Harte-Hanks Named a 'Leader' among Mid-Market Database Marketing Service Providers by Independent Research Firm

November 5, 2007; 09:23 AM

BILLERICA, MA -- Harte-Hanks (NYSE:HHS), a worldwide direct and targeted marketing company, today announced that it was among 12 select companies invited to participate in an independent report, "The Forrester Wave: Database Marketing Service Providers, Q4 2007," (November 2007) also known as a Forrester "Wave" report for its associated graphical depiction of leading vendors in a designated marketplace.  In this evaluation, Harte-Hanks is cited as a "leader" among mid-market database marketing service providers and a "strong performer" among enterprise database marketing service providers.  

In this report evaluation, Harte-Hanks received the highest assigned score among vendors evaluated in the categories of "current offering” for mid-market capabilities, as well as the "clients" category related to "market presence" for the mid-market evaluations.  The report states, "Although Harte-Hanks offers enterprise-level custom database solutions, much of its recent focus and success stems from its mid-market accounts."

According to the report, "the mid-market is an industry focal point" representing a large number of marketing database opportunities.  This is attributed to the fact "there are a limited number of very large banks, retailers, and insurance companies that need and can afford the highest-end database services.  But there is a very large tier of companies at the next level that can benefit from implementing a marketing database..."

"Our vision for mid-market, multichannel database offerings resonates in the marketplace, and we feel this report reflects our success in providing organizations of all sizes with solutions that optimize customer relationships," said Frank Harvey, corporate officer and vice president, Harte-Hanks.  "Our clients choose us not only for our industry experience, but also because of the deep knowledge and vertical expertise we bring to bear for them."

Forrester also released a companion report, "Harte-Hanks Excels As A Midmarket Database Marketing Service Provider, Q4 2007."  In this report, Forrester stated that, "Harte-Hanks offers the broadest range of capabilities among the Wave vendors" while also acknowledging that the company, "offers industry specific capabilities."  When clients were asked what they like best about Harte-Hanks, the "top two responses selected by Harte-Hanks clients were 'quality of people/service' and 'consistency of execution.'"  Forrester also wrote “The company tracks revenue and profitability on a vertical basis and hires senior staff with industry experience in their given verticals.  According to the report, clients praised the company’s industry approach with one saying, "When I talk to someone over there, I’m talking to someone who’s had my job."

Harte-Hanks delivers database, analytic and marketing services expertise within numerous industries, among them retail, financial services, healthcare and pharmaceutical, high tech and telecommunications, and automotive.

Of 144 companies Forrester invited to participate in the "Database Marketing Service Providers, Q4 2007" Wave report, ultimately only 12 vendors, among them Harte-Hanks, met the selection requirements as specified by 143 weighted criteria.  The evaluation was broken down into two assessments, enterprise and mid-market.  Forrester defines enterprise and mid-market firms as those spending more and less than $1 million annually on all services, respectively.