Consumer
Mailing Lists
Some
advice on renting and using a consumer
mailing list for cost-effective business growth.
It is usual to rent a consumer mailing
list for one-off use, rather than buying it outright. What you actually
pay for, is permission to mail to an existing
consumer mailing list, that someone else has compiled and cleaned.
The cleaning is crucial - the list must have had Mailing Preference
Service (MPS) objectors removed and must be as up to date as possible.
The addresses must be accurate and carry the latest correct post code.
Consumer
Mailing Lists
The names should be highly targeted, so that you are not wasting money
by mailing to people who will not be interested in your product or service.
Once the prospect replies to you directly, you can legitimately add
their name and address to your own consumer mailing list and contact
them again in the future. In this way, you will build up your own database
of customers and prospects, which will build the core of your business
and be the basis of your own consumer mailing list. You could even rent
this out in the future, to con-cometing companies of course.
What
type of Consumer Mailing Lists are available?
It is easier to ask what kind of consumer
mailing list do you need? This type of list is know as a B2C mailing
list, (which just means Business to Consumer mailing list). Almost every
aspect of society is available to rent so that you can correctly target
your consumer mailing. There even are specialist consumer
mailing lists available that cover almost every kind of hobby or
interest. Adult buyers, gamblers and business opportunity seekers are
among the best known of these specialist groups, but there are vast
number of other specialist consumer mailing lists available, such as
wine lovers, knitters, photography enthusiasts, foriegn holiday buyers,
football fans, music lovers etc., etc.
Specialist
Sub Prime Consumer Mailing Lists
Some of the most popular consumer mailing lists available are of people
who have had financial difficulties in the past. These people will have
had difficulty paying the mortgage or their existing loan re-payments
and may have County Court Judgements against them. They are ripe for
the offer of a consolidation loan, to pay off their existing debts and
credit cards or for a new start - with a new mortgage. Naturally, the
interest rates offered to these people tend to be higher than those
offered to someone with a good credit record so as well as wishing to
give people another chance, this type of business is very profitable
for finance companies.
Localised
Consumer Mailing Lists
One of the wonderful things about using direct mail is that you can
carefully target an exact area. It is perfectly possible to request
a consumer mailing list that covers just a certain kind of prospect
in just one particular area. For example, if you are offering mortgage
advice in say, Sunderland and you have a team of people who can visit
prospective clients, all you need to do is to specify a certain income
group or perhaps sub-prime business within say, ten miles of the centre
of the city. Simply mail out your letter, inviting prospective clients
to contact you and you will have an excellent source of local leads.
Another example would be the opening of an up-market furniture store.
Just request a consumer mailing list of people who own their own home,
with an income of £30,000 plus and send them an invitation to
the opening night. It works! Almost any business can carefully target
prospects with a sniper-like efficiency - eliminating wasteful mailings
and expensive local newspaper advertising.
Why
are consumer mailing lists so popular?
There are so very many consumers to go at! Business to Business mailing
lists are also available, but there are not so many businesses out there.
For example, if you wish to mail to every builders merchant or to every
user of welding rods, you will soon run out of names. However, if you
have a product or service that appeals to men between 25 and 39, there
are MILLIONS of people to market to. This is why Consumer Mailing Lists
are so popular - and so profitable for the users.
What
about the actual cost of renting Consumer Mailing Lists?
This depends on the quantity and quality of the list. Naturally, if
you want a small quantity of a highly targeted list, it will cost you
more per name than if you want a large amount of a general list. A specialist
consumer mailing list may cost 15p or even 20p per name, yet a larger
quantity of a more general consumer mailing list may cost only 8p or
9p per name.
Points
to remember about direct mail to consumer mailing lists.
1. Direct mail is especially effective for targeting specific types
of customer. Newspaper and magazine advertising is very expensive, because
you are paying per reader, not per prospect. The vast majority of the
readership has no interest on your product or service. Direct mail is
cost effective and the effectiveness is easy to measure.If you want
a simple, cost effective mailing, consider using simple Mailers.
These require no envelopes and are addressed directly - keeping costs
down.
2.
Some people loath direct mail and would never respond to your offer
- however good. It is essential that we remove these people from your
database. See Data Cleaning
3.
Your name and address data must be cleaned to
a high standard before mailing, to avoid expensive undeliverable mail.
4.
Your mailing must look professional. Don't send grubby photocopies in
brown envelopes, with a crude label stuck on. These mailing go straight
in the bin. Plan your mailing to fit your budget before you start. CPM
specialise in supplying a one-stop print and
mail service, so you do not have to shop around and waste money.
5.
You can use mailshots to sell directly. This is difficult to do from a newspaper
or magazine as you have to be registered with "MOPS". Two stage
advertising can also be very expensive.
6.
Keep in touch with your customers on a regular basis. Dont just sell
and forget. Customers are three times more likely to buy from you than
cold prospects are. Send them a printed
note pad occasionally as an excuse for contacting them. Use our
Mailers to make announcements about a new
product or service, or as an invitation to an event.
7.
Use "cross selling" and "up selling". Think what else
an existing customer may wish to buy from you and tell them about it!
8.
Reward loyalty. Keep in touch with your customers. Send seasonal offers,
a Christmas card, a birthday card or a printed note pad as a free
gift on a regular basis.
Direct
mail can be a wonderful way of building your business - if it is done
properly. Centreprint Print & Mail can guide you every step of the
way.
Case
history
A small publishing company in the south of England came to us in 1999.
They were sending out around 5000 black and white price lists from the
kitchen table, using mum and dad to help put them in the envelopes.
By careful promotions and by sending regular mailings to specialist
consumer mailing lists
and their own ever-growing customer base, they are now the largest company
in their field, send out over three million mailing pieces per annum.
The company is worth millions of pounds, yet was largely built up by
the careful use of consumer mailing lists.They
have plowed back their profits into expanding the company, using consumer
mailings as the primary source of sales, rather than flashy premises
or high street locations. This is the power of direct mail using consumer
mailing lists.
Whatever
your direct mail, consumer mailing list
or posting requirements, please contact Centreprint
now for a quotation or helpful advice without any obligation.
Telephone
us on 01902 402693 9 am to 5 pm Monday to Friday UK time. Answering
machine outside these hours. (We actually work much longer hours than
this, but we need to catch up sometimes).
Fax
us on 01902 491794 (24 hours)
E-mail
us by clicking here or fill in our simple enquiry
form to ask for help,
advice or a quotation.
We
really do look forward to hearing from you. Please get in touch and
help us to help you. Start saving money and increasing your mailing
response today. Use consumer mailing lists to
build your business. We'll help you every step of the way because....
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