List Roundtable: How can direct marketers boost their list rental revenue?
September 2006 By Lisa Yorgey Lester
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John Papalia, president/CEO, Statlistics
The biggest key to list rental revenue growth is managing all your opportunities. Are you developing out-of-market business with tiered pricing strategies? Are you using all available database opportunities, both public and private? Are you promoting your file … using a comprehensive marketing plan specifically tailored to your list(s) and market? Is your file represented at the major industry trade shows, and are meetings being booked at these shows to obtain new business?
Further analysis of your file would include selections. Are there additional selects that could be added through data enhancements? For example, small businesses are a growing area. Do you offer company size? In addition, are you offering full source selections, and are your expires available at a lower rate?
If you’re compiling e-mail addresses, consider releasing them for rental as well. Besides the difference in base pricing points, you’ll also see a faster return on continuation orders, as the response read is a far shorter window than with postal files.
My additional recommendations include annual base pricing analysis to make sure you’re priced competitively with other major files in your category. Also, work with your list manager to make sure the rental file is updated regularly, and that it includes change of address records.
Lastly, partner with your list manager. Help them learn all the unique characteristics of your file, be open to the negotiating necessary in today’s economic environment, and work with them to ensure they’re actively promoting and marketing your file.
Karen Mayhew, executive vice president, consumer management, Direct Media
Start with the basics. Do a competitive price analysis annually. Can you increase the base price of your list? What about selection or run charges? Have you considered raising your minimum order requirement? On a large file these charges really add up to a meaningful amount of revenue.
How is your file segmentation? Are you offering everything you possibly can? Can you provide sale buyers? Are you offering product selections where appropriate? Is your file enhanced? In today’s competitive marketplace, many service bureaus will overlay your file with no up-front costs. The list owner is charged only when names ship, so this is a viable option, even for smaller list owners.
Are you participating in all appropriate prospecting databases? These need to be evaluated carefully as some yield more benefits than others.
Finally, have you evaluated your exchange business? Are the lists you are mailing less expensive than your list? If so, you could be losing more list revenue than you’re saving on acquisition costs by exchanging with certain list owners.
Tina MacNicholl, president, The Catamount Group
Take a look at self-reported data points. Are you collecting phone numbers? Ethnicity? Are you able to break out names by source? Many segments are valuable even if they are small because they can be sold at a premium. New segments also bring new mailers.
Overlay your data. If your file is large enough, most service bureaus can overlay your data at no charge. This gives you information about your list you may not have had before, as well as adding potential new selects.
Review your prospective mailer list. Any time a manager takes the time to work on prospecting, it usually means a new look at the file, its usage and a new surge of attention. Also, don’t always rely on tried-and-true mailers and brokers. Get creative and call appropriate mailers directly to see if they are mailing. Make new contacts.
Identify cross-selling opportunities. One of the best ways to look for new prospects is by looking at usage on similar lists that your list management company has.
Analyze usage. Is there a new category that has cropped up that can be expanded? Review the tests that have turned into continuations in the past year to see if a new category should be expanded.
Gather competitive intelligence. What are your competitors doing? Check out usage and selects—it will give you a feel for some do’s and don’ts.
Know your counts and spot check them. Take some time once a month to check out your numbers from your computer house and make sure they are correct. Sometimes something as simple as a formatting issue can cost you list rental revenue dollars.
The biggest key to list rental revenue growth is managing all your opportunities. Are you developing out-of-market business with tiered pricing strategies? Are you using all available database opportunities, both public and private? Are you promoting your file … using a comprehensive marketing plan specifically tailored to your list(s) and market? Is your file represented at the major industry trade shows, and are meetings being booked at these shows to obtain new business?
Further analysis of your file would include selections. Are there additional selects that could be added through data enhancements? For example, small businesses are a growing area. Do you offer company size? In addition, are you offering full source selections, and are your expires available at a lower rate?
If you’re compiling e-mail addresses, consider releasing them for rental as well. Besides the difference in base pricing points, you’ll also see a faster return on continuation orders, as the response read is a far shorter window than with postal files.
My additional recommendations include annual base pricing analysis to make sure you’re priced competitively with other major files in your category. Also, work with your list manager to make sure the rental file is updated regularly, and that it includes change of address records.
Lastly, partner with your list manager. Help them learn all the unique characteristics of your file, be open to the negotiating necessary in today’s economic environment, and work with them to ensure they’re actively promoting and marketing your file.
Karen Mayhew, executive vice president, consumer management, Direct Media
Start with the basics. Do a competitive price analysis annually. Can you increase the base price of your list? What about selection or run charges? Have you considered raising your minimum order requirement? On a large file these charges really add up to a meaningful amount of revenue.
How is your file segmentation? Are you offering everything you possibly can? Can you provide sale buyers? Are you offering product selections where appropriate? Is your file enhanced? In today’s competitive marketplace, many service bureaus will overlay your file with no up-front costs. The list owner is charged only when names ship, so this is a viable option, even for smaller list owners.
Are you participating in all appropriate prospecting databases? These need to be evaluated carefully as some yield more benefits than others.
Finally, have you evaluated your exchange business? Are the lists you are mailing less expensive than your list? If so, you could be losing more list revenue than you’re saving on acquisition costs by exchanging with certain list owners.
Tina MacNicholl, president, The Catamount Group
Take a look at self-reported data points. Are you collecting phone numbers? Ethnicity? Are you able to break out names by source? Many segments are valuable even if they are small because they can be sold at a premium. New segments also bring new mailers.
Overlay your data. If your file is large enough, most service bureaus can overlay your data at no charge. This gives you information about your list you may not have had before, as well as adding potential new selects.
Review your prospective mailer list. Any time a manager takes the time to work on prospecting, it usually means a new look at the file, its usage and a new surge of attention. Also, don’t always rely on tried-and-true mailers and brokers. Get creative and call appropriate mailers directly to see if they are mailing. Make new contacts.
Identify cross-selling opportunities. One of the best ways to look for new prospects is by looking at usage on similar lists that your list management company has.
Analyze usage. Is there a new category that has cropped up that can be expanded? Review the tests that have turned into continuations in the past year to see if a new category should be expanded.
Gather competitive intelligence. What are your competitors doing? Check out usage and selects—it will give you a feel for some do’s and don’ts.
Know your counts and spot check them. Take some time once a month to check out your numbers from your computer house and make sure they are correct. Sometimes something as simple as a formatting issue can cost you list rental revenue dollars.
Companies Mentioned:
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Secrets of Direct Marketing Testing
Strategic Catalog Marketing