Segmentation Sells

List segmentation is crucial to any direct marketing technique. Developing a relevant target list will strengthen the impact of your message. Refining your data into highly specialized areas such as industry, home-based business, association membership and even households with children, for example, allows you to refine your message even more; communicating the advantage of your product or service to your targets with a personal twist.

The basic demographic segments are at the top of every marketers mind, but consider the impact some of the following might have on your marketing objectives.
Business
§ Business annual revenue
§ Franchise
§ How businesses spend money
§ New business
§ Trade publications subscribers
§ Trade show attendees
Consumer
§ Bankruptcy & Tax Liens
§ Direct mail responder
§ Investors
§ Lifestyle selects
§ Magazine subscribers

Constant refreshing of internal lists is also a basic requirement for data management. By regular review of the resources we have at our fingertips, you can ensure your list is as qualified as possible. Set aside time each week to flip through industry publications such as magazines and newspapers or scan online Web sites for professional association membership updates, promotions and new project updates. Including this in your scheduled workload will make these changes and updates as commonplace as updating address and email changes.

In the end, accurate identification of your targets and the more details you know about them and their buying patterns will improve your lead to sales ratio as well as your return on your marketing dollars. In some cases, a reported ten time higher response rate. Take the time to know your targets inside and out.

A small list of service providers from which you can obtain additional information or acquire lists is listed here:
InfoUSA, 800-242-5478, www.infousa.com
Mailing Lists Direct, 866-758-1798, www.mailing-lists-direct.com
USA Data, 800-395-7707, www.usadata.com
DirectMail.com, 888-690-2252, www.directmail.com
AccuData, 800-732-3440, www.accudata.com