Do you feel like you’re blindfolded when it comes to targeting the right audience for your Direct Marketing campaigns? If you’re sitting there wondering “How do I even know who my ‘target audience’ is?” you may want to start figuring out who your current customers are first! 

Does it seem like most of your clients are married with children? Or do they tend to fall within certain occupation/income/age ranges?  Take some time to evaluate this information because you may need to figure out the following:  first, are these the right customers for your business, and second do you need to reach out to a different, more targeted audience in order to bring in higher sales?

Some of you have a demographic formula that has proven to be tried and true. To those, we congratulate you! This is what your goal should be as a Direct Marketer! However, if you’ve started a new business, or are simply new to Direct Marketing, it can take a while to figure out what Demographics are going to bring you the success you need. 

Lucky for you, the experts at List Giant have worked hard to make your Demographic pursuit a little easier. Our team of Database Experts has developed several Data Models in the List Giant System. To use them, you simply select your Industry from the ‘Data Model’ drop down menu, and voila!

Data Models are designed to help you pull lists based on the industry or industries you represent. For instance, if you are advertising Home Improvement services, you can click on the ‘Home Improvement’ Data Model option. Selecting this option will light up certain demographic settings that have proven to generate a successful response rate for that particular Industry.  

At List Giant, we are happy to do whatever it takes to help make sure your campaign is successful, and using List Giant’s ‘Data Models’ will not only save you time, but are sure to help you increase your sales!

Believe it or not, you can find the perfect marketing list for sale and still blow your investment away when you make this 4th direct mail marketing mistake… a mistake that leaves customers scratching their heads and wondering what to do.

What is a Call to Action?

Generally speaking, a call to action is the point in your marketing copy where you tell your reader what to do next. A call to action is essential in direct mail marketing… you are telling interested customers exactly what you want from them.

What is Your Call to Action?

Clearly, you found a marketing list for sale because you’d like to reach out to a targeted audience to increase leads and sales. You chose the right way to go about it… but having a call to action is a key element in the material sent out to that marketing list.

Do you want your target customers to call a certain number? Visit a website? Mail in a response card? Visit your location? Before writing the marketing copy to be distributed you should already know what action you expect, and then it’s as simple as how to make it happen.

What is a Good Call to Action?

Have you ever noticed that it’s much easier to give a bad example than a good example? That being said, your call to action should not be too pushy, but it also should not be too weak. Remember you are trying to compel someone to do something.

If you’ve found a targeted marketing list for sale and used effective sales copy, the call to action can be very simple. Interested customers will already be looking for that call to action, asking “What should I do now?”

A good call to action will answer that question clearly and efficiently. “Call this number” or “Return this card with your information.”

Useful Tip: Use more than one call to action. The first call to action will work on consumers who are already sold, and any subsequent calls to action should also offer additional incentive and information for consumers who are not sold yet, but interested.

Stay tuned for part five of our series and learn how to avoid another costly Direct Mail Marketing mistake!

It doesn’t take an experienced angler to tell you that the fish might not bite the first, the second, or even the third time. They know that it can take multiple casts and will definitely require plenty of patience before there is even a vague interest in their lure. Interestingly enough, the same is true for Direct Mail Marketing campaigns. Your target customer is that nice, fat trout wallowing lazily in the shallows and it’s up to you to get him!

But how? You’ve been casting and casting, and no response!

In the marketing world it is widely accepted that the average consumer won’t “bite” the first time, so many business owners go down that dark path of assuming that repeated exposure will lead to a bigger response. While this may be true in some cases, there is a limit! The old adage, “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” may hold true in some instances, but this is not one of them.

Let us propose a question: why continue to use marketing lists that haven’t generated a response? You’re wasting time and money by sending continuously into a black void; its time to give up!

Like a wind up toy that bangs into a corner again and again, your marketing lists simply won’t get your company any further if they keep hitting dead ends. If after three attempts there is still no response, find a new path. It’s time to give up and find a better mailing list! With the ability to pull fresh, new data based on your target criteria (without pulling the same names that have already proven not to convert) you can stop wasting money on prospects that simply aren’t going buy, and start reaching out to interested revenue-generating consumers.

Fortunately, List Giant is your answer! With just the click of a button our customers are given the option to suppress unresponsive data and start with fresh, new marketing lists chock full of prospects that meet their target criteria. List Giant is your fully stocked lake – get the data you need with fewer casts and catch your company that fat trout!

Stay tuned for part four of our series to learn how to avoid other Direct Mail Marketing mistakes!

Using targeted mailing lists is a key factor in conducting profitable direct mail campaigns.  Targeting potential customers will increase the possibility of generating new leads, which in turn, provides an opportunity to secure new sales and generate profit.  In order for targeted mailing lists to work effectively, you must consider another key factor: using updated direct mailing lists for your direct mail campaigns.

Direct Mail Marketing Lists Must Be Current and Cleansed!

One of the biggest mistakes companies make while conducting direct mail campaigns is using mailing lists that are out-of-date.   We live in a time when jobs change often as do people move.  This could mean if you purchased a mailing list four months ago and plan to mail on that same list again, 10% of that data could now be inaccurate (assuming that it was even current when you bought it!).  Just think about all the wasted time and effort that went into those mailers. Painful isn’t it? Not only is time and effort wasted, but all the design costs, printing costs, postcard costs, postage costs…we could go on and on but you get the picture.

Fortunately, there are several simple ways to avoid this pitfall and to save your company money:

• Choose a company that prides itself on the currency of its direct mail marketing mailing lists.
• Use marketing list subscription services that present you with a fresh and current list each time you log in and download.
• Never – and we repeat, never – use a list more than 3 months old.

Along with the difficulties presented by outdated lists are the myriad problems presented by incorrect address information. Bad addresses can add up and become very costly mistakes! A simple flaw in an abbreviation can make it difficult for delivery services to read and decipher. Or a tiny error can prove to be fatal when your “7” looks like a “2” in the address line. This can make the difference between successful mailing campaigns, vs. your mailers disappearing into that black hole we all like to call “undeliverable mail.”

By happy chance, this is also easily avoidable! One way is to pay for an address cleansing service. However, it is often just easier to avoid problems right from get go, so take the extra time initially and be sure purchase direct mail marketing lists only from companies that are sticklers for quality.

Why It’s Important to Use Updated Direct Mail Marketing Lists

There are a many marketing lists for sale out there, and as with anything else, it’s a good idea to research the credibility of vendors you may choose to purchase from. You wouldn’t just buy a car from a stranger on the street without first asking to see the service report would you? Put in that extra effort and look for feedback that describes return rates on marketing lists similar to your own to determine the investment will be “worth it” on your end!

If you’ve ever felt that direct mail marketing isn’t bringing a return worth the investment, chances are high that you are making a simple mistake. If you are not using targeted marketing lists you are screwing up your direct mail.

A targeted mailing list will ensure that your mailings only reach your market. It may help to use your own best judgment to determine which direct mail marketing lists are most appropriate for your product or service, and will generate a strong response.

Targeted Marketing Lists are a Goldmine!

A marketing list can be purchased to distribute your promotional material, but this can be costly when that mailing list just isn’t interested in your material. You’ve probably heard the phrase ‘junk mail’ before… and that’s exactly what your investment can become if not using a targeted list.

Consumers are getting better and better at screening out the junk mail. In order to avoid the chance of getting your direct mail piece overlooked or thrown in the trash it is crucial that your content is relevant and your mailing list is targeted.

How to Choose a Targeted Mailing List for Consumers:

It’s really quite simple to narrow down your options and choose a targeted marketing list when you evaluate the demographics of previous campaigns that have showed strong response. Sometimes you might even be surprised to find that a direct marketing campaign shows an unexpected result of who expressed more interest, but it’s a smart idea to use that information when selecting the criteria to create an effective mailing list which will reach a targeted (and thus, responsive) audience, and bypass those who have not shown any interest.

Ways to target a business direct mail marketing list:

• Business SIC code (Standard Industrial Classification) such as Financial Services, Construction, Manufacturing, etc
• Type of Business (Corporation, LLC, Non Profit, etc)
• Number of Employees
• Franchises or non-franchises
• Headquarters, branches, or home offices
• Public or private
• Years in business
• Recipient job title (CEO, CFO, Chief Technology Officer, Human Resources, Etc)

Targeting a Business Mailing List:

You might find that analyzing results from previous direct marketing campaigns to be effective in selecting the criteria to create a targeted marketing list for business recipients. However, you may want to focus more on factors like business size, nature of business, and years in business than on trivial details such as geographical location which won’t have as much of an impact with a business marketing list as it would with consumers.

Stay tuned for part two of our series and learn how to avoid another costly Direct Mail Marketing mistake!

The use of direct marketing lists has become the lifeblood to hundreds of thousands of businesses around the globe.  Without these lists, it would be extremely difficult to advertise your business to the correct audience.

Direct marketing lists are used for reaching your target audience via Direct Mail, Telemarketing, and Email campaigns.  Without these lists, these campaigns would not exist.

When you utilize direct marketing lists to advertise your service or product, you are provided the unique knowledge of what type of customer responds to your offers. This is because direct marketing lists give you the ability to target your prospects geographically and demographically.

Rather than feeling like you are blindfolded when you are dropping your mailers or loading your dialers, direct marketing lists give you the confidence and control over who will be seeing your advertisement. This strengthens your business footprint and increases your credibility in the marketplace.

When you use direct marketing lists, you will be able to measure your marketing campaign statistics and evaluate the prospects you market to.  This will result in you saving marketing costs along with experiencing an increase on ROI.

Almost any businesses can benefit from the use of direct marketing lists.  Whether you work from home as an Insurance Agent, or own a company with 1000 employees; direct marketing lists help facilitate your business success.

How many times do consumers receive mail that belongs to a person who no longer lives at their address? And how quickly do you think that mail piece get crumpled up and thrown away? As you can imagine, most consumers are programmed to do so instantly. A few consumers actually go through the trouble of forwarding that mail to the correct address.

As an Advertiser, wouldn’t you prefer not to put a consumer through this annoyance?  After all, you didn’t spend all that money on printing and postage to have all of that hard work and money thrown away.

The most common mailing inaccuracies occur is because Advertisers are not using updated, accurate mailing lists.  It’s that simple. Though some businesses feel that using their old mailing lists saves them money, this is not the case. In fact, it is the exact opposite.

As the Advertiser, if you continue to use mailing lists that have been stored on your computer since 1989; or if you buy a list like that from ‘Mr. Schmo’s List Co.’ you should expect very little to zero return on investment.

It is time you stop spinning your wheels! Take control of your business and start using accurate, up-to-date mailing lists.  You will undoubtedly notice the positive impact this will have on your direct mail campaign response.

Telemarketing means to sell or introduce your product or service to customers over the phone.  Telemarketing has also been known to get a feel for a general population’s interest in a certain service or product as well through survey telemarketing.  In some situations, telemarketing is a company’s sole method used in selling a product or service.  Telemarketers place their calls off a telemarketing list.
A telemarketing list is a list of potential customers or leads.  The company promoting the service or product will employ individuals to make these cold calls using a predetermined sales pitch or script.  The script will explain the advantages of the product or service offered and if the lead is interested, the telemarketer will either place the order and collect payment or collect a mailing list to send out information to the lead.
To a company, a telemarketing lead is potential income so when the calls are placed it is important that the caller be well versed in the script presented.  A company can use just any call list if they opt too.  They can even use a phone book as their telemarketing list however, if a company wants a better percentage of return from the list, they are wise to get one professionally generated.  A telemarketing list can be generated off the demographics of the type of population your product or service targets saving you cost in cold calls that are dead ends wasting the telemarketer’s time and the company money.  Having a telemarketing lead that has the right characteristics of the prospects you are trying to reach ups the percentage of actual hits, which equals revenues.
Having access to a telemarketing list generator that creates a list based off location, customers buying habits, age groups, ethnicity, average income level of a location and even what is the best call time just to name a few of the possibilities turns telemarketing lists into a great selling tool and the perfect revenue builder.
The expense that has to be put into using a telemarketing list generator is minimal compared to what it cost to call off a cold list that has no real selective marketing strategy in place.  List Giant is a simple, online system that gives you the capabilities to choose from tons of list demographics, run list counts, and downloads your desired telemarketing leads in minutes, 24 hours a day.  When you have access to a powerful system as List Giant, you can be assured to improve your direct marketing and sales.