Is the Direct Marketing Association using Enron accounting methods?

by Richard M. Smith
http://www.ComputerBytesMan.com
December 21, 2002

The following email message was sent by me to the public relations department at the Direct Marketing Association (DMA). The purpose of the email was to get clarification on the amount of business that the DMA alleges U.S. consumers do with telemarketers each year. So far, I have not received a reply to my query.

From: Richard M. Smith [mailto:rms@computerbytesman.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2002 2:52 PM
To: ablanken@the-dma.org; cduffney@the-dma.org; lmastria@the-dma.org
Subject: Question about today's DMA press release

Hi,

The following claim is made in today's press release from the Direct
Marketing Association (DMA) on the size of the U.S. telemarketing
industry:

   http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/021218/nyw108_1.html

   "In 2001, consumers purchased $296 billion worth of goods and
   services via outbound telephone solicitations."

The $296 billion figure sounds extremely inflated to me.  Can you tell
me where the DMA is getting its numbers from?

Here's why I think the sales figures are inflated.

According to the US Census, there are 72 million households in the US.
That means that each household is spending on average about $4,000 on
products and services sold via outgoing telemarketing according to DMA's
number.  $4,000 sounds way too high to me.  I don't know of any family
that is spending this kind of money on telemarketing offers.

Put another way, the $296 billion implies that each US resident (adults
and children) is spending on average $1,000 per year on outbound
telemarketing offers.

Thanks,
Richard M. Smith
http://www.ComputerBytesMan.com