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Poor data raises marketing costs

To ensure direct mail campaigns are as successful, you need to work with the best available data. Many direct marketers find their databases out of date, which diminishes the effectiveness of their efforts. Poor data raises costs, often leaving marketers with less money to launch campaigns, according to Trivia Marketing. Address correction and verification software can improve the deliverability of your mailing efforts.  

How much are marketers spending on direct mail data right now? Citing research from the Winterberry Group, Direct Marketing News reported that U.S. companies will spend $11.5 billion on marketing data in 2015. While email data spending increased 35 percent and display marketing rose 21 percent, direct mail still commands the bulk of data spending with more than $9 billion. Marketers are still utilizing direct mail, but it's crucial to have the right mailing information. Addresses can be incorrect because customers may move or data can be corrupted as a result of human error. One accidental change within your database can prevent a direct mail piece from reaching the intended recipient.  

Why is data-driven marketing taking off?
Although Internet advertising allowed companies to significantly expand their reach, the growing emphasis has been on getting to know customers on a more personal level. Targeting messages to the right customer at the right time will become even more important in the near future. However, it's a marketer's greatest challenge when the message can't reach the right recipient due to incorrect contact information, rather that's an email address or an out-of-date mailing address for direct mail campaigns. 

“Keep your data clean for better campaign results.”

Protocols to keep your data clean                                                                                                                                    Direct mail marketers need to put data protocols in place to ensure contact information isn't decaying over time. In addition, you have to be sure individual records are not duplicated resulting in the same person receiving multiple copies of the same mailing, which isn't a good use of your marketing budget or customer experience.  Keeping accurate data ensures you can use the same list longer.                                                                                                                                                     

It's important to update transactional data as often as possible. Every time a customer makes a purchases, add this to your records to ensure they don't receive a promotion for the same product they just bought, iMedia Connection stated. Direct mail can be a highly personalized channel, but your records need to reflect customer interactions. Have customers responded to prior campaigns? Track this information to find the best ways to market to them in the future. Direct mail marketers can implement campaign-specific phone numbers or URLs to determine how many recipients are engaging with the materials.                                                                                                                                                    

Address correction is by far the most important step in keeping data up-to-date. Campaigns will be far less effective if they don't reach the right individuals' mailboxes. This step can reduce bad data and human errors, which allows you to make the most of your direct mail budget. 

Implementing data protocols not only keeps your data clean, but it also helps your clients feel like you know them.