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Hercules Direct Marketing Ltd.
Guide to Lists
Contents
How do you receive the information?
Are there any special rules which apply to lists
What type of lists are there?
Business Lists
- Mail order buyers of business products. Generally these files offer few selections but have the advantage of proven responsiveness or purchasing power.
- Exhibition data contains people who have registered to attend trade exhibitions. The registration cards contain information about the individuals company. These files show high levels of interest in exhibition subject areas.
- Magazine Subscribers. These could by paid-up subscribers, controlled registered circulation (have to complete detailed registration card which is monitored) or controlled unregistered (receive a magazine free and do not have to complete a card). Publishing lists generally carry quite high levels of selectivity.
- Compiled lists contain people who have not responded, enquired or subscribed. These have been researched by the list owner and put onto the list because of something they do or own. Examples include companies house information & telephone researched databases.
Consumer Lists
- Mail Order Buyers of products through mail order - catalogues plus the internet. These lists carry less selections but show a high level of commitment to buying by mail. The type of catalogue also helps to identify the kind of individuals on the lists. Some lists are profiled which helps list users assess age, income and other characteristics of the buyers.
- Lifestyle lists are built from questionnaires. Members of the public fill in questionnaires giving full details of their homes, family composition, finances and interests. This information can be used to build up a picture of the type of consumer you wish to reach. Typically the surveys collect up to 2,500 separate pieces of information about a consumer. These are the most highly selective lists and also carry an element of responsiveness (due to the filling in and returning of the questionnaire).
- Geodemographic based on electoral roll data these lists are overlaid with census data, credit data and household classifications. Characteristics are assumed by a statistical means based on postcodes. These lists can supply large quantities of data in small geographic areas.
- Publishing subscribers to magazines or buyers of products from magazines/ papers off the page. All have paid money for products through the mail.
- Consumer compiled lists have the same characteristics as business lists - they have not responded or bought. Examples of consumer compiled lists are professional registers or shareholder files.
Where to find lists?
A List Owner is someone who owns a database and makes it available to other organisations for commercial profit. They rent only their own list and do not have access to other lists.
- List Managers hold a copy of the owner's database and will carry out marketing and renting duties on behalf of the owner. A list manager may promote more than one list and work on behalf of many different owners. In return for their efforts, they receive a percentage of the sales income generated.
- A List Broker has access to every commercially available list in the world. As with other industries, brokers are independent and have no allegiance to any particular owner or manager. Brokers are paid commission by the list owner or manager.
How to find lists?
Use the search facility on this web site to help you find the lists you require, then print the relevant datacard. If you require more detailed information, simply click the enquiries form option available from the main navigation above. However, before sending your e-mail, please take a minute to consider the questions below . . . it will help us to make the best list recommendations for you.
- Who do you want to target?
- What is the product/service your are promoting?
- Which type of lists have you used before?
- What results did you have?
- What is your mailing volume?
- When do you wish to mail?
These things are important when trying to source lists and by taking a little more time up front to get it right will save a lot of time and aggravation down the line. We will endeavour to turn around counts in 24/48 hours.
What is a datacard?
Datacards summarise list information, explaining how the data is sourced, what selections can be made and the cost of renting the list. In short, all the information required to make an informed decision.
What makes a good list?
- Frequency of updating
- Number and type of selection criteria available
- How closely it matches your target market
- Size of list - is it large enough to roll out if initial test is successful?
How do you receive the information?
Lists are normally made available on the following formats. This can vary from owner to owner so it is wise to check your preferred output is available - and at what cost.
- Diskette
- CD rom
- Magnetic Tape
The vast majority of list owners insist that their data is handled at all times by a 3rd party bureau or mailing house. They will not allow the list user to handle the data directly - this is for data security reasons.
Costs
Your invoice will normally consist of four different charges:
- Basic list rental price of £ per ‘000 names
- Selection of £ per ‘000 for each selection requested
- Output (disk, tape etc.) Can be £ per ‘000 or fixed fee
- Delivery charge for data
Make sure you know exactly what you’re getting and paying for by requesting faxed confirmation before placing your order.
Are there any special rules which apply to lists?
Data Protection Act 1984 (& subsequent revisions)
The law which protects personal information and which defines what can and cannot be done with lists. All list owners must be registered with the Data Protection Registrar in order to pass data onto any third parties.
Mailing Preference Service
A system where consumers can place their details on a suppression file (only applicable to home addresses). List owners ensure that names on this file are not released for rental purposes.
Telephone Preference Service
A similar system to the above but relates to telephone calling as opposed to mailing.
Advertising Standards
All mailing pieces must comply with advertising standards. List managers and brokers will normally check any mailing sample with the ASA or DMARC prior to processing an order.
Self Regulation 'Best practice' guidelines adopted by the direct marketing industry include the use of warranties by both list owners and users. These state that the data has been collected in a fair manner and that it will be used according to the rules.
Sample Mailing Piece
List owners will always need to see a sample of the mailing piece or telemarketing script. The reason for this is that they want to make sure that they are not renting to any competitors or competitive products.
Copyright
Copyright of the list remains at all times with the list owner. This means that you may not copy or pass on the list to any other person without the list owner's express permission. Names only become 'yours' when they have responded positively to your promotion.
Gone-aways
As the list user it is your responsibility to make sure that any amendments, suppressions or changes to the list are passed back to the list owner. It is part of the Data Protection laws and warranties that unhappy mail recipients have their names removed if requested.
Glossary of terms
Datacard
Normally an A4 sheet giving details of an individual list description, source,
profile, selections available, recommended uses, prices etc.
Flagging
A system of highlighting names for easy recognition so that records can be
re-selected or not on future orders.
Keycode
An identity code on a label or record that shows which list the name originated
from. Important for identifying the best performing lists for repeat usage.
Minimum order
The minimum order size or value that the list owner will accept. This amount will be charged whether all records are used or not. Normally 5,000 records in the UK and 10,000 in the US.
Mailsort / Walksort
Methods of sorting names which allow the user to benefit from Royal Mail discounts.
Nth name
A random selection of names on a list - one in N.
Nett names
A system of crediting list renters when duplicate names arise from merging a number of different but similar lists. A nett name agreement is normally only available on orders of 20,000 records or more.
Rental
In the main, names are not sold but rented on a one-off basis and only with the prior agreement of the list owner.
Selections
The ability to choose only the people on a list which match given criteria. The selection options are shown on the Datacard.
Seed names
Names that do not come from the original source but have been inserted by the list owner in order to monitor use of their data.