Lists: Ten Things to Consider About Consumer Prospect Databases

9. Approvals: Consider mailing who, what and when, when renting out a prospect database. This is important, because the list renter could otherwise be mailing your hot list before you get a chance to. “The question is, once you move into a prospect database as a contributor, do you reserve the right to approve when they can mail your names? Open up other areas of discussion,” she advised.

10. Analysis and performance: “When we talk about prospecting,” Gray said, “we’re taking a prospect-centric view about targeting circulation planning. If my core is staying stable, how do I evolve it going forward? It’s not an easy bridge from prospect modeling.”

What’s more, pay close attention to DNS rates. Make sure there isn’t a grassroots campaign to stop direct marketing. “If this is the way the industry can go,” she said, “then we’re talking about each of the independent marketers doing their own prospect databases. So we don’t want to go down that slippery slope without anyone auditing what we’ve been doing.”

In summary, Gray noted that the issue of prospect databases has never been a question of technology. “The technology has always been there,” she said. “It’s a question of whether we can evolve to change and leverage that technoloGy in a way so that everybody comes out winning in an O.K. space. No one company will decide exactly how things should go.”