A few months ago, I was having lunch at my favorite local sports bar in my old neighborhood during a visit to Milwaukee, Wis. I started talking to the owner of the restaurant, whose business had just undergone major renovations and was near a bridge that had just reopened after major construction so that traffic could again begin flowing. From the outside, with the new paint, LED signs, newly paved parking lot, and landscaping and busy traffic, the business looked stellar.

But from the inside and from the mouth of the restaurant owner, sales and traffic weren’t so great.

When it comes to direct marketing, the data or lists your business uses is one of the most important part of the equation for marketing success. Other important factors for marketing success are the timing and the offer used in your promotions. So before you send out that email blast, direct mailer or throw $500 into that Google Adwords campaign, there are a few important things you should consider before you make the investment in the marketing campaign and especially before you buy the data that is driving the effort.