ONE-TO-ONE MARKETING: Comment - Is direct marketing a dirty word among marketers in Asia?

I made a bit of a faux pas with a client recently - not unusual for me - and I've run it over in my mind since as to what I should have said instead and arrived at the same answer. Account handlers smarter than me, of which there are many, could probably think of something less likely to piss the client off. Suggestions to my inbox!