Data Services

Marketing Data Lists

A marketing data list is a proven element in attracting new customers for your business.

However, the success of your marketing lists depends on several other elements which all contribute to the overall success of your campaigns.

Whilst there is sometimes an element of “best guess” in specifying the best marketing data list for your campaigns, in reality there is no reason that this shouldn’t be done with the support of profiling existing customers and past responders

By understanding who has purchased form you before it becomes easier to understand who is most likely to purchase from you in the future, and here is where the profiling of marketing data lists presents itself.

An effective, ongoing marketing data list campaign should follow a cycle:

To give a good example of this, take an office cleaning company:

1. Specify Data

  • office premises
  • within a given catchment area of postcodes

2. Design Mailpiece

  • A straightforward letter offering a reliable service, great rates and other benefits such as sanitation, window cleaning etc.

3. Print / Pack / Post

  • If the budget is on a shoestring then this can be performed within the business by mail-merging the marketing list onto a pre-prepared letter.

4. Process Responders

  • The first priority with responders is to follow the sales process. Meet with them, agree a contract and proceed to sale wherever possible.

5. Analyse Responses

  • This is the most important part, and where the original marketing list requires a full review.

Often the “analysis” of the responders is little more than the sales person’s feedback:

i. “That company weren’t serious about cleaning – a wasted appointment”

This is not a data issue; it is a sales process verification requirement at the point of enquiry. Most marketing campaigns yield enquirers who are “loose speculators” and it is vital to weed out the bad ones at the first point of enquiry; ideally through the telephone call.

ii. “I won the sale, but they only want one hour of cleaning per month and are based 10 miles away”

This is a truly wonderful piece of feedback, and something which the marketing list can really learn from. It will become apparent that the number of hours of cleaning required is directly proportional to the number of employees at site. Responsiva will help identify this trend and apply it to a geographic distance also. Typically it may mean something like:

  • If the business is within 5 miles, any prospect size is fine.
  • If the business is 5-10 miles away, it must have 5+ employees
  • If the business is 10-30 miles away, it must have 10+ employees

This creates a balance between size of opportunity and effort to service that customer.

iii. “This company responded to say all their cleaning is managed centrally at head office”

This is a truly wonderful piece of feedback, and something which the marketing list can really learn from. It will become apparent that the number of hours of cleaning required is directly proportional to the number of employees at site. Responsiva will help identify this trend and apply it to a geographic distance also. Typically it may mean something like:

Another wonderful piece of feedback. In general, office branches have the autonomy to decide on their own local cleaning provider. However, if this is a regular trend then it will show up within the marketing list and enable the exclusion of branches for future marketing.

iv. “This company are a charity so do their own cleaning”

This is a truly wonderful piece of feedback, and something which the marketing list can really learn from. It will become apparent that the number of hours of cleaning required is directly proportional to the number of employees at site. Responsiva will help identify this trend and apply it to a geographic distance also. Typically it may mean something like:

Certain industry types are going to crop up time and time again as having no requirement. In analysing and recording these they can be built into an exclusion file and removed from future marketing data lists.

v. “A great sale here: 4 hours of cleaning required per day.”

This is a truly wonderful piece of feedback, and something which the marketing list can really learn from. It will become apparent that the number of hours of cleaning required is directly proportional to the number of employees at site. Responsiva will help identify this trend and apply it to a geographic distance also. Typically it may mean something like:

And most important of all: not just a case of what do the “bad” responses look like (so we can exclude these types from future marketing lists) but what is the profile of a really great customer?

Once these responses have been analysed, changes are made to the data specification. Such as a company size restriction (maybe linked to distance) and some exclusions. And by making these small changes to the data specification, the next time the marketing data list cycle starts, it will do so with having learned and improved its targeting.

For more information on how this might be of benefit to your business, give us a call at Responsiva: 0800 118 5000. Or send an email to info@responsiva.biz