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Data Quality Critical as Postal Rates Increase May 14th
With the postal rate increase coming in May, businesses who run direct marketing campaigns will need to ensure that their data quality is at the highest delivery level. Data cleansing can prevent companies from wasting thousands of dollars on mail sent to undeliverable addresses. Sending mail to the correct address will:
• streamline direct marketing campaigns
• reduce undeliverable-as-addressed mail
• increase response rates
Maintain and clean your database! Clean your list today for only $2.50 for every 1,000 records, 24-hour turnaround, $75 minimum order.
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AccuTips editor Carolyn Petrie explains how cleaning, enhancing and filling the gaps in your house files will increase their value and your profits.
What details are missing from your database right now that could boost customer sales, prospecting and lifetime value? You may be surprised. In fact, almost every company's customer and prospect database has certain gaps:
Phone numbers with no addresses
Outdated information
Valuable insight into your market area, such as flagging seasonally-occupied or vacant homes
Missing details that could change your marketing and messaging strategies, including demographics such as homeowner, online households, presence of children, income level, marital status and more
In addition, many house files contain data that is long out-of-date. Data hygiene services (sometimes called “scrubbing” your files) are an important facet of any direct marketing campaign. By improving deliverability, it saves you money on printing, mail-house fulfillment, postage and more.
Why is address hygiene so important? Studies have found that on average, up to 20% of records within a typical house file are undeliverable, seasonal or vacant. In addition, up to 5% of records are identified as small- to mid-sized businesses, which may or may not require different messaging than a consumer campaign.
Here's a prime example of the net benefits of data hygiene: AccuData America was enlisted to improve deliverability on the in-house database of a well-known Internet service provider. By identifying address errors, seasonal and vacant addresses and businesses in residential areas, AccuData found that of its client's 243,752 records, 67,000 were undeliverable. This simple hygiene process cost the client $700, yet the company realized $9,000 in savings on just one direct mail campaign alone. The company found the process so valuable, it has deemed the service a standard procedure to use before every campaign.
Increase ROI with Data Enhancement
Looking for another way to increase the effectiveness of your house file? Take the time to learn about the people behind those records. When you know who you're dealing with, you know how best to approach them. Step one: Enrich your data with appended information. Here's just a few examples of popular appends provided by the most reputable data marketing firms:
Add postal addresses to records that only contain e-mail addresses. Or add phone numbers, names or business titles to your current files
Add revealing consumer details, so that you can target your messaging for a higher response. You can find out whether your records include homeowners, parents, members of particular ethnic groups, or even customers who are connected to the Internet.
Add revealing business details, including SIC codes, sales volume, business site type (for example, headquarters or branch office), number of employees, or contact names.
How Data Hygiene and Enhancement Boosts Your Bottom Line Sales Results
Saves you money on printing and mail-house fulfillment
Allows you to control mailing waste and save on postage
Gives you the opportunity to target your selling messages to the right audience at the right time
Opens up new channels to reach your consumer or business customers using the methods they prefer
Drives higher response through more specific, personalized offers (as opposed to generic, one-size-fits-all promotions)
Helps build loyalty programs that drive up lifetime value
Leads to more profitable prospecting, through modeling and forecasting
Data enhancement and hygiene can open doors to new sales opportunities, make your marketing efforts more efficient and cost-effective, and help you get the most return on investment for any campaign. Clean house for the new year. You won't regret it.
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AccuTips editor Carolyn Petrie can be reached at petrie911@mn.rr.com.
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Press releases are one of the most cost-effective ways to get promotion for your online business. Many entrepreneurs ignore this type of promotion because they don't know how to write a press release. It's important to promote your online business with press releases because of the media all over the internet. The following is a list of some common press release writing tips:
- your press release should sound like news, not an ad
- you should only send your press release to the media related to the topic of your press release
- keep your press release one page in length
- your header, contact information and release date should be at the top of your press release
- use short sentences and double space in between sentences
- your header and first few sentences should capture the readers attention
- you should tell a story and briefly mention your business, product or service in the body of the press release
- proofread your press release many times. Look for grammar and spelling mistakes.
Another reason entrepreneurs ignore promoting their online business with press releases is because they don't know what's newsworthy. Here are 16 online business press release ideas:
- new products or services you're offering on your web site.
- the results of an online survey or poll you've completed
- a virtual trade show or seminar you're hosting.
- a free chat room class you're teaching
- your opening of a new web site
- an online award your business or web site has won
- a free e-mail newsletter you're publishing
- new online products or services you're giving away
- an online business association or club you're starting
- a famous person that's endorsing your business
- a major joint venture you're doing with another business
- a new book or e-book you wrote
- an expert or celebrity who's speaking in your chat room
- a fundraising event you're doing at your web site
- a new contest or sweepstakes you're having at your site
- major sponsorships you're doing online
You can get other press release writing tips and ideas by reading other businesses press releases, reading how to publications, talking to experts and visiting other media web sites. I hope this article persuades and helps you to promote your business through press releases.
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