News
 Mailing
Lists: Understanding the Dynamics of Consumer Data
By Aliza
Bornstein, copywriter, Melissa Data
In a January 28, 2009 webinar, host Dan Anglin
covered such topics as: sources utilized during
compilation; demographic and geographic selects;
learning from existing customers and responders; and
tips and trends.
1. Where do major data compliers get their data?
Major compilation sources include: voter
registration records; county deed records; mail
order and Internet purchase transactions; warranty
card registrations; US Census Bureau; proprietary
research; online questionnaires; sweepstake entry
forms; magazine and newspaper subscription records.
2. What are the advantages of a consumer list as
opposed to an occupant list?
The consumer list is going to give you a very wide
variety of different demographics to where you can
really hone in on a target audience that’s more
likely to respond and purchase your product or
service. It gives you a really good blend of
coverage as well as demographic selectivity.
Consumer List Advantages: wide variety of
demographics to choose from; provides excellent
blend between market coverage and selectivity;
multi-use licenses available; more personable with HOH (head of household) first and last name.
3. How can you target in on the regions where you
do business?
Available Geographic Selects: 5 Digit ZIP Code™; 9
Digit ZIP Code; ZIP®/carrier routes; SCF (Sectional
Center Facility); State; County; Metro area; Radius
in miles; Drive time.
4. What demographic selections are available?
Basic selects: adult age range; income range;
homeowner/renter; dwelling unit size; length of
residence; education; presence of child(ren); child
age; gender; home value; marital status; occupation.
Premium Selects (Specialty Lists): ethnicity and
language; political affiliation; religious beliefs;
lifestyle data; health and ailment data; presence of
pool; income producing assets; vehicle data;
business owner at home; credit card types; estimated
credit score; mail order donor.
The more detailed you get with your selection
criteria, the more expensive it gets because it’s
harder to compile.
5. How can I build a list of prospects?
Learning from your own customers should serve as a
primary step in trying to identify your next list of
potential customers.
Market Intelligence: profiling your customers;
predictive modeling; data append services.
Profile: determine the demographics of your customer
base.
Compare: see how your customers compare to the
general population.
Model: build a model on the predominant profile
characteristics.
**Must have a statistically valid sample size
(1,000+ names) and full name and address data.
6. What are industry tips and trends I should be
aware of before sending out my direct mail piece?
a. Homeowner Data—Don’t assume SFD (single-family
dwelling).
It’s a very common perception that if you select
‘homeowner’ by itself on your list that you’re going
to get all single-family homes. ‘Homeowner’ can mean
any type of dwelling. Unless you take the next step
to determine the type of dwelling, you’re going to
get all of them.
b. Income Data—It’s on the house
Income information is based on the house sold level.
If it’s a dual-income household, where both the
husband and wife work, you need to take that into
consideration. Keep regional characteristics in
check when selecting by income. $100K doesn’t buy
much in terms of property in New York City, but it
probably buys a 5-bedroom house in a mid-west state.
c. Sensitive Data—Be sensitive with it!
Don’t send out a direct mail piece to a
predominately Hispanic neighborhood written all in
Spanish. Don’t assume all the households speak only
Spanish—it’s offensive. Next time, make it
bi-lingual. In the same accordance, you never want
to call out the fact on your copy that you have
prior knowledge of a person’s household makeup.
Example: “Hey John Doe, to help combat your diabetic
situation…” Try instead “If you or anyone in your
household happens to suffer from diabetes…”
d. Retail Operations—Happy Birthday!
Great data to use, especially for restaurants. You
might treat people in surrounding neighborhoods to a
free meal or dessert on their birthday. If you’re
trying to gain new accounts through direct mail,
this is a great incentive. A gym membership can also
use this data to their advantage by offering free
guest passes on their birthday or a free enrollment
and low monthly fee.
e. Lifestyle Data—Keep it simple.
You have a lot of data to choose from. Don’t choose
everything! Try to have a common theme when
selecting these items. If you own an art gallery,
look at people who collect art or attend art
cultural events. Don’t get too distracted and pick
obscure elements that may point your target audience
in a different direction.
f. Dealing with List Brokers—When going direct
may not be the best thing to do.
Sometimes it’s better not to go direct. Dealing with
a list broker will allow you to depend on their
experience level and their recommendations as to
which list—out of all those that are out there—are
the right ones for you to take a look at. Also, a
broker may have pretty significant buying power
since their buying millions and millions of names
per year, their wholesale rate to gain access to
that information and the price they give you can end
up being a lot less than if you ended up going
direct.
There are thousands of list brokers and list
resellers that provide you access to consumer files.
At the very least they should offer you 100 percent
delivery guarantee and lowest price guarantee. Use
these incentives as markers to gauge the comparison
process. You’ll always win with the best list
broker!
---Source:
Modern Postcard Jan 28, 2009 webinar (www.modernpostcard.com).
Dan Anglin is senior sales specialist at Modern
Postcard. Reach him at dana@modernpostcard.com.
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