News
 A
Refresher Course on Lists
Here’s a question that almost any direct marketer
can answer: What’s the single biggest factor in the
success of a direct mail campaign? Joy Gendusa says
it’s time to go back to school if you think that
it’s anything but the list.
The list is especially important for small
businesses worried about return on investment.
A good deal of it is common sense. The list must
contain the names of people who are likely to be
interested in your products or services. Don't try
to sell beer to Temperance Society members, or real
estate to people who can’t afford it.
Here are the basic kinds of lists that you can use:
1. The house file. This is a file that you
collected through your own marketing efforts. It is
known as a house list. These people are most likely
to respond to your offers because they have done so
in the past.
2. The response list. This lists people who
have actually done something–they have purchased a
product, inquired in response to an offer, or asked
to be put on the list. Maybe they haven’t purchased
from you, but they respond to someone in a related
area, so you know they are at least warm. Normally,
you rent this type of list from the owner through a
list broker and manager.
3. The compiled list. Built from public
records and other data sources, this is a list of
people who possess fixed characteristics, including
age, sex, geographic location, and income level.
4. The opt-in list. This is a file that
people sign up to be on—they want mail and e-mail.
These lists are pricey but can produce incredible
return on investment. These, too, can be rented
through a list broker.
5. The highly segmented house file. High-tech
systems analysis can give you the ability to
micro-target your market for extreme results. You
can access information about your client base that
goes way beyond the standard criteria of age,
income, and gender used in list rentals. Moreover,
you can learn the spending and saving habits of your
customers, what they enjoy reading, and where they
like to travel.
After analyzing this information and the
geo-demographics of your client base, you can find
your exact market and promote only to them. It is a
rare service offered by a few direct mail houses
where the price ranges from the very high to the
more reasonable.
Mailing lists can make the difference in a mediocre
promotional campaign to a wildly successful
promotional campaign. It really just depends on what
you are willing to have - success or mediocrity. So
which is it?
---Source:
Reprinted from Multichannel Merchant’s List and Data
Strategies Nov. 21, 2007 newsletter (wwwmultichannelmerchant@pbinews.com.)
Joy Gendusa is the founder of PostcardMania. Visit
her web site at www.postcardmania.com.
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Melissa Data
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