Data Media And Research

I have a budget of £10,000 one company is offering to rent me 100,000 records at £10 per 1,000 and another company is offering me 10,000 at £100 per 1,000? Why is the price variation so different and is there any reason why I should not just go with the cheaper option?

The price you will pay for list rental does vary considerably depending on where the data comes from, what you will be using it for, what selections are available, how many emails you want to send and whom you want to target.

The type of campaign you are running and what you want to achieve will determine which data will work best for you. You need to be clear on the following:

What is the purpose of the campaign? Is it to raise awareness, is it to get people to buy a product and service straight away, or is it to get people to sign up to your website or services so that you can communicate with them on an ongoing basis?

Who is the target audience? Are you looking to attract more customers who are the same profile as your existing database or are you looking to expand your audience? Who is your product or service relevant to? Are there geographical restrictions?

Is there any potential negative impact of the campaign? Will the offer upset existing customers (especially the case if it is an introductory offer)? Are there any people you don't want to purchase your product or service? Is it probable that there will be a negative impact on your brand if you 'mis-target' the campaign?

Once you have answered these questions it is then possible to see how important the profiling is and what factors you need to consider.

Typically data that is more expensive is emailed to less often (as the price eliminates some companies). In order to justify the expenditure, the companies using the more expensive data need to look at the selections available (there will usually be more selections available with higher priced data) and ensure they target accurately in order to make it cost effective. As a result the user is more used to receiving information they want, so are likely to be more receptive to your campaign.

However, in this instance the best thing to do would be to run a small test on each file and monitor the ROI and any potential downsides (negative brand impact, inability to de dupe against existing customers etc).

I am just starting to plan my first email campaign. How do I work out whom to send it to?

The first place to start is your existing customer and prospect database so that you can maximise the opportunities with the data you already have (just remember to target prospects and existing customers in different and appropriate ways).

If you are already in regular contact with your existing database then the next option is to commercially rent data. There are many companies offering email list rental and data capture and deciding which data will work best for you depends on what you want to achieve and the type of company you are.

When sending out an email campaign the more relevant it is to a user the more likely they are to respond to it. The best way to do this is to look at the product or service you are promoting and the existing customers you have, and target the same type of people. Or if you are looking to expand your audience under take market research to ascertain potential new target audiences.

You will need to think about what information the people you are renting the data from hold about their users so that you can match to your criteria. Many list owners/managers will have basic demographics (age, gender etc) and also additional information such as what they have purchased in the past and when.

Other valuable criteria can be: people who have responded to emails recently and/or people who have recently opted to receive information from third parties. It is also wise to look at the source of the data and to work with lists which have attracted the same sort of audience you are trying to attract. Don't always take the selections given to you on a data card or in marketing material as the only options; think laterally and work through what other information the list owner might hold about their users that could be relevant to you.

Once you have narrowed down the options then testing is crucial. Decide which lists you want to test and then run small tests to see which ones work best for you. Before the tests begin you will need to be clear on what you want to achieve, what you are going to measure and what result the email needs to produce in order to be cost effective.

When the tests are complete, don't just compare open and click rates as these are monitored in different ways and can be deceiving. You need to find an accurate way for your business to track ROI from emails.

Value can be attributed to:

• people who will not click and follow the online route but might contact you via telephone or visit your premises
• to people who sign up to receive more information about your product or service but do not purchase straight away
• the positive impact multimedia marketing has over other means; having seen your brand on a well thought out email will increase the likelihood of that individual responding at a later date to another form of advertising.

Once you have decided which lists to use it is important you continue to monitor results and revaluate what you are monitoring regularly.