Lists : Choose Wisely

8 tips for selecting the right prospect lists

Any marketer worth his or her salt knows John Wanamaker's famous advertising maxim "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half." Unfortunately, it's a very real situation for many marketers. In 2009, the Fournaise Marketing Group reported that, in 2008, 60 percent of all advertising spending it tracked globally failed to deliver the results expected; therefore, the spending was wasted.

When you consider this, it is easy to understand why brands often have a challenging time of accurately reaching and engaging their intended audience. Too often, companies overspend on low-value customers and prospects, and underspend on high-value opportunities.

Today's marketing leaders are tasked to deliver better results in tight economic times while consumers have their hands on the information throttle, controlling when they want to receive information, or if they want to tune you out. Considering which customers and prospects to reach out to should go beyond list size, permission, cadence, content and deliverability. It shouldn't be a guessing game; instead, here is what you can do to be improve your chances to win:

1. Set the Right Measurements
Yelling louder and more often means customers tune you out faster. Marketing leaders seek the type of attribution across all addressable media that they can get through email. If your marketing team sends traditional, mass advertising, then expect to see traditional results.

Also, are your organization's goals, numbers and forecast results realistic? Will they grow and align with the addition of quality, profitable customers and prospects who want to engage with your brand? Will your organization's list efforts have a positive impact on your other performance metrics?

Don't let big numbers dilute your desired results. Identify what you want allocated to which segments of your target audience, whether it's those who read your content, call you up, click through, advocate on your behalf or make a purchase. This should influence the quality, not the quantity, of your list efforts.

2. Does List Size Matter?
Don't mistake a big list for a good list. Fattening up a list that's designed to be successful can obfuscate your success. Big numbers may also camouflage ineffectiveness. If big quantities are unavoidable, create a separate list for a mass, less-targeted approach.

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