Tasted Any Good Lists Lately?

TASTED ANY GOOD LISTS LATELY?

No, that's not a misspelling. 'Tasted' is what we mean-and you'll see why when we tell you what we have in mind. Think of how you go about deciding whether you like a particular restaurant or not. Eat there once and you may have a very good (or poor) meal, waiter, or service. If you pass judgment on the basis of that one meal, you may be dead right-or you may be dead wrong. But try it several times, ordering a selection of dishes, and your judgement is likely to be more rounded and closer to the mark.

And that, in a way, is also true of lists. Mailers usually pass judgment on a list after one, or at most, two tests. If a selection from the list works- that is, if it gives you the response you need-it's a good list. If it doesn't, it's a bummer, and you go with another. And that can often be an unfortunate mistake-at least as far as selections are concerned.

The reason? Well, let's put it this way: a swallow isn't a summer and a selection isn't a list. A list may be right for you or it may be wrong for you, but a single selection won't always give you the answer.

Let's assume a list is set up in ZIP code sequence. By taking blocks of names from various parts of the list, you may think you're getting a random sampling-but you may not be. You're more likely to be saturating a small number of zip code areas, while the rest of the country goes untested. You assume your results are typical of the entire list, but, because of the way the list was set up, they may be typical of only a part of the list instead.

Then, there's another kind of list selection you can make: active vs. expired names. Chances are you'll opt for the active names on the assumption that if they're active with the company whose list you're renting, they are likely to be active with you. But active does not necessarily mean productive, and active with one company doesn't automatically mean active with another. Unless the owner cleans and refines the list constantly, some of the active names may be more problematic than they're worth. Some may show signs of shaky credit; others may indicate they're ready to cancel out. You may think you're getting the cream of the crop, but you may not be. And you don't know until it's too late.

On the other hand, what else could you have done? Would you believe that for some the expired file may prove to be more productive than the active file? It's true. Analysis shows that as much as 85 percent of the names on a typical 'expired' file list is not duplicated on the other lists! If you had tested this particular list selection, you would have had access to people who had bought by direct mail in the past but hadn't been exposed to it recently. Use effective credit qualifiers on an expired list and reduce the bad-pay problems, and you will be pleasantly surprised by the effectiveness of the 'expired' selection of the list.

Then, too, there are so many other list selections that can make a difference in response. Many of them may respond favorably if care is taken in making the selection and if the selections are handled imaginatively. Credit qualifications can be improved by screening bad debt names. Dollar-Amount-Paid selections can single out direct-mail buyers with good payment history and work well for you if the 'amount paid' figure corresponds to the selling price of your product. Hot-line selections can be improved by singling out the most recent customers. Selection by buyer interest can eliminate unlikely buyers. Small and large wonders can be produced by crossing geographical selections with five-digit zips, to determine 'best' zips that can be used to boost response, and so on.

The point is that a list is no better than selections you can take from it. Don't assume that the first 'taste' demonstrates the quality of a list any more than one meal definitively characterizes a restaurant. Generally, what it does is give you an impression of its 'flavor', but tells you little of its basic character, or, more important, what it can mean to you. If a list didn't work the first time, you can do things with it to make it work the second time. Picking the right selection is your key to it all!

If you used current year buyers and the list proved marginal, maybe you should try the last three-month Hot-line for the effectiveness of the 'recency' factor. If you're offering something for $95 and the list you're renting had a lot of buyers in the $30-$40 category, try a 'dollar selection,' addressing their higher-priced buyers. Combine that with the 'recency' factor and you may find yourself mailing to buyers who have bought products in the last three months that sold for a minimum of $75 or more. Little things like that count. So speak to your list broker about the feasibility of selections available in lists you're considering and suggest ways to use them that will generally prove to be more effective than the entire list itself.

We stress this point because we see the future of direct marketing resting heavily on two factors: the 'targeting' of lists (by that we mean 'marrying' the offer with the right segment of the right list), and the personalization of mailing pieces. Only since the advent of the computer has it become possible to break lists down into selections based on specific response characteristics. And only since the computer has it become possible to 'personalize' a mailing piece in such a way that the recipient finds it just about impossible to throw the piece away unopened.

You can even get an envelope with what looks like a handwritten address, but that is actually 'written' by computer. Tests demonstrate conclusively that this type of piece has tremendous readership precisely because of its handwritten look. Combine this handwritten appearance (done by a computer) with 'prime-market' list selections-and you have a virtually irresistible mailing piece you can be confident will out-perform 'ordinary' direct mail. It's the way we think the industry has to move in order to mail profitably in the face of constantly rising costs and competition.

Do you want a prospect list that works? Read the following article, which appeared in Direct Marketing News Digest and learn the benefits of 'merge-purge.'

The basic reason behind the merge-purge process, of course, is elimination of unproductive names due to duplication, change of address, etc.

When renting a list, it is interesting to note that 'the more duplicates you find on an outside rental list, the more likelihood that that will be good for you.' This is because that list (if you had a 5 to 10 percent hit ratio between lists) is a profile, and 'in all likelihood would work very well for you.'

It is also advisable to save the 'crank mail' you receive over the course of the year. Save those names, and when you do merge-purge, don't waste your money mailing to those names.

Do you run a credit system? If so, you undoubtedly also have some bad credit risks. Save those names too, and eliminate them in your merge-purge.

There is also, of course, that small percentage of people who continually order, then return merchandise. Put these names into the merge-purge also.

In addition to all this, the DMMA possesses a list of approximately 250,000 names of people who have specifically requested to be taken off all lists. You can secure this list from the DMMA and clean your list of these individuals.

In essence then, the process of merge-purge is that of taking x number of lists and joining them into one fresh stream-free of duplicates.

Last, one further benefit of merge-purge, is the elimination of two mailings to the same household. This becomes especially important when mailing expensive items such as catalogues.