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NAME LISTS AND THEIR USE
Virtually every inquiry or buyer's name ultimately ends up on a mailing list. Some are small lists, while others contain millions of names. Some are meticulously maintained, whileothers are carelessly handled. For those interest in mail order advertising, mailing lists can prove to be very valuable as well as a saleable commodity. If you wish to increase your sales, it is often a good idea to go
into direct mail. To do this you would begin by renting anotherfirm's mailing lists. Or, you would rent your list of customers' names to another firm. Either way, mailing lists can, and do play an important part in the every day world of
mail order.
Basically, there are three types of lists. They are: - house lists
- mail response lists
- compiled lists.
Let's examine each more closely.
HOUSE LISTS
A house list simply put is a list of your own customers. They may be active, or inactive. They may be inquiries or buyers. They may have made ten purchases or just one, or in the case of
inquiries, none. They may have placed an order in the last four months, or in the last four years. They may have spent a great deal of money or a small amount. They may be credit card buyersor cash buyers.
Your house list contains your most valuable asset . . . the names of your own customers. These are the people who have purchased from you in the past and are very likely to purchase from you in the future. You can spend a great deal of money to
rent outside lists, but none will bring you the financial rewards you will reap from your own customer list. These people know and trust you, and will order on a continuing basis.
MAIL RESPONSE LISTS
Second in importance are mail response lists. These are people who have responded to another firm's direct mail offer. The idea is to pick out a list of customers who have ordered products similar to those sold by your firm. Since it is a well-known fact that these people have previously responded to an offer similar to yours, there is an excellent chance thatthey will also respond favorably to your offer.
COMPILED LISTS
Although the people on compiled lists do not usually respond as well as the people on house lists or mail response lists, these lists can still be helpful if properly used. These lists are not generally used by small or medium sized business firms because they are too general in nature. But large firms, such as oil companies and insurance firms find them useful and even
profitable. I have never used a compiled list and do not recommend their use for anyone but the largest mailers.
While there are no set rules which can be applied to mailing lists, here are few "rules of thumb" that can be regarded as reliable in most cases. They may not apply to your list situation, but they will give you food for thought.
The average list will change at least 15%-20% each year. Some mailing lists will change only 10%, while others have as high as a 100% rate of turnover. (Lists of high school seniors), etc.
A direct response list (people who have already purchased goods through the mail) will out-pull a compiled list.
A customer list will out-pull all other outside lists. By outside list I mean direct response or compiled lists.
Allocate 10% or more of your direct mail budget to list
development and maintenance. The 10% figure is the minimum amount you should
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