What is a list broker? List brokers do not own lists but make independent list recommendations based on your target market. From there the broker will order the list and have the owner supply it directly to you or your mail-house.

What is the difference between rental and purchase?  Rental means you use the data ONCE and then delete it (should someone respond to your campaign, they can be added to your database and re-contacted). Purchase allows you to retain ownership of the data and use it as often as you wish. 

Do I need to provide a copy of what I am sending? Yes you will need to supply a copy of your mail piece, telemarketing script, fax message, email or SMS message depending on the type of data ordered. This and only this can be sent to the people on that list.

How does the list owner know if I use the data more than once? Each file that is supplied by the list owner will contain a small number of false records that the list owner will monitor. If the data was rented and the list owner receives a second mail piece, they will then invoice for a re-use of the data (or in some cases invoice for 10 times the original cost per 1000).

What does personalised and non-personalised data mean? Personalised data means you will receive a person's name with the data you are receiving. In some cases lists do not capture a person's name (especially business lists) and this is known as non-personalised.

Where do the lists come from? Lists come from a variety of different sources including surveys, complied from researching/calling companies, commercially available customer files, subscriptions lists (in particular email), and public domain information such as the internet and annual reports.

Do these lists get updated and what about the list I receive?   Each list owner will have their own internal update cycle which will generally be around 3-6 months. Some lists are updated every day whereas others may be once a year. It is impossible to have a 100% accurate list as the list owner relies on the information they receive being accurate and this is not always the case. The list you yourself will receive will not be updated (a small number of list owners can offer this service however).

What is the setup fee and do I pay it each time? Most list owners in Australia charge a setup fee (generally $300) each time an order is placed. It is an administration fee which covers making selections based on your request and extracting a file, which is then supplied to the mail-house for processing.  All new orders will incur a setup fee.

What is in-house delivery and mail-house delivery of data? In-house delivery means the data is sent straight to you. Mail-house delivery sees the data sent to an independent mail-house.  Some list owners will not allow in-house delivery of data.

Do these lists comply with the Privacy legislation? Yes, the lists that are commercially available and recommended by Remington Direct are fully compliant. Your mail piece MUST contain an opt-out clause for the recipient of the letter (or email, fax, phone call). Once a request is made to be removed, you must facilitate that request and have them removed from that list by contacting us.

How does the Do Not Call Register (DNCR) apply to me? If you are ordering a consumer or business list that contains phone numbers it will need to be washed against the Do Not Call Register. This can be performed by the list supplier prior to dispatch but we recommend you doing this yourself as your wash is valid for 30 days so it's best to run the wash as close as possible to the commencement of your calls. Please note even if a business has illegally registered on the DNCR it is still against the law to telemarket to them if you are not a DNCR Act exempt organisation.

What is an opt-out clause? This is a brief message that asks the recipient of your offer to indicate if they do not want be contacted by you again in the future. All people making this request should be recorded and kept as a 'Suppression file' so that any future campaigns you undertake can exclude these individuals.

Can my current customers be excluded from these lists? Yes most list owners can have your existing customers excluded from the list you receive but extra charges do apply.

How does the deliverability guarantee work? Most lists will have a deliverability guarantee on their data (generally 95%). This means that if you receive more dead mail (or email bouncebacks, incorrect phone or fax numbers) than this amount, you will incur a refund. You must send the returns back to Remington Direct within 30 days of data delivery to be eligible for a refund. Here is an example...       

What sort of response rate will I get? As with any marketing activity, you will only know this after the campaign is over. Response rates can vary from 0% to 100% but will generally be around the 0.5% - 5% range. The quality of the list certainly plays a major part in your success, but the number one factor is the strength of your offer.

If you have another question CLICK HERE