| |
B2B Direct Mail Lists: Ask These Questions Before Renting.
If the most important part of any business-to-business directmail package is the list, how can you be sure that you have agood list before you drop your money (and your reputation) inthe mailbox? Answer: Ask the right questions before you rentthat list.
1. Who is on the list, exactly?
Let's say your potential list is high-tech prospects. Are thepeople on the list analysts, network administrators, productmanagers, chief information officers or sales managers? Knowingmakes all the difference. So make sure you can select names byjob title or function.
2. What is the source of the list?
Is the list a compiled list, where names and addresses arecompiled into a list from directories, newspapers, trade showregistrations and other public sources? Or is the list an opt-inlist (such as subscribers to a particular trade publication, orbuyers from an online store)? Lists of names that are compiledfrom phone books and directories usually age more quickly thannames from opt-in lists and usually produce more undeliverablemail.
3. Are the names on the list known buyers?
The best B2B lists contain names of businesspeople who havebought your product or service or one like it, regardless of howthey bought it (online, by mail, retail).
4. How recently did they buy?
In the trade, we call this Recency. Prospects who bought aproduct or service like yours recently are better prospects thanones who purchased years ago.
5. How often do they buy?
We call this Frequency--how often someone buys. Naturally,someone who buys your product or service often is a betterprospect than someone who buys less frequently.
6. How much do they spend?
We call this Monetary value, and it's the third component in thestandard test of mailing list quality--Recency, Frequency,Monetary value. Buyers who spend the most are the best prospectsfor your mailing.
7. Are the people on the list "direct-mail
responsive?"
Sometimes a list owner or list broker will know if the names onher list respond to direct mail offers. A good example would bea catalog merchant who would know the percentage of names on hislist who buy through the mail.
8. How fresh are the names?
Some business-to-business lists decay at a rate of 25% a year.In other words, at any given time, 25% of the names on a givenlist will have moved (new address), been promoted (new jobtitle), undergone a restructuring (new email address) or quit.Ask your list owner or list broker how often they update theirlist.
9. When was the list last cleaned?
List owners "clean" their lists by comparing them against thepostal service's National Change of Address file. Ask how oftenthis is done.
10. How often is the list rented?
If the list is rented often, it is likely a good list (but onethat contains names of prospects who may have been inundatedwith offers like yours). If the list is rarely rented, it iseither no good or it contains a highly specific group ofprospects that no other business except yours wants to mail to(not likely).
11. How many other mailers tested the list successfully?
You should conduct a test mailing to a list before rolling outyour entire mailing. Ask how many other businesses tested thelist and then declined to rollout, and how many tested the listand decided to rollout. The answers you get give you an idea ofthe value of the list to your business.
12. Who else rents the list?
Do your competitors rent the list? See if you can find out!
About the author:
----
About the author
Alan Sharpe is a business-to-business direct mail copywriter andlead generation specialist who helps business owners andmarketing managers generate leads, close sales and retaincustomers using business-to-business direct mail marketing.Learn more about his creative direct mail writing services andsign up for free weekly tips like this at www.sharpecopy.com.
|
