Storms like Hurricane Irene provide an important reminder for database marketers—keep up to date on the news! As the holiday mailing season creeps closer, marketers need to pay close attention to events that can significantly affect deliverability.

Now is the time to designate a member of your team to be your news watcher. This person needs to be on top of events that could have an impact on deliverability. Your point person needs to make note of any Zip code in the affected area and immediately get that information to your provider or in-house team to be certain that you aren’t mailing to that region. It is far better to either eat the cost of overprinting or grab those pieces and reroute them for additional mail house services than to completely waste the money without even trying.

Aside from keeping up with current events, you need to keep up with the news on economics in the markets you are targeting. It is imperative to do at least quarterly hygiene updates on both the rented lists you use and your own house file.

Running your list through the U.S. Postal Service’s National Change of Address service is not enough today. If someone is facing foreclosure they are not running to the post office to put in a change of address. They may, however, still have a credit card and still have utilities turned on at their new location. Using a method such as PCOA (progressive change of address) to update your file isn’t just an option in today’s economy; it is a necessity. Just because someone is running from a foreclosure doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t have money to spend on holiday gifts.

As far as active email addresses go, it is possible to match your file against a buyer file or Internet Protocol address file to see if the record reveals an active address and active buyer. Again, whether it is a rental list or your own in-house customer base, be certain that you are sending to individuals at their most current email address. When all mailers will be broadcasting more frequently you need to be cognizant of high bounce rates and the ramifications of being black listed or having your domain flagged.

Another item that isn’t addressed often, is the concept of scrubbing your list for deceased individuals. Not only will your sent communication negatively affect your return on investment, but if there is still family at the address it could generate a negative impression of your business.
If roads are impassable, buildings are gone, phone or electric lines are down, someone has moved or passed on, etc. you are going to sink your ROI before you ever get a chance to try and make a profit.

Carol Lustig is CMO of Media1/Headstrong Media.

Related articles:

Storms like Hurricane Irene provide an important reminder for database marketers—keep up to date on the news! As the holiday mailing season creeps closer, marketers need to pay close attention to events that can significantly affect deliverability.

Now is the time to designate a member of your team to be your news watcher. This person needs to be on top of events that could have an impact on deliverability. Your point person needs to make note of any Zip code in the affected area and immediately get that information to your provider or in-house team to be certain that you aren’t mailing to that region. It is far better to either eat the cost of overprinting or grab those pieces and reroute them for additional mail house services than to completely waste the money without even trying.

Aside from keeping up with current events, you need to keep up with the news on economics in the markets you are targeting. It is imperative to do at least quarterly hygiene updates on both the rented lists you use and your own house file.

Running your list through the U.S. Postal Service’s National Change of Address service is not enough today. If someone is facing foreclosure they are not running to the post office to put in a change of address. They may, however, still have a credit card and still have utilities turned on at their new location. Using a method such as PCOA (progressive change of address) to update your file isn’t just an option in today’s economy; it is a necessity. Just because someone is running from a foreclosure doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t have money to spend on holiday gifts.

As far as active email addresses go, it is possible to match your file against a buyer file or Internet Protocol address file to see if the record reveals an active address and active buyer. Again, whether it is a rental list or your own in-house customer base, be certain that you are sending to individuals at their most current email address. When all mailers will be broadcasting more frequently you need to be cognizant of high bounce rates and the ramifications of being black listed or having your domain flagged.

Another item that isn’t addressed often, is the concept of scrubbing your list for deceased individuals. Not only will your sent communication negatively affect your return on investment, but if there is still family at the address it could generate a negative impression of your business.
If roads are impassable, buildings are gone, phone or electric lines are down, someone has moved or passed on, etc. you are going to sink your ROI before you ever get a chance to try and make a profit.

Carol Lustig is CMO of Media1/Headstrong Media.

Related articles: