As stated in the B2B data request article, a list contributes to 40% of marketing success. So, regardless of whether your target is business or consumer-focused, getting the most effective list for your marketing needs is essential in executing a successful marketing campaign. Again, remember to “begin with the end in mind”, or keep your outcome goals in the forefront of your planning as you structure your marketing campaign. Now let’s look at the best practices to specify your consumer data list request in order to get your results quickly and accurately…

The Top Three

The following three categories are used most often in specifying a consumer data request:

1. Age; the first of the top three categories, has several variations in terms of what it covers. Within age, you can specify certain stipulations such as if you would like the age ranges of the adults in a household, the age of the head of the household, or the date of birth of the customer.
   
   
2. Location; Most data providers will allow you to specify your geography in several of the following ways:
   
   
   
   1. World Region ( e.g. East Asia)
      
   2. Country (e.g. India)
      
   3. State or Province (US or Canada) (e.g. California, NJ or Ontario, CA)
      
   4. State (International) (e.g. Guangdong in China)
      
   5. City (e.g. New York City, USA)
      
   6. Metro Area ( e.g. New York, USA or Tokyo, Japan)
      
   7. Zip Code (US Only) (e.g. 10162 for Manhattan, NY)
      
   8. US County (e.g. Somerset, NJ or Orange, CA)
      
   9. Area Code (e.g. 731 for Houston, TX)
   
   
   
3. Income; falls under the ‘financial’ category and is one of the most common specifications within financial. You can specify how much estimated annual income a person makes, or use an alternate category such as net worth.
   

Other Categories

Aside from the main three categories listed above, there are other areas that group consumers in different manners. Some of these most-used categories are as follows:

1. Life Event; this group is a great way to target people who have recently experienced a major life change, such as a recent home buyer, a new parent, newly weds, and college graduates.
   
2. Interest; one of the largest categories, ranging from fashion interests to military interests, and everything in between! Within this category there are people who love to travel, love the outdoors, enjoy movies, NASCAR fans, etc. There are also further break-downs of certain interests, such as reading. Reading can be broken down into further sections such as science fiction, magazines, and even audio books.
   
3. Health; this group is an ideal way to reach consumers who have health issues such as allergies or diabetes and to reach others who are interested in health avenues such as homeopathic and organic remedies. This category can even be as specific as those who suffer from back pain and are looking for remedies.
   
4. Household; a category with several different facets, household can indicate the number of children in a household, marital status, or household size. It can also be used to target households that have a probable teen driver or are interested in green living.
   
5. Buy Activity; This group can specify a range of how much money is spent, whether it is online or offline orders, or whether the person is a credit card user. It can also be more specific with such things as camping, DVD’s/Videos, electronics, donations, or memberships for clubs.
   
6. Behavior; a final useful category to help target consumers. The main focus in this category is what type of credit card is being used, such as American Express or a Gasoline card.
   

Channels

Deciding which channel(s) to use is an important step in planning your campaign. Below are the 4 channels available:

1. Direct Mail
   
2. Telemarketing
   
3. Email Rental
   
4. Email Purchase

Perhaps for your campaign, reaching your target audience would best be done by e-mail because they own computers or often make online purchases. We have already discussed email marketing in a previous article (Email Marketing Article), so here we will focus on direct mail and telemarketing.
Although direct mail may not have as quick as a response time as email, it also cannot be disregarded as quickly as hitting the ‘delete’ button, so it may allow a better window to get your message to your audience. Direct mail also can also have a more personal touch, which is important to get your message across.
Telemarketing is another channel that allows a personal feel in addition to enabling the consumer to speak one-on-one with someone and get a better feel for your product or service. A combination of channels usually yields maximum results because your message is being received through multiple mediums.

Ready to make a list request? Click Here to make an initial request and a knowledgeable broker will help you specify it in the most effective way!

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