HOME
INDUSTRY
LISTS & SERVICES
LEARNING CENTER
ABOUT
CONTACT
REQUEST A QUICK QUOTE

Posts Tagged ‘Mailing List Response’

Mailing List Direct Mail Response

December 10th, 2008

As most direct mail marketers know, direct mail marketing is measurable.  And response percentage rate is the “barometric” measurement for success.    Direct mail is therefore more of a scientific study on what works better in terms of new customer acquisition.  And therefore, direct mail can measure the success, or failure of, a mailing list choice.

While many advertising mediums are loosely measured by an increase in revenue over time following the TV commercial, space advertising in a magazine, or radio advertising splashing the new brand over the air waves, direct mail can be specifically measured by counting new customer generated from a direct mail campaign.  With direct mail mailing lists, the direct mail marketer is able to pinpoint targets within their market and compare who well they respond to various offers.

A “good” mailing list is one in which everyone on the mailing list are, for the most part, identical.  The better mailing list is one in which each person on the mailing list share something in common.  Ideally, the more they have in common the better.

Let’s look at two mailing lists that boast international travelers.  The first is a list self-reported international travelers we’ll call International Traveler compiled from a variety of self-reported surveys, both on and off line.  The other is a list of subscribers to an international travel newsletter.  The only way the publisher of this newsletter captures these subscribers is via one banner add placed a website dedicated to informing the international traveler about immunization requirements in various countries.

With the first list of self reported international travelers, we’ve got people finding these surveys on various websites.  Each website has drawn these people from various interests.  We may also have records on the mailing list that have been captured from direct mail surveys.  Though this list may be larger and less expensive, because of the multiple source compilation, the list simply isn’t as strong as the newsletter list.

Though both lists may work well for you campaign, it’s generally accepted to compare the results of a one list over another, and mail more of the higher performing mailing list.  If there were multiple sources for your mailing list, it’s as if you’re mailing to several mailing lists at once, but not measuring the results over each.

When choosing a mailing list for your next direct mail marketing campaign, remember to question the mailing list broker about the source of the list and learn as much as you can about the number of sources, when they were captured, how they were captured, where they responding to an offer or was it that they’ve purchased something.  Can you get a usage report of other mailers who’ve tested the mailing list and have come back for a continuation, and are there enough available records in the geography you want to test within.  This will help you choose the ideal list for your campaign needs.

Tags: , ,
Posted in DM Data 101 | No Comments »

Better Ailment Targeting, Better Response

December 9th, 2008

Ailment target marketing is on the rise with advances in technology that helps to create a more targeted mailing list.  Because direct mail marketers are becoming more and more sophisticated with their ability to identify and utilize the available mailing list data available to them, both response rates are increasing and more quality responders are on the rise.  And also because as more and more drug therapy solutions are developed, more and more opportunities to target the ailment suffer audience also increase.

So how are mailing lists getting better in this category of direct marketing?
Well, to answer this question we much review the ways this kind of mailing list data is captured, and then enhanced.  Ailment mailing lists are created by collecting self-reported information from a variety of survey based means.  Be it the internet, direct mail surveys, questionnaires related to other products or services, self-reported drug prescriptions, auxiliary products related to a disease, seminar attendee’s, or information requested about a product or service that would directly identify the sufferer, large databases of ailment sufferers are very available for specific direct mail campaign uses.

These mailing list databases are continually added to as more self-reported data is captured.  Traditionally, this has been the extent of the compilation. You want diabetics, you got diabetics, you want obesity, and you got obesity.  As of late, these mailing lists are improved, such as making the distinction of Type I or Type II Diabetics.  Further, the ailment database is bumped up against more mainstream consumer mailing list that already includes data elements such as age, income, and interest elements.  Where there is a name and address match between the to mailing lists, specific demographic and psychographic elements are transferred to the ailment mailing list to create an enhanced database of ailment sufferers selectable by more than just the ailment and geography.

With this new, more robust targeting capability, marketers are now able to draw conclusions on what these ailment sufferers actually look like.  From running counts on variety of elements now available, the direct mail marketer can now pinpoint “clusters” of people that look alike.  As an example, if we found that male diabetics are more apt to follow a more regimented diet than female diabetics, the direct mail marketer could version the mail piece to speak more appealing to each gender.  Lifestyle and diet information can tell us more about various ailment sufferers, hence creating better direct mail piece versioning.

In addition to the direct mail piece versioning, direct mail campaign measurement is also enhanced.  The direct mail marketer might test various offers and versions to various test audiences, measure the direct mail response, and conclude to mail more or less to a specific audience thus increasing return on investment.

Internal Database Enhancement
Most savvy marketers will develop and maintain their own prospect or customer mailing list or database.  This database of prospects and customers is a great resource to better understanding what their customers, prospects, and responders “look like”.  For those marketers who utilize print, radio, television, web, event, as well as direct mail, their internal database of prospects become large over time.  By using nothing more than the mailing list information (name and address), the marketer can enhance their internal database with demographic and psychographic information and measure the effectiveness of their mediums ability to target the right audience.  The direct mail marketer can also measure difference in responses between other mediums to again evaluate the most profitable ROI.  This information is extremely helpful in continuing with this effort to design more responsive campaign planning to target more qualified prospects.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in DM Data 101, Medical / Health | No Comments »

Direct Mail Marketing Works!!

December 9th, 2008

Consumer Mailing List

With all the new digital mediums vying for your attention, the emotional impact each one can make becomes less and less.  But postal direct mail holds strong and delivers the same impact, same connection, and same profitable response as ever before.

Millions of Americans continue to receive their bills in the mail and as they do, the physical commercial advertisement in the form of direct mail also continues to stay in your view.  They touch it, they see it, and they look through it.

Every day, the postal delivery person brings your mail to you at approximately the same time and most likely every American walks up to his or her mail box, opens it, and pulls out a hand full of new information.  You need only go to your mail box once a day to receive it.  Unlike email, postal direct mail doesn’t arrive periodically throughout the day, but instead, it comes to you at one time and only one time.

And because postal direct mail is more expensive than email marketing, not everyone it doing it.  Those who are will continue to get better at doing it.  They’ll continue to strive to build the most ideal mailing list.  Those successful direct mail marketers will remove names and addresses of people who simply do not respond and continually attempt to add people who look more and more like their own good customers.  Thus, we continue to receiving only those direct mail pieces that are relevant to us.  We may not respond to every piece that comes through to our mail box, but compared to the mountain of email spam that we do receive on a daily basis, direct mail marketers mail more relevant direct mail to a more responsive audience than email marketing.  We end up receiving more interesting offers from companies who understand us.

The key to improving your direct mail marketing is in the continual refinement of the mailing list.  Working with a good mailing list broker who has experience and technical know how will improve your chances for success, and help you avoid mailing to the wrong people.

Tags: ,
Posted in DM Data 101 | No Comments »

Direct Mail Marketing Response Theory

December 9th, 2008

Search Mailing List

Direct mail marketing response theory is the belief that over time, not only cost may change, but the same prospects may respond differently to the same direct mail campaign.  What a direct mail marketer achieved 3 or 4 years ago with the same list, same mail piece, and same offer may not be possible today.  The campaign cost have likely increased in several areas while at the same time, response for the offer may have decreased.

Direct cost change occurs in several areas.  Cost will change with paper due to the fluctuating cost of pulp and postage may change do to the ever increasing cost to deliver your mail.  Both paper and postage cost changes in an irregular fashion and is difficult to predict when or how much.  Your mailing list cost most likely hasn’t changed as advances in technology keep pressure downward on the actual cost to the direct mail marketing business.

Indirect “cost of goods sold”doesn’t affect the response requirements for figuring your breakeven analysis.  But if, over time, your cost of goods sold increases, unless you increase your product price, your gross profit decreases which will require a different response to achieve the same outcome.  If your cost of goods sold increases, you’ll need a higher response to breakeven.  If your “gross profit” increases due to a decrease in “cost of goods sold” or price increase, your response requirement for breaking even will decrease.

Your direct mail response percentage rate will likely also fluctuate due to a variety of reasons.

Need – A personal need for your product or service may change over time.  This happens when a persons priorities shift in their life.  As an example, the need for dating service disappears when an individual finds their match and is married.

Ability to pay for your product – Whether your product or service is purchased with cash or is financed, if the ability to pay for a such a product diminishes, you will see a decrease in response to your direct mail campaign.

Competition – Your competition may offer a superior product or price that affects the interest in your product or service.

Diminishing market – The number of available prospects doesn’t directly affect the response rates in a given direct mail campaign.  But if the available prospects, in a given market, decreases to a point where you are unable to mail as many as you’ve mailed before, then your cost per piece may increase thus applying pressure on your ability to break even.

So the main point to take away with this blog post is to remember, that changes in the market (and beyond) may affect your ROI, but you can consider each of these points mentioned and make changes yourself.  Consider where you purchase your printing services.  If you’re mailing the same or more, it may be wise to discuss your campaign pricing with your vendor or shop around to find the same product at a better price.  You should also closely monitor your competitions direct mail.  What are they doing differently than you are and are they testing or are they consistently mailing the same over time.  If they are mailing the same, it’s likely that that mailing is performing well.  Also consider making changes to your mailing list such that you are able to better fit your product to the prospective customer.  And finally, with the technological advances in direct mail data, you may likely find additional segments within your target market.  If so, develop a variety of mail piece versions to better pitch your products and services.

Understanding the economics of direct mail helps the direct mail marketer make adjustments to their mailing list, offer, and mail piece creative.  The more you’re able to monitor the changes in the market, the competition, and the changing cost associated with your advertising, the better you’ll be able to stay profitable and grow your business.

Tags: ,
Posted in DM Data Advanced | No Comments »