John Costello, EVP of merchandising and marketing at The Home Depot talks about his take on consumers and marketing.

Consumers are more diverse than ever before. They also have more choices in what to buy, where to buy it and what marketing and media they choose to consume. As a result, connecting with consumers is more important than ever before. And that increases the importance of direct marketing.

“We’ve seen considerable change in the who, what, where and how of marketing, and these changes provide challenges and opportunities for marketers.

I think there’s an interesting paradox in that marketers are more focused than ever before on getting in touch with their consumers, but changes are occurring faster than marketers can adapt.

Marketers have been talking about permission-based marketing for years, but we still have much to learn. The U.S. has clearly evolved into a multicultural society, but many organizations are still focused on mass marketing.

People love the concept of 200 channels, but may watch only 12. It’s fun to receive dozens of catalogs, but a consumer may have time to read only three.

This puts a premium on developing products, services and marketing techniques that are compelling, involving and immediate. Direct marketing has often led in this area over the years.

I think the solution is for marketers to adapt to change more quickly by increasing their knowledge of the diverse needs of a changing consumer. Direct marketing offers significant potential for companies to get closer to their customers, drive results and build competitive advantage. That’s our goal at The Home Depot.”