Posted by Brian Berg Google+
1. Usage reports
When renting a mailing list that’s a managed property, you can request a usage report before ordering. The usage report is a list of direct mail marketers who’ve tested the mailing list you’re considering. The usage report will also list those direct mail marketers who’ve not only tested the mailing list but have come back and ordered the mailing list again because the initial test direct mail campaign performed well. By reviewing the usage report a new direct mail marketer can get a glance of other direct mail marketers who’ve either had success or failure. Those direct mail marketers who you recognize to be similar in product/service and offering, and who’ve had continuation on the mailing list, could be signaling that you too may have success. The usage report is a tool that it a first glance but by no means is an exact measurement of how your campaign will do.
2. Data hygiene and update schedules
It’s important to understand the data hygiene and update schedule of the mailing list you’re considering. Ask the source mailing list manager how deliverable the mailing list is expected to be. Ask the source mailing list manager how often the mailing list is updated. Frequency of NCOA and updates to the mailing list will help you understand what to expect before you direct mail to the names and addresses on this mailing list.
3. Choose a good mailing list broker for guidance
Choosing a good mailing list broker is the primary key to success. A good mailing list broker can tell you from experience which particular mailing list has the greatest chances for a successful direct mail campaign. Choose your mailing list broker who have industry knowledge and experience you’re in and one who can speak from experience how the mailing lists are compiled or captured.
4. Profile your internal customer mailing list
A simple internal customer mailing list profile will go along way to deciding on what criteria would be when building your mailing list. To find “look-alike” type people as those on your internal customer mailing list, have your direct mail list broker enhance your internal mailing list with several demographic and psychographic elements of information. These elements will tell a simple story about what all your existing customers have in common. Knowing this will help you decide what you should be chosen when building your acquisition direct mail list.
5. Profile the market you’re attempting to penetrate
Some preplanning can also be helpful when building your acquisition direct mail list. A new business in a new market should always size up the population, what the people there look like in terms of age, income, home value, and so forth before they begin building their mailing list. Running counts within an area can help a business determine who their new market “ideal customer” will be. The typical resident in Kenosha County Wisconsin looks vastly different than one in Orange County California.
6. What’s worked before, and especially what’s not worked before?
The key to mailing list success is measurement. If you invest in a direct mail campaign, you’ll want to measure the response results and compare those results from your previous campaigns. Doing so will allow you to make better decision making when it comes to building your next mailing list.
7. Saturation Mailing vs Compiled data
Sometimes it’s better to perform a direct mail campaign using a saturation resident occupant mailing list than to pay the extra amount to build a mailing list from your compiled element choices. The cost of the mailing list and the savings on postage should be considered when making this decision. If your product or service is right for almost everyone, this should be considered. An upscale restaurant may cater to only the upscale residence within a mile from it’s location but everyone has to eat and even the less fortune will splurge to dine out upscale.