The most valuable tool that a direct marketer can have is the ability to measure the results of a campaign. Response Tracking reports provide the information that tells which test cells pulled better responses than others, and measures the lift over the control cell that warrants further testing, or adopting a new control.

For example:

Cell	Qty Mailed	Responses	% Response
0-1 Buyers	149,468	30,379	20.32%
1-3 Buyers	235,496	31,849	13.52%
4-6 Buyers	219,729	20,721	9.43%
7-12 Buyers	170,712	11,641	6.82%
Older Buyers	217,789	11,384	5.23%
Inquiries	103,059	4,710	4.57%
List A	78,936	3,302	4.18%
List B	73,015	2,712	3.71%
List C	56,050	1,879	3.35%
List D	76,696	2,772	3.61%
List E	6,227	258	4.14%
Total	1,387,179	121,607	8.77%

Cell	Sales	Cost	% Margin
0-1 Buyers	$474,823.74	$273,596.08	42.38%
1-3 Buyers	$507,895.69	$289,076.38	43.08%
4-6 Buyers	$346,896.38	$198,319.83	42.83%
7-12 Buyers	$201,224.40	$114,355.61	43.17%
Older Buyers	$194,829.58	$106,958.06	45.10%
Inquiries	$77,687.92	$42,922.86	44.75%
List A	$53,482.99	$29,748.23	44.38%
List B	$46,538.42	$25,729.44	44.71%
List C	$31,431.34	$16,959.94	46.04%
List D	$45,647.55	$24,896.44	45.46%
List E	$3,794.48	$2,072.16	45.39%
Total	$1,984,252.49	$1,124,635.03	43.32%

In the above example, the response information is sorted by response rate in descending order. Clearly, cell 0-1 Buyers pulled the highest responses. The test cell could measure lists, segments within a list, package tests, copy tests, offer tests, number of times mailed, or any other tests that you devise.

Response reports can be enhanced to also include sales dollars generated to further add value to the reporting, as is done with the above. If cost of sales are also known, than margins can be calculated for a complete picture of the effectiveness of the mailing, and the test cells within the mailing.