When, How and Why Marketers sometimes wonder about the validity and importance of list testing. There are a number of pitfalls, according to List Consultant Craig Huey, which you should consider and which may enable you to avoid some mailing catastrophes that have happened to other mailers. Make sure your mailing list broker has checked that the test segment of a list you are using is not an over-used test tape. For example, there have been cases where the computer house will take a 5,000-name segment out of a field of 30,000 and simply used those 5,000 names for every mailer who orders a test. This, of course, tends to wear out that segment and may not give you a true reading of the list. If you have doubts, order an odd quantity for a test such as 6,500. This will force the computer house to generate an original list segment. What about pretesting? Only if you’re a major mailer (several hundred thousand names or more)—and then only with caution. What is pretesting and how do you do it? If you run a merge-purge program with a list against your house list and notice less than 20% duplication, the chances are the list will not work for you. With experience, mailers learn that, in their case, this percentage may vary up or down, but it appears to be a valid general rule that if there is practically zero duplication on the file, the list will not work for you. If there is no duplication, you’re better off not using the list, even if you have to pay the list rental costs anyway. (Some owners may allow you to pay only the computer running charges in this instance…you could negotiate this in advance.) On the other hand, if there is a large percentage of duplication, you can be relatively confident this list will work for you. In the consumer marketplace, there are usually a number of lists from which to choose. Use at least five different list segments and 25,000 names to determine if a package or test variable will work. If you use fewer, you’re probably shorting yourself of adequate marketing information. If you chose only two lists and they didn’t work, you’d tend to conclude the package is a failure. In fact, if you had tried a couple more lists, it could have been a success. A fluke in results or a poor choice in list selection could fold a project, while testing one or two additional lists could signal a success. Finally, don’t give up on a list too soon. If your list broker knows that it has been a good list for others, it could be that it’s not working for you because of something to do with the mailing package or other variables. If a list works for related mailers, do plan on a future re-test, with a different type of offer and different timing.
InfoMat, Inc. |
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