Reaching Out

Critiqued by Cowboytf | November 16, 2007 .

I previously mentioned the other day that I had my own e bay business but what I didn’t talk about, was my ever growing list of buyers. I always made sure to add my buyer’s email and mailing address to my own mailing list so when I had a future promotion, I could email everyone to let them know. On occasion, I would also send out flyers to let customers know of upcoming specials for holidays and such. Well, this is great and I do recommend it, however, it can take forever to get a good list. It’s a lot of hard work and extremely time consuming. If I could do some things over, I would opt to buy mailing lists instead. Of course, buying quality lists are essential. When trying to find the right place to get your list from, look for these things first.

Licensing- Database licensing gives you greater targeting flexibility.
Databases-See what type of databases are offered. This is important so look to make sure there is a database that relates to your business. Example: If you are in the real estate business, you would want a new homeowners database.
Free Quote-If they have a free quote offer, take advantage of it. This can tell you if it’s worth the time and money to invest.
100% Guarantee-Look for it. If they don’t offer it, run!

Finding the right company can offer you fresh data at the lowest price possible and can make your next marketing campaign successful. You can use direct marketing for your on or offline business but sending promotional or advertisements through snail mail is a better option in my opinion. Email marketing can easily get trashed by but having something in hand will stay around longer. What I mean, is it’s much easier to press delete than actually throw something away. Many people will leave their catalog, flyer, brochure lying around which makes for a better chance of a conversion. They may not look at one day and then next day say, “This sounds interesting”. Get my drift?

In conclusion, you want to have a more personal relationship with the consumer/potential buyer. It makes them feel safe and they will be more likely to buy from you. In order to have this relationship though, you must have a list.