One-On-One Marketing: Starts With the List
All marketers strive to create the illusion of one-on-one marketing, personalized communications from “their company” to an individual customer. And it all starts with the mailing list.
Having an incorrect gender, truncated address block or improper salutation can destroy the illusion. Here are five steps to ensure the best data possible:
1. File Enhancement: Perform computerized file enhancement steps, including upper/lower case conversion, street name expansions, Irish name corrections, and genderization. To genderize a file, it should be run against a names database to assign gender and correct common misspellings.
2. Salutation Field: When creating a salutation, use a formal salutation (Dear Mr. Smith instead of Dear John J. Smith, Jr.). In the case of records with a male and female with the same last name, do not make the assumption they are husband/wife (they could be brother/sister, uncle/niece, etc.).
3. Merge/purge: In instances when current customers should be removed from a prospect mailing, include a merge/purge to remove as many duplicate records as possible. Sophisticated software can match on name and address, name only, address only or any other key field that is desired.
4. Address Corrections: Run the mailing list through a program that is certified by the United States Post Office to match against a database of every mailing address in the United States. This will ensure a correct address and a much higher likelihood of delivery.
5. Variable Data: To speak more directly to the customer, variable data (products they already own, balances, available credit) can be tactfully inserted in the copy.
Intelligent data processing can create a mailing file that adds to the illusion of personalized one-on-one marketing – and not be labeled as “just another mass mailing.â€