Strategy: Should You Remail the Same Prospect Names Within a Season?

Your response typically will decline when the same names are remailed, even within the same season or 60 days. But any decline in response generally is offset by two factors:

1. Seasonality. A typical prospect list for a consumer gift catalog will perform better the closer it’s mailed to the buying season. The same list mailed during the holiday season will perform about 20 percent better than when it was mailed in the fall.

2. Merchandising Changes. From one season to the next, up to 30 percent of the merchandise is dropped and replenished with new merchandise. The change in merchandising also will help offset any decline in results from mailing the same list twice.

With regard to cooperative databases like Abacus and Z-24, reuses commonly are done, usually by clients who do multiple mailings from a single merge. Depending on the mailer and the season, Abacus recommends at least four to six weeks between mailings.

Mailing to The Same Names Works

Typically, the fall-off in performance is about 10 percent to 15 percent (can vary by season). Using the same names from the co-ops works because the prospects coming to the top of the models are well qualified. Also, strong seasons hold up better than weak ones.

The main reasons you’d want to remail the same prospect names within a 60-day period are as follows:

Availability of Names: If you’re a large or niche cataloger, the universe of prospect names probably is limited. Therefore, you have to reuse the same names if you’re going to continue to prospect.

Time Factor: There might not be enough time in your schedule to receive new names, or you might not want the expense of a separate merge.

Cost Savings: Abacus charges $55/M on reused names compared with $70/M for “fresh” names. This is based on the net names that are reused. For example, if the initial shipment is 100,000 names and nets 85,000 names out of the merge, Abacus charges for 85,000 names if all the names are reused. Therefore, the savings to the mailer is $15/M, or approximately 20 percent. As you can see from the actual results in the second chart, it can be cost effective to remail the same names within a given season.