Direct Marketing has seen a good deal of change over the last few years. As online technology continues to evolve, procurement of information becomes quicker and easier. Over the next few weeks I will overview three major changes that have changed how many companies are approaching their direct program.

In this post I will discuss the ability to selectively grow your database and approach prospects, future posts will focus on Co-Registration and Post Click Marketing.

Purchasing one name at a time:
If you’ve spent time planning or managing direct marketing programs then you’ve probably been up against minimums of 5,000, 7,500 or even 10,000 names. Or maybe you have leaned more towards the compiled (multi-sourced) list solutions that require monetary minimums. In a previous post I focused on getting the most out of these minimums, but what
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The challenge of every direct mail campaign is figuring out which lists are going to perform best. Where is your target audience? Sure, they might be hidden in the depths of a compiled database, however, you should be able to do better than that. 

Start with industry specific association lists. You may have to do some digging for availability, but I almost always get good results from a well targeted association list. Many direct mail brokers won’t go through the trouble of calling associations that do not advertise their member list. You may even find that as a member you are entitled to the list at a reduced rate or no cost at all. I’ve come across associations where the cost of membership was about the cost of renting the list as a non-member, so in addition to the list we received the added bonus of being listed in their online and print directories.
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So, you are getting ready for an old fashioned b-to-b direct mail campaign. Don’t be ashamed, according to BtoB Magazine’s 2009 Marketing Priorities and Plans survey, 74% of b-to-b marketers are planning to maintain or increase their direct marketing budget in 2009. Here are 5 tips to help you make the most of your campaign.

Use your Merge Purge Wisely - Most b-to-b rental lists are purchased with one-time use only, but when possible, be sure to use them completely. If your mail-house runs a merge purge for 10 rented lists and 30% are duplicates, that’s ok - you can mail the duplicates again. If the same name shows up on six rented lists, you’ve paid for the name six times and can use it six times. Just be sure that you are mailing the approved mail piece within the promised timeline.

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