A basic guide to buying consumer mailing lists

Maximise your potential to win new clients from your consumer mailing lists by following our consumer list buying guide. Here are some essential questions you should be asking yourself:
How is the consumer list updated and verified?

Make sure you know where the source of data is originally from and how it’s updated - is this by telephone, online or via postal returns? The list needs to be updated via trusted and proven sources such as the Electoral Roll, transactional data publishing subscriptions, online profiles/subscriptions and/or opt-in industry lists.

The right list source depends on your product and your market - but generally speaking, you will get higher response rates if you know your list is both from a reputable source and has been cleaned against industry standard suppression files. These include screening against files of bereaved people who no longer wish to receive unsolicited mailings, people that have recently moved house and people registered with the Mailing Preference Service. Telephone numbers should be from an up to date source, such as BT Osis, and again, these need to be screened against the Telephone Preference Service.

All of Marketing Guru’s consumer lists are screened against industry standard suppression files where appropriate. Click here to search our consumer lists.
Is the consumer list correctly formatted?

When you receive your consumer database, you ideally need the company name in the company name field, address line 1, 2, 3, Town, County, Postcode format. This makes it easy to import into your database system and easy to mail. Most importantly, if your database isn’t in this format, it could show that the data vendor hasn’t take especially great care in collecting and recording the data you are about to use!

Your consumer database should be validated against the Post Office Address file in order to give each address the best chance of actually getting to the recipient. By being fully post coded and checked with the Royal Mail, you’ll get a swifter delivery and less returns.

Marketing Guru always supply correctly formatted consumer data, fully PAF verified.
Have you selected the best list source for your target market?

Making sure you select the right target market is absolutely essential to getting the most out of your campaign. By using the right consumer list source you’ll be maximising your potential.

For example, if you’re a private school and need to target young families with pre-school age children, you have a good choice of list types:

Subscriber/responder lists - these could be where an individual has responded to a piece of direct marketing. More expensive but more likely that person will respond to DM again and the data will be accurate.

Compiled lists - sourced from the Electoral Roll, survey data with geo-demographics overlaid. This data can be less accurate than the above, will have a lower response rate but coverage of a particular area will be much better. The list will also be cheaper to rent.

Lifestyle surveys - sourced from postal or online surveys this data can be accurate but needs to be recent. Volumes can be low and the prospects may have been targeted numerous time before with competitive offers.

In the example of a private school, we would recommend a mixture of responder consumer lists (specialising in families with babies / young children) and compiled consumer mailing lists.

Marketing Guru will advise you on the best list sources for your campaign. Click here for more advice on targeting prospects.