensured that clients never had any reason to consider alternatives when it was time to renew our agreements.

Don’t let pride cloud good business sense. Sometimes the best decision for the business (or your career) conflicts with personal feelings, principles, business policies, etc. It is important to recognize and act upon what is in the business’ (or your own) long-term best interest, even if that means less money, more work, or eating crow in the short term. Which leads to…

Don’t send an email when you’re angry. Nothing good ever came from a hastily written response fired off while emotions are running high. Give it a few hours, or even a day, before writing, editing and sending a response. I’ve also found that adding a two minute delay to my Outlook send has prevented sending emails which may have been problematic in the long run.

Get involved. Dad was heavily involved with the Direct Marketing Association, building and supporting their management software at no cost for over fifteen years. He was a long-time member and served on the board of directors for the Marketing Club of New York, and I am proud to now serve on that board myself. The relationships gained from those and similar organizations were a key driver to our success, and the knowledge obtained from the industry functions has been invaluable.

Know when to say no. Both my dad and I were so focused on client retention that we would sometimes give away too much. While we both believed in giving more than was expected and that the customer is always right, there must be limits. A lasting business relationship requires give and take on both sides and as a vendor, it’s important to know when to draw the line even if it means the client won’t be happy.

Arthur began programming computers in the 1950’s. In the early 70’s he found a better way to identify duplicates in mailing lists, resulting in a career in the direct marketing industry. After selling the patent for personalized children’s books (Me-Books), he founded BMI GlobalOMS in 1976, which was just recently sold in 2021. He was a co-owner and event coordinator for DM Days in New York, which for decades was the second largest industry event in the country. He served as a board member and treasurer for Marketing Club of New York and was a frequent speaker at industry events. Arthur was a proud father and fawned over his ten grandchildren. He passed away in 2018.

Barry Blumenfield | ECommerce & Subscription Expert with extensive Software, Operations and Business Growth experience and MCNY Board Member

Barry Blumenfield is CEO of Blumenfield Consulting, founded in 2022. With over 30 years of experience in the Direct Response industry, Barry has worked closely with over 100 B2C businesses globally to develop, maintain, and host unique highly customized Order Management Systems. He is recognized as a global leader in subscription order management and operations and was responsible for over 10MM recurring shipments exceeding $100MM in annual transactions across multiple countries, languages, and currencies. Barry currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Marketing Club of New York, a non-profit educational foundation. He has appeared as a guest lecturer for the NYU Direct Marketing Masters program and the Pace University Direct Marketing program.