Statement Printing

So far, in this series of blogs focused on the use of databases in direct mail marketing, we have learned why databases have a huge impact on the success of direct mail marketing campaigns, that a customer database is the most important database you can have, as well as discussed how to create a customer list for a customer database. Today, we will talk about the information your database should include.

In Chapter 2 of “Successful Direct Marketing Methods,” Bob Stone lists the “essential” information your database needs to contain. Below I have included some of the items Stone lists in his book.

- A unique identifier such as an ID or match code
- Name and title of individual and/or organization
- Mailing address, including ZIP code
- Telephone number
- Source of order, inquiry, or referral
- Data and purchase details of first transaction
- Recency/frequency/monetary transition history by date, and by amounts of purchase, by product (lines) purchased
- Credit history and rating (scoring)

Now that you understand why you need a customer database and how to create a customer list for the database, you can begin creating your own personal database. Bob Stone’s book is a great resource to reference when attempting to do so.

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In the past couple of blogs I have discussed the importance of databases in direct mail marketing. So far, we have learned that a “customer database” is the most important database for your direct mail marketing campaign. But before you develop your customer database, you need to make sure that you’re taking the right steps to create your customer list.

In Chapter 2 of “Successful Direct Marketing Methods,” Bob Stone explains why creating a customer database with your own customer list is much more effective than using a list compiled by someone else. “An organization’s own customer list, especially when enhanced as a database, is most productive and responsive. This is because of the special relationship – or goodwill – that any organization enjoys with its own customers. It is not uncommon for a house list to be four or even ten times as responsive as an external list with which there is no customer relationship.”

Instead of buying a contact list for your next direct mail marketing campaign, mail to the customers you already interact with. If you’re already sending statement printing and invoice printing, why not include direct mail pieces with discounts and special offers? This way you can maintain a relationship with past customers and encourage them to make future purchases.

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In yesterday’s blog we discussed the importance of database marketing when creating a direct mail marketing campaign. Since there are different types of databases that can be created, you might be wondering which one is the most important; the one that will have the biggest impact on your direct mail marketing program.

In Chapter 2 of “Successful Direct Marketing Methods,” after defining database marketing and explaining its importance, Bob Stone goes on to say that a customer database is the most important database in a direct mail marketing campaign. According to Stone, “A customer database will enable you to cultivate your customers through continuity selling and cross-selling. It will also enable you to develop statistical profiles, even by product preference, and thus create more customers like those you already have.”

Creating a customer database is extremely important in direct mail marketing. By doing so, you can target an audience and use the information to make decisions about future mailings. With a customer database, you will have a much better chance of finding customers and keeping them coming back year after year.

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If you’re in the process of creating a direct mail marketing campaign to market your product or service, you’re probably busy making decisions about images, colors, and envelopes. You might be planning a direct mail piece in the form of a card mailer, postcard, or even in the statement printing and invoice printing you already send out. Although these are all important factors that contribute to the success of your marketing campaign, make sure that you’re spending just as much time and energy on your database marketing.

In Chapter 2 of the book, “Successful Direct Marketing Methods,” Bob Stone explains the role of databases in direct mail marketing. According to Stone, a database allows you to target an audience as opposed to mailing a direct mail piece out to just anyone. Stone says that “Databases describe customers in terms of their individual as well as their response characteristics. They relate past actions by customers to their future preferences in order to fit promotions to needs and add value to customer relationships. They enable profiling of prospects.”

With the help of databases you can target an audience and ensure that your marketing dollars are being well spent. Even though the color and images that make up your direct mail piece play an important role in catching the attention of the recipient, if the recipient has no need for your product or service, the direct mail piece is pretty much worthless.

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