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Mailing List Smarts
By David L. Alpert, President
Continuum Marketing Group LLC
Remodelers Advantage Inc. ExpertNet Member
Remodelers University Seminar Leader
A mailing list is only good
if it is current, accurate and properly targeted.
What does this mean for you?
A direct mail piece generally costs about $0.35-$0.75
or more per home. If your list isn’t current,
accurate and targeted, you are throwing money out the
window.
For your in-house list of
current and past clients, past prospects, friends
of the company, your banker,
accountant, lawyer, and others in your “circle
of influence” (COI), you must keep the list current
and accurate. Past clients and past prospects may have
moved to another home in your area and might need your
services again. A past prospect who used someone else
for a project may not have been happy with what they
received and would like to use someone else...like
you.
For lists you purchase or
license, make sure they are kept current by the list
supplier. This means questioning
the supplier on how often the entire list is checked
and updated, how they update the information and how
many bad addresses should you expect to get from a
mailing. (Keep in mind, no list is ever perfect.) If
they update the list once a year, don’t use it.
Keeping current also means that it is better to rent
a list updated close to when you plan to use it and
don’t use it too long, even if you can purchase
unlimited, multi-year rights.
Direct
mail will be most cost-effective based on who
you mail to and also
who you don’t. Sure, you
generally work in this or that zip code, but don’t
buy a list of all the names in that zip code assuming
everyone is an ideal prospect or even a so-so prospect.
You want to spend your money on reaching only people
who have a good chance of being an ideal prospect.
Here are the key criteria you should use for your
list selection:
-
Location.
Are the homes in an
area you serve? Are there homes in the list
outside
of your
area?
- Household
Income (HHI).
If you never sell to homeowners making below $125,000
a year,
don’t waste money
mailing to homeowners making $100,000. Removing
those making $100-125,000 from your list could
reduce your
print, marketing, list and postal costs by
a significant margin while increasing your return
on investment on
the effort. Some lists let you select preset
ranges of income; some let you select custom ranges.
If the
list’s
highest
HHI range
is
$150,000
per year
and you
sell to
people
only making
$300,000
or
more,
find another list.
- Age is another
key selection
tool. If your best clients
are
between 50 and 59,
focus in on that age group.
Expand
the list a little younger
if you desire
to gain name recognition
for
people who will
move into your age range
soon.
- Make
SURE that
the list only includes homeowners. Renters don’t
remodel. Also, only mail to one
lead per home.
Even after selecting location, income, age and
ownership, remember only a fraction of the
list will be in the
remodeling mode at any time. Don’t dilute
your response rate by including people who rarely
if ever
purchase the type of remodeling services you sell.
© 2005 Continuum Marketing Group LLC
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