Building Better Business and Consumer Mailing Lists

Whether you market to other businesses or to consumers (or to both), the quality of your mailing list directly affects its success. Not only can a good list lead to increased sales, the cleaner and more targeted your list is, the greater your return on investment. While it takes extra time to build quality business and consumer mailing lists, it's not overly difficult. Here's how to get started.

· Whether you market to other businesses or to consumers (or to both), the quality of your mailing list directly affects its success. Not only can a good list lead to increased sales, the cleaner and more targeted your list is, the greater your return on investment. While it takes extra time to build quality business and consumer mailing lists, it's not overly difficult. Here's how to get started.

· Start with a reputable mailing list vendor. While you can buy consumer and business mailing lists from a number of different sources, not all vendors are created equally. Do your research to find a mailing list vendor that has earned a stellar reputation for the quality of its lists and its commitment to service. Questions to ask include: How accurate are the lists? Can the lists be targeted to best meet my business mailing needs? What type of data is included with each of the lists I purchase?

· Target your mailing list. After finding a reputable vendor with flexible mailing list services, target your lists. You'll need to know exactly what you want to accomplish and who you want to reach. For example, if you're a pediatric dentist who just opened a neighborhood practice, your list should target people who live within a few miles of your practice. However, that list should also be filtered to target families with young children. You may also want to refine your list to include families within a specific income range.

· Segment your mailing list. Your business likely serves a relatively diverse clientele, making it important to segment your lists so that you can send the most relevant mailings possible. For example, an automobile dealership may have separate business mailing lists for its fleet and corporate customers and separate consumer mailing lists for its luxury buyers and used car buyers. Each segment of customer has different needs and buying behaviors.

· Purge and update your mailing lists periodically. If you've selected a top-notch mailing list vendor, your list should arrive without duplicates. However, if you import the list into an existing database and as your list grows, you may find duplicates. In addition to removing duplicate entries, keep you list updated as changes occur. For example, with business mailing lists, contact information may change as employees leave the company or are promoted. Consumers and businesses alike move to new locations, requiring an update to your mailing list. Some mailers will be returned to you as undeliverable in which case you'll want to confirm the address and contact information and update your mailing list accordingly.

By starting with a clean list from a reputable business and consumer mailing lists vendor and then performing regular housekeeping on your lists, more of your mailers will reach your target audience. In addition, a clean mailing list means a greater return on investment and reduced mailing costs since you're no longer sending duplicates or having mailers returned as undeliverable.