Experian

Improving Marketing ROI Through Data Analysis
August 7, 2007

Using data correctly can add tremendous value to your company. Most in the list and database industry wouldnโ€™t consider this to be groundbreaking news. In fact, itโ€™s rather elementary. The real key is the techniques to find and use this data to your advantage. That was the message offered during the morning session last week at the DMAโ€™s List Day conference in New York City. A panel consisting of Erik Findeisen, co-founder/CEO of FC Data; Janette Barret, director of marketing services and analytics for International Masters Publishers; and Hao Chen, senior product manager at Experian Marketing Solutions each spoke of ways to help drive

State of the Co-ops โ€™07
July 1, 2007

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, thereโ€™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 nationโ€™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 companyโ€™s current proven modeling system. โ€œWe have taken what was

Strategy: Find the Right Lists
December 1, 2006

Assuming you have the right merchandise, 70 percent or more of a successful mailing campaign is dependent on the lists you use. Proper list selection means the difference between profits or losses on the income statement. This includes the proper use of your housefile and the outside rented lists you use. The specific lists you mail and the quantities of every list included in your plan are important considerations. I will talk about the different types of lists available and what you can do to improve your results. All mailing lists can be classified into three different types: 1. Direct response lists.

Industry Eye: Catalogersโ€™ Updates & People on the Move
October 1, 2006

Catalogersโ€™ Updates Acquisitions โ€ข ARAMARK, parent company of safety equipment and apparel catalog Galls, was acquired in August by an investor group led by ARAMARK CEO Joseph Neubauer. The deal, valued at $8.3 billion, is expected to close in late 2006 or early 2007. โ€ข Multititle cataloger Swiss Colony in August acquired Ashro Lifestyles, an apparel and accessories catalog catering to African American women. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. โ€ข Multititle cataloger Spiegel Brands acquired in September Carabella Corp., parent company of swimsuit and evening wear catalogs Carabella and A.B. Lambdin. The acquisition adds the two brands to the growing number of catalog titles owned by

IVR Allows AmeriMark to Keep Up With Demand
September 28, 2006

In the late fall of 2005, AmeriMark Direct implemented an interactive voice response (IVR) system to reduce the number of routine service inquiries that reached its customer service reps (CSRs). With just 37 percent of its incoming orders coming in via telephone, AmeriMarkโ€™s CSRs werenโ€™t having any difficulty meeting customersโ€™ needs. However, about two years ago, former Experian Chairman Tom Newkirk, an acquaintance of AmeriMark President Gary Giesler, recommended that AmeriMark check out Verascapeโ€™s IVR solution as a way to enhance the customer experience. After spending a year considering how the service could help AmeriMark, Giesler and his team decided to test the product.

Postal: Three Ways to Reduce Postal Costs and Increase Response
September 12, 2006

With the holiday season around the corner, and a double-digit postal increase on the horizon, consider where you can gain incremental value out of your housefile. Mike Yapuncich, vice president, solution support for data services provider Experian, offers a few tips on how to do just that: 1. Mail to the correct address. โ€œThe most important thing that catalogers should be doing to get incremental value out of their housefiles is [to use] NCOALink,โ€ Yapuncich says. This process updates your housefile based on new mover information registered with the USPS. Yapuncich notes that while some catalogers try to save money by using NCOALink quarterly, the

OutFront: People on the Move & Letter to the Editor
September 1, 2006

Sears Holdings: Alan Lacy has resigned as Searsโ€™ CEO and vice chairman of the board of directors for both Sears Holdings and Sears Canada. Former AutoNation and iVillage.com CFO Craig Monaghan has joined Sears as CFO. Williams-Sonoma: Howard Lester, this multichannel home furnishings merchantโ€™s chairman since 1986, has been named CEO, a post he previously held from 1979 to 2001. He replaces Ed Mueller, who resigned in late July after less than three years at the helm. Mueller will remain with the company as director. Laura Alber has been promoted to president of Williams-Sonoma from her previous role as president of Pottery Barn Brands.

Weighing In on the Catalog Co-op Databases '06
July 1, 2006

By Matt Griffin Now an eight-player field, consumer co-ops widen their offerings. What works best foryour catalog? With five established cooperative databases in the market, and three others trying to make headway in the past year, you might wonder what exactly separates each of these from one another. Whatever sets each co-op apart, the important thing to consider is that constant testing will prove whether the models offered by each company actually work. "Certainly you have to be willing to test the different databases, and you have to be willing to test different models," says Bob Webb, senior vice president of marketing for

Lists: Ten Things to Consider About Consumer Prospect Databases
June 27, 2006

Certainly all mailers want to improve their new customer acquisition performance. And in a session during the DM Days New York conference last week, Caryn Gray, Experianโ€™s senior business & strategy consultant, outlined 10 key factors for mailers to consider when working with consumer prospect databases: Specifically, a prospect database is a client-specific database comprising multi-sourced, agreed-use, non-proprietary consumer records, such as vertical response lists, that marketers use for planning, executing and tracking or measuring new customer acquisition efforts. In setting the stage for her presentation, Gray noted that the key drivers for improved prospect databases include list fatigue, a lack of new names on the

Special Report Matchbacks
March 1, 2006

By Terrell Sellix A matchback is the process of matching order records back to mailing-tape records to determine the actual source of those orders. Matchbacks have been used for years on a limited basis to try to pinpoint the source of unknown orders: typically 5 percent to 20 percent of orders. With the advent of the Web and the increase in multichannel marketing, understanding where your orders and customers are coming from has become harder to learn โ€” and yet more critical to know โ€” than ever. The shift has brought matchbacks into the limelight of customer order-tracking and results analysis. This Special