Mailing List Broker Checklist

Top 10 things you that you should look for when trying to find the perfect mailing, emailing, or telemarketing list… by Aaron Smith of www.BlackBookData.com.

 

Finding a great mailing list can be a bit like searching for a needle in a haystack.  There are many thousands (over 75,000) privately owned and managed lists.  In addition to this cornucopia of databases, there are over 5,000 list brokers spread throughout the Country.  The vast majority of these are 1-2 person shops with the owner brokers coming from a big list company or ad agency background.  Interviewing 3-10 list brokers for every purchase can become tedious and so much of what the decision comes down to is price and what you ‘believe’ from the list owner/broker. 

These 10 tips are intended to take the “guess work” out of finding a good list consultant and will help you determine within the first 30 seconds the mindset and capabilities of the person you are working with to acquire marketing data.  List consulting comes down to 10 major issues and accompanying questions to consider:

1. How experienced and knowledgeable is the List Broker.
   1. What list ideas do they have?
   2. What experience marketing to my target do they have?
2. What is the nature of the questions from the List Consultant?
   1. Are they ‘closing’ questions from a sophisticated script? (BAD)
   2. What am I learning that I don’t already know from this consultant?
3. What type of list is this: Compiled, Response, or Transaction?
   1. Does the list consultant know the difference and nature of why one will work better over the other?
   2. Are these priced accordingly (usually there will be a big price difference between lists and sources)?
   3. Can price difference be explained logically?
4. How is the file updated?
   1. Does the broker disclose which parts of the database are updated when?
   2. Are you getting a ‘blanket’ answer for this question or diversion?
5. Are their less expensive alternative lists options? 
   1. Why would the alternatives be as good a choice? (“No alternative” is never a good answer.)
   2. What makes this list unique and why can’t we find a cost effective alternate (make sure this answer has teeth and can be backed up if this is the case)?
6. Does it take more than 1 day to get a specific count request back from the consultant? 
7. Does the list broker take all forms of payment easily without asking for alternative methods (i.e. PayPal or Google checkout… a bank backed merchant account means they are in good standing with their bank with regards to credit card purchases, if not this can be a red flag.)
8. Does the consultant make the list sound too good to be true or price it way below what others are selling it for? (This is a red flag warning you that the consultant isn’t busy enough and therefore may have a product that cuts corners or is not fresh).
9. Do you feel pressured to get the list OR are assured the list is going to be delivered according to YOUR schedule?  (Pressure from a list broker means they are inexperienced with the process of direct marketing and therefore may not have your interests at heart).
10. What else can you see your list consultant helping you with (make sure that you have enough rapport established to know you are working with someone that you can bounce ideas off of or someone that can give you ideas for other projects you are planning.)
    1. The best list brokers are great marketers first and foremost and thus their emphasis should be on more than just finding a good list though this is their #1 task obviously.

 

Most of these tips come down to the integrity and strategic thinking of the list broker.  In a sense you are buying into the data brokers confidence and their intent on building a real relationship.  If you can detect those that are genuine and good at establishing these ties then you will evolve a very close relationship with your list broker and run most of your needs through this person.

Of course the goal for any broker is to have close repeating relationship with their clients but few actually get that this takes work and effort and that most advertisers are willing to look at a new broker at the first sign of disloyalty because there are so many of us out there and so few that actually know the right way to produce data that responds cost effectively. 

So what about budget?  99% of new list buyers are concerned about the cost of data.  If you have experience buying data you know that a good list is worth way more than you paid for it.  New list buyers are a different breed so this is very important information if you are new to buying databases for marketing.  DO NOT GET FOOLED BY CHEAP DATA.  If you really click with a list broker that has a passing grade for all 10 tips I mentioned above, then you should be OK with the price of the file you are considering.  The key is not to negotiate the price of the list down but the minimum test quantity instead. 

Most list brokers can bend on this rule of quantity before they can on a rule of price.  The reason is that given the opportunity, most list brokers and managers will want to let a good offer try the list especially if their issue is the quantity mailed and not the price of the data.  In otherwords, the cost to mail is much higher than just the price of the data itself obviously. 

Myself and my contractor team get calls everyday from buyers and the first thing they do is try to beat us down on price.  My common response is simply “how can you beat me up on price if you don’t even know how the list performs.  Let’s try a small test (toe in the water) and go from there.”  This tactic works well because the price relative to response determines the quality of a list and not an assumed price break before any testing.  This can only put you in an antagonistic relationship with the list broker from day one.  Smart, resourceful clients know this and these are the clients that any list broker would be honored to work for. 

To further this, every list broker is out to earn money from selling data.  If they can drop the price in half or create some kind of amazing discount out of nowhere, realize they may not care about what they are providing and instead give you an ‘in-house’ all profit file while telling you it’s a great file from YZ publication. 

Just remember that buying a list is a lot like buying the services of a CPA or financial planner or a lawyer.  The knowledge of the person you are dealing with is far more important than the statistics thrown out about the ‘quality’ of any given file – list brokers should have a large porfolio of data products with sources and pricing as well as criteria options and quantity discounts available upon requeset.  Accuracy rates should also be well known as well as Usage (who is using it), especially if the broker is claiming the file to be a ‘managed’ or ‘exclusive’ database.

Good luck and have a great 4th of July!!