Mailing lists are always a great idea because they typically lead to more B2C (business to consumer) connection. This is something that small businesses desperately need in order to grow. A mailing list will typically tell your customers about promotions or new services that you’d like to advertise. It can also keep your customer “in the loop” about what’s going on with your company (if you have a blog or a newsletter). These lists are basically around in order for you to say “hi, we’re here!” to your customers.
As you begin your research into how to attain customer mailing lists, you’re going to see a lot of companies offering to sell you names and numbers. This is very convenient for a lot of businesses. With the simple swipe of a credit card, you could have thousands of potential new customers at your fingertips.
Building Consumer Mailing Lists
When you’re looking into mailing lists, there are a couple of ways you can cultivate your own. You can ask your customers to sign up for your mailing lists in person, or you can advertise the list on your social media page. These kinds of tactics are great because your customers are volunteering their information. This doesn’t always work, however. You may be able to get a couple hundred people to sign up for your newsletter or promotions, but it won’t reach nearly enough people to grow your business. And even if you do get a chunk of people to sign up, you may not be reaching anyone new. Part of why mailing lists are so important is because they help you gain new clients.
If you do choose to go the route of buying a consumer mailing list, you need to make sure you’re careful. There are hundreds of companies online that claim to offer thousands of potential new clients for “x” amount of money, but not all of the companies are trustworthy. Oftentimes, mailing lists are purchased only to fail because none of the customers live in the same area as the business. Mailing lists can also feel if certain audiences aren’t targeted. For example: if you own a donut shop, you want your target audience to be people who will actually buy donuts. But if you have a company that sells you a mailing list of senior citizens who don’t drive, you’ve wasted your time and money. Your ideal target audience may be parents or young professionals. You want to make sure that whoever you hire to provide customer data knows what you need.
3 Things You Need in a Data-Providing Service:
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They know how to provide you with the right target audience.
If you own an automotive company, it might be nice to buy a client list filled with auto-enthusiasts. You need a company who can provide that kind of mailing list. A company like DataMasters (469-549-1800) specializes in target audiences. That means that when you purchase a mailing list, you’ll be able to email potential new clients.
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They know how to provide you with different kinds of mailing lists.
Eventually, you may want to venture outside of email marketing. There are many, many different ways to market yourself and your business, and some of them may be more effective than others for you. It’s always good to work with a service that will allow you to try multiple aspects of advertising. There is phone marketing, ringless voice mail marketing, “snail mail”, social media phone lists, IP digital advertising, and more. The time of the year can also alter how you’d like to advertise. During Christmastime, many companies choose to send out print mail. Your marketing strategies may differ depending on the holiday.
You also may want to start advertising with businesses. That requires online business mailing lists. Not every data-providing service can offer something like that. Whatever your needs, it’s important to find a company that can provide you with options (not just email)
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They care about your success.
When you’re deciding on who to buy your mailing lists from, check out their testimonials. Does it look like they care about their clients? Do they have customer support available if you need them? Do they offer free consultations? These are the kinds of things that show whether or not this company is going to provide you with a true service. Things like this are very telling about whether or not you’ll be getting your money’s worth.
You also need a company that’s going to work with you from start to finish. If you’re accidentally sent the wrong contacts, you need to be able to get ahold of someone who can help. If you’re unsatisfied with your service, you should be able to get someone on the phone to rectify the situation. This is no small amount of money you’re spending, and you get what you pay for. Paying for a higher-quality service that offers discounts is one of your best bets.
Another thing to keep in mind is that, if it works for you, a mailing list is something you will be using for years to come. You’ll be using that same list every time you create new promotions or any time there are events at your business. If you’re active online, you’ll be sending an email out every time you write a newsletter. This is one of the biggest reasons why you want a mailing list that you’ll appreciate moving forward.
Let’s review some of the benefits of consumer mailing lists:
- Builds connections
- Targets your specified audience
- Keeps customers “in the know” about what’s going on with your company
- Business promotion
- Customer loyalty
- Generating excitement about upcoming promotions
- Business growth
Now that you’re armed with some of the basics, you’re ready to look at hiring a company to provide you with that perfect mailing list.
