by Carolyn Carlson, Carlson Consulting
According to industry marketing experts, roughly 25% of a database grows stale over one year, and 40% after two years. Termed as the "rot rate", data and lists can degrade records over time. For example, records can change when individuals move, get married, change jobs, buy new homes, undergo a divorce, retire or die.
When reconnecting with an "opt-in" audience who is familiar with your business brand or micro-target a specific marketing niche, it is important to update as many records as possible to ensure your records remain accurate.
- Pay attention to any data entry errors or typos.
- Eliminate duplicate records or households that have several different names within one address.
- Keep an eye out for missing contact data (i.e., a street name without correct numbers or missing numbers, wrong zip code, or four digit zip code instead of a five digit zip code.)
- Fix incorrect area codes for phone numbers. There are area code splits which fall into two or three geographies.
- Look for street addresses with no suite or apartment number. Customers may forget or purposefully omit this info which makes it more difficult for the post office to deliver the mail in a timely manner.
- Update/remove mailing addresses of deceased individuals. Failure to update records is lost money and can be interpreted by a family as being insensitive or lazy. Identifying a new contact will help to protect your brand.
- Obtain correct formatting for global addresses. Global contact data comes in different address formats and many postal code systems.
- Determine whether an address is residential or business. Many shipping companies charge a higher price for residential deliveries.
These are just some of the tips which overall will add up to boosting and positively expanding your outreach and online communications. Check back in a few weeks when we discuss the top ten tips for outbound email broadcasting.
According to industry marketing experts, roughly 25% of a database grows stale over one year, and 40% after two years. Termed as the "rot rate", data and lists can degrade records over time. For example, records can change when individuals move, get married, change jobs, buy new homes, undergo a divorce, retire or die.
When reconnecting with an "opt-in" audience who is familiar with your business brand or micro-target a specific marketing niche, it is important to update as many records as possible to ensure your records remain accurate.
- Pay attention to any data entry errors or typos.
- Eliminate duplicate records or households that have several different names within one address.
- Keep an eye out for missing contact data (i.e., a street name without correct numbers or missing numbers, wrong zip code, or four digit zip code instead of a five digit zip code.)
- Fix incorrect area codes for phone numbers. There are area code splits which fall into two or three geographies.
- Look for street addresses with no suite or apartment number. Customers may forget or purposefully omit this info which makes it more difficult for the post office to deliver the mail in a timely manner.
- Update/remove mailing addresses of deceased individuals. Failure to update records is lost money and can be interpreted by a family as being insensitive or lazy. Identifying a new contact will help to protect your brand.
- Obtain correct formatting for global addresses. Global contact data comes in different address formats and many postal code systems.
- Determine whether an address is residential or business. Many shipping companies charge a higher price for residential deliveries.
These are just some of the tips which overall will add up to boosting and positively expanding your outreach and online communications. Check back in a few weeks when we discuss the top ten tips for outbound email broadcasting.
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