Lists

With the postal rate increase in effect and the marketplace demonstrating fierce competition, catalogers are seeking more efficient ways to handle the database information they accumulate. Certainly, there’s no shortage of companies that offer to streamline the process, but how do mailers know which of them is best for their needs? Here (in alphabetical order) is what the nation’s eight cooperative database firms are doing this year to set themselves apart. Abacus Alliance Acquired by marketing technology firm Epsilon earlier this year, Abacus recently launched its next generation solution, Abacus ONE, based on the company’s current proven modeling system. “We have taken what was

Last week, I discussed some powerful resources for finding obscure mailing lists that may not be on the traditional list rental market.

This week, let’s take these resources a step further. You can use the below list of research sources to make contact with companies, and then create reciprocal list exchanges and co-marketing partnerships. With this week’s absolutely insane postal rate increase, now is a great time for you to look at alternative ways to acquire customers and even lower your customer acquisition costs.

Again, the resources are:

* Belcaro Shop at Home (www.shopathome.com)

* Catalogs.com (www.catalogs.com)

* Greyhouse publishing (<a

Over the past few weeks, I’ve discussed extensively how to select the right list broker and the right lists for your offerings. This week, let’s explore a few ways to find lists that may not be on the rental market.

Not every company chooses to mail catalogs, and not every catalog company puts its list on the rental market. Naturally, these lists wouldn’t be on the typical list broker’s radar screen.

Sometimes, especially when you work in a tight niche market, you need to find new lists beyond what your list broker recommends. There are a number of catalog sources that you can use as

B-to-B catalogers’ prospecting list strategy has never been more important. Why? “You have a universe of shrinking names,” says Kim Lowenthal, executive vice president at American List Counsel. “To put it simply, the volume of business names is less than before.” Plain and simple, fewer names for prospecting can slow sales growth. And many mailers trace sluggish sales to list universes that shrank years before they felt the decline on their top lines. To meet your file growth goals, you’ll probably need to use several prospect list selection techniques and strategies. And by selecting the best lists from a variety of sources, you

When I look at a datacard to decide the mailability of a prospect list, I look carefully at all of the details. I have an inquisitive and questioning nature and want to know everything I can about the lists I want to mail, but…

…Mostly what I want to know is what affinity the prospect list has with my customers.

The closer the affinity, the more I can assume this list is a good prospect for my mailings. If the list seems right, based on the information on the datacard, I move it from my “suspect” list folder to my “prospect” list folder.

Some datacards provide a

Just like in real estate, location is a key factor in deciding which lists to rent for prospect mailings. That’s why looking on a datacard for the “source” that a list’s names came from is critical. If you’re selling through the mail, you want other lists of prospects who have purchased through the mail.

We’re in a behaviorally based business. List prospects who may look like a fit sometimes are not. Let’s go back to the Athleta list from last week (see http://www.catalogsuccess.com/story/story.bsp?sid=52662&var=story ). That list’s source is “100 percent direct mail sold.” Not Internet sold, and not compiled from the phone book.

What’s the best way to glean the information you need in order to make a decision on whether you should test or not test a particular list? This week, I’d like to lay that out for you.

For those of you new to renting lists, or if you’ve never seen a datacard, you can view thousands of datacards by visiting www.nextmark.com. Nextmark is a tool that industry professionals use to find and recommend lists to mailers. According to Nextmark, there are 60,000 lists currently on the market. Most of the people using this tool are lists brokers — and for the average person,

Selecting the right mailing lists for your offering is as much art as it is science. Last week, I discussed hedging your bets by choosing the right list broker (the science). Today I’ll delve into what to do with the list broker recommendation you receive — how to separate the wheat from the chaff (the art).

First of all, I like to put list brokers to the test and have them put themselves in my shoes. This way they recommend the lists they’d use if it were their decision. A good broker from a top firm will have much information on your market

There are thousands of lists on the market and there are plenty of list brokers you can choose from to match up your catalog and its customers to the best prospects. And like any industry, there are some great list brokerages and some sleazy ones.

A little research goes a long way when searching for the right list broker or brokerage. Bottom line: You want to find the broker who handles clients that are similar to you. For example, if you’re an apparel cataloger, find a list brokerage that handles many apparel catalog titles. If you serve a tight niche, find a list broker

Choosing mailing lists for your direct marketing efforts may seem pretty straightforward. But in actuality, it can become rather complex. This week, I’ll serve up my thoughts on how to choose the proper mailing lists for your effort.
It’s important to note up front that if you haven’t rented lists before, you should choose a good list broker. In next week’s blog, I’ll address what to look for when choosing the right broker. For now, however, let’s concentrate a bit more on the basics.
When choosing lists always think of one word: affinity. While that may sound obvious, the catalog lists whose products and