News
 How
to Avoid 5 Pitfalls of Mailing List Selection
By Craig Huey
The selection of proper mailing lists is one of the
most critical elements of any direct marketing
program. Unfortunately, too many people involved in
promotional programs for their products and services
do not give proper time and consideration to the
selection of mailing lists. Here’s what you need to
know to avoid making a mistake.
The quality of your product or service is immaterial
if your message does not reach those people who are
most interested in it. Likewise, your mailing
package, no matter what its quality, will be
ineffective if not placed in the hands of real
prospects.
To plan a successful direct mail program, you, as
marketing manager, must plan carefully the selection
and use of mailing lists. To help you make such an
important decision, I have prepared a list of common
pitfalls for you to avoid.
Pitfall No. 1 – Failure to seek advice from a
professional.
Too often marketers assume that they can select the
best mailing lists simply by thumbing through the
SRDS book, or mailing list catalog. Not necessarily
so. And, since professional advice is available at
no cost (list brokers earn their fees through the
rental of lists), it just makes smart business sense
to tap their expertise and experience before you
make your list decision.
Pitfall No. 2 – Failure to check out the list broker
or consultant.
It is important that you select a professional list
broker or consultant, not a list peddler. You want
to make sure the recommendations you receive are
based on knowledge and experience of similar
promotions, not “guesstimations.” You should know
who some of the consultant’s clients have been.
Whether his list recommendations have been
productive or whether he owns or manages the lists,
etc.
Pitfall No. 3 – Failure to adequately test.
Too often, those going into direct marketing do not
make provisions for adequate testing of lists.
Testing is the key to successful direct marketing
programs. Minimum tests of 5,000 to 10,000 names per
list should be made in order to determine the extent
of your market and feasibility of roll outs. Explore
peripheral areas by testing list segments, and you
will then have the highest potential of return.
Rolling out to the most successful names will
provide you with the highest returns.
Pitfall No. 4 – Failure to test segments within a
list.
Testing a list and analyzing the results is
important, but it shouldn’t stop there. Too often
mail marketers fail to take a hard look at the list
to find the different ways it can work for them.
What are the different segments available on the
list? Are most recent available? Is it possible to
select those names representing multiple purchases,
minimum dollar purchase amounts, full term
subscribers, credit card orders, etc. These are a
few of the questions you should ask, especially on
those marginal lists where a rollout of the entire
list would be risky.
Pitfall No. 5 – Failure to allow sufficient list
delivery time.
Mailers are notorious for not allowing list
companies sufficient time to process their orders.
Most list brokers advice their clients to order 3-4
weeks in advance. Sometimes turn-around is faster,
but not often. By properly planning your mailing 5-6
weeks in advance, you can assure yourself of on-time
delivery, with no last minute headaches.
Craig Huey is president of a direct response
advertising agency, Creative Direct Marketing Group,
Inc and InfoMat. 310-212-5727 (craig@cdmginc.com).
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