5 Killer Ways to Save Costs on Direct Marketing

Did you know that the average UK consumer database decays at a rate of 20% per year? That means in just 6 months, a marketing list of 10,000 will already be wasting money on 1,000 incorrect records.

People move house, pass away and personal details change – at a surprisingly fast rate. It’s hard for businesses to learn that a large chunk of their data could be completely unresponsive, but a properly cleaned database can mean the difference between marketing wastage and hugely profitable direct marketing.

Reduce costs, increase response rates, protect your brand, comply with regulations and help the environment with a properly cleaned mailing list. Scroll down for five ways to make this happen!

1. Re-market to changed addresses.

Over 10% of the UK move house every year! Don’t let this lose you customers; there are services available to match up your database with new addresses for movers. Using powerful systems from sources such as Experian, Royal Mail and Equifax, it’s possible to find those new addresses and impress your customers with renewed contact. If, however, a new address is not possible – don’t go wasting money mailing to someone who doesn’t live there. Get rid of that record, now!

2. Clean for deceased individuals.

Businesses are finally catching on to the need for data cleansing – while an astonishing £18 million is spent each year on mailing the deceased, this figure is falling. Make sure you’re not part of the statistic – cleaning your database against several different sources for the deceased (Experian, Mortascreen Plus, NDR, TBR etc.) is crucial to ensure your marketing money is not going to waste. Furthermore, mailing deceased individuals is the single largest cause of complaints to the Information Commissioners Office!

3. Combine duplicate records.

Although you might think this couldn’t happen – duplicate records do arise and represent a huge potential direct cost saving. This process involves advanced screening technologies using phonetic matching systems, by identifying and grouping members of the same household – at the individual, family or household level. Some duplicates are also very tricky for the usual software to spot – calling the need for a specialist agency. Sending two pieces of marketing to the same household is a waste of money and paper, which doesn’t look good for your brand!

4. Ensure data accuracy.

Check your data for holes. A customer could simply misspell their address, resulting in not receiving any material you’re sending (and paying for). Or, a customer could intentionally give you incorrect information so you don’t contact them – but you don’t know and you’re money is going to waster. Matching addresses to the Royal Mail and ensuring what your customer told you is actually correct is a complicated process, but crucial to ensure the success of your direct marketing campaigns.

5. Mail to the right people: scan for preferences.

The Mailing Preference Service (MPS) is a list of people who have asked not to receive direct mail – increasing by around 250,000 records every year. On top of ensuring compliance to the Data Protection Act, why would your business want to contact someone who is likely to throw all their direct mail, directly in the bin? Further, mailing to these addresses increases the chance of consumer annoyance and creating negative publicity for your brand. Although it is optional to remove these records from your list, a quick check to see who is on it is a crucial step in the delivery of a complete data-cleansing package!

Sound confusing? Talk to the experts in data management. Here at TDP Direct Marketing, we can provide all of the above services (and more) at a competitive price, with a friendly smile.

Call TDP today on 0844 561 1133.

P.S. We can also enrich data!

This involves unique processes that segment existing consumer records by gender, age, wealth etc. and let you target your marketing at the most valuable prospects. Through sonar profiling, we can indicate who your best customers are and then add further targeted records to your database from our datasets of millions of UK consumers and businesses. Further, we can also add emails, telephone numbers and/or phone number to existing data – so you can target the same record through multiple channels – usually resulting in a 30% increase in response rates!

Let us talk you through some options with a no-obligation chat over the phone, on 0844 561 1133.