What to Ask When Buying a Marketing List

I am sure you will be able to relate to this one. You have a new email campaign that you want to tackle but your current email list performance has gotten tired and you need to draw in some new fish to the net. You like the idea of purchasing a list but there are soooo many list companies out there, how can you tell the professional ones from the amateurs, do they throughly scrub their lists and are the contacts you're purchasing indeed the target market and unique decision makers you need to be addressing?

After searching for some help on Marketing list shopping I found a great article by Chris Golec, titled "Eight Questions to Ask When Buying a Marketing List". Golec offers some great insight as to what questions to ask and let's you know what answers these companies should be offering back.

Here are just a few notable questions you may have not thought about asking but he says you should be and why.

1. What makes your data unique?

There are many data providers out there, and many pull from common sources, such as Dun & Bradstreet/Hoovers, Jigsaw, or Infogroup. It is important to ask what makes the data in the list you are considering unique, and then determine whether it will complement your current database and serve the campaign you are considering.

If the provider partners with leading data companies, find out whether they also pull from smaller publications and data companies that might help to "fill in the blanks" on their business contact records.

2. How often do you refresh your data?

It's important to know how often your data provider adds names to its database, but it is perhaps even more important to know how often names are removed from the database and what steps are taken to prevent "dead" names from being added back in.

Don't be impressed by claims of "tens of millions" of contacts unless you can verify that the list vendor is actually removing out-of-date information from its system in a timely manner. You shouldn't care about millions if your target audience is just a few thousand people.

In a best-case scenario, the provider runs quarterly checks of its contacts in the database, both to verify the validity of each business contact and to give these contacts the opportunity to opt out of inclusion in the database.

3. How do you handle inaccurate data?

No matter where you get your data, some churn is inevitable, even in the most accurate and highly marketed lists, especially in a down economy. A key factor in handling inaccuracies is to work with your provider to establish some sort of "return policy" in advance of the purchase, if there is not one currently in place.

If you are purchasing an email list, for example, the "hard bounces" after a mailing can be a terrific basis for establishing your list of inaccurate contacts. If you send an email and it is not delivered, the recipient's system typically sends back some sort of notification as to why. A "hard" bounce is when you receive a notification that the nondelivery is due to a permanent condition, such as the intended recipient is no longer at the company. A "soft" bounce is when the notification indicates the nondelivery was due to a temporary condition, such as a full mailbox or an "out of office" situation.

Ideally, the vendor you use for your email campaigns will be able to differentiate between "hard" and "soft" bounces, and the proof of a "hard bounce" is a great basis for handling returns of inaccurate data. Vendors will usually offer a full credit for all business contact data proven to be incorrect, as it helps them maintain database accuracy.

4. Do you remove or credit duplicates for contacts I already own?

A common frustration when purchasing lists is acquiring contacts you already have in your database. Make sure your data provider has some sort of system in place to remove or to credit back contacts you already own, and, if you are a repeat customer, remove contacts you may have already purchased from the provider previously.

Contact providers often track your purchase history so that you will never buy the same contact more than once. In addition, some provider systems can integrate with CRM software to automate the de-duplication process—saving marketers valuable time and money.

5. How are your lists targeted? Do I need to pay for any filters to refine my list?

Some data providers charge you to run filters against their database that help you to target your list to your specific needs. For example, if you were looking for a list of marketing contacts at software companies, you might be charged $300 to remove all nonsoftware companies and another $300 to target the marketers.

An advanced filtering system will allow marketers to zero in on contacts based on geography, industry, industry specialty, seniority (level of contact), department, functional role, and more. The top-tier providers will individually "score" each contact in the database against your specific needs so you can build highly targeted lists.

Data companies charge for filtering to discourage any activity that may reduce the size of the list they are trying to sell. Be aware of both the costs associated with building a more targeted list and the hidden costs to your reputation and response rates if you don't filter your lists and market to contacts who are not in your "sweet spot.

In the end you want to find a list vendor who uses best-practices to ensure their list of contacts allow the distribution of their contact info and that these vendors continue to have a conversation with their contacts in the database so they can choose to stay in or opt-out of the vendors list database.