Call us unblinking optimists, but we do believe we’re witnessing a sea-change in the way that marketers think about ROI.

After years of dodging the (multi) million-dollar question (What am I really getting for my money?), marketers are now taking some very deliberate steps to formulate an answer.

Corporations are digging deep into their data to get a marketing-eye view of customer behavior and tie information like incremental sales lift to their promotional efforts. And we’re even seeing some credible advances in demonstrating ROI against expenditure focused on driving brand awareness and consideration.

All of which will be a great relief to advertising agencies everywhere. Of course we’re inclined to point out that users of direct are already way ahead of the game. Why? Because direct is among the most measurable and accountable of all the marketing channels – and always has been.

You can follow up each offer, identify the results generated and calculate return. Then you can tweak the concept and do it even better next time.

And direct isn’t just a one-trick pony. It’s as adept at building awareness and consideration as it is in closing the sale and maintaining customer loyalty through time. Not to mention its effectiveness at driving prospects and customers to your Web site.

Trying to justify return on your overall marketing budget to skeptical board directors might give you an ulcer. So do yourself a favor and show them the direct results first.