- May 2004, DMAW Advents

A Few Good Solutions To A Few List Problems

by Rita O’Neill

It seems that list brokers, agencies, and mailers share many of the same challenges and complaints when it comes to prospecting in 2004. I’ve listed a few below along with a handful of suggestions culled from my own experience and the shared experiences of others.

Problem: Finding New Names. Fewer prospects buying or giving and fewer repeat transactions result in fewer new or hotline names available.  We’re all in the same boat; mailers that were understandably cautious in the mail last year are also list owners with smaller list universes today.

Solution: Look, look, look…Ask, ask, ask. You’ve got a good package, an aggressive mail plan, and no where to roll. Look at the merge/purge output closely. If you’re renting names you’ve already got, maybe it’s time to give that list a rest, change the suppression segment, or stagger your use of that file. A technique I’ve used is to develop multiple, separate suppression segments, choosing to suppress more recent names that had lower gifts, then working backwards, increasing dollar increments as recency is deepened. Get a “usage” listing from your list manager of who is mailing your file. Who’s renting your donor list that you might never have thought of prospecting to? Are you seeing huge rollouts from an out-of-market, non-competitive offer? Do they have a list? Obviously, there is some synergy there. This logic does not always hold true, but imagine when it does—you may have just identified an untapped source for yourself at a better price.

Create win-win scenarios by creating opportunities. Your more creative list vendors might be able to negotiate for ad space, banners, event presence… baby sitting (okay that’s a stretch, but you get the point).

Maximize quantities on your best lists. If a six-month, $10-plus-average-donation/order select works well, try either the 7-12-month select at $10-plus, or the six-month select at $5-$9.99. Move around a bit. Showing the willingness to “test deeper” can go a long way toward negotiating a discount for the test.

Problem: Merge/purge loss. You’ve ordered a “strong core list,” one that used to provide a large universe with adequate recency, along with many others through a list broker. The problem is by the time you omit any prior recent usage of that list, suppress your housefile and the natural list-by-list duplication, outputting below 50 percent won’t be uncommon. You’ve just doubled your list costs.  

Solution: Look, ask and arm your list companies with information. This may be tough but I do know this much: You’ll never get anywhere without asking.    

Ask for what you need and be specific. The list companies don’t have a crystal ball and yet you are relying on them to carry your request to the list owner. If you know you are going to mail a list every single time you have a new package and you figure you’ll continue on 40-50 percent of the test packages, get your broker to lock in annual volume pricing or a standing “deal.” Give your broker as much information as you can to make the request: loss in the merge/purge, anticipated annual volume, ROI. Don’t forget they need to “sell” it up the flagpole to the list manager who has to, in turn, sell it to the list owner.

If you are insisting on better pricing, define where your “line in the sand” is. Set parameters with your broker on where you will walk away from a list. Be careful here. Empty threats to not order a list are just that—empty—and will hurt your broker’s effectiveness in the future.

Try upping your test quantities to 10M or 15M, especially if the list has anything decent in volume potential. The list manager/owner might sense the potential if the test works and provide a slight discount to unburden the cost and help the test performance. If it’s a family of lists from the same owner, try multiple test pricing. If you can, get your broker to sell the idea of exchanging, not renting. In the long run it will pay off for them, because you’ll be able to mail more.

As brokers we are willing to pick up the phone, surf the net, read, write, research, and negotiate. We are willing to fight for reduced prices and yes, reduce our commission, for the long-term relationship with successful clients and successful programs—but information is power. Help your vendors be “armed” for the front lines of your marketing efforts.  

Rita O’Neill is president of O’Neill Marketing Company in  Fairfax, VA, providing list management and list brokerages services since 1999. Her client base is diverse and encompasses fundraising, consumer and B2B. She can be reached at rita@oneillmarketing.com or at 703-934-0272.