Home page of Advantage List Marketing

 

Advantage List order process

LIST ORDER PROCESS

DATACARDS

Datacards are sales tools used by list vendors to sell their lists. Datacards should only be used as guides. The counts, selections and pricing may NOT be accurate.

COSTS

  1. List costs on datacards or quoted are based on one time usage unless otherwise specified. One time usage refers to one mail piece to be mailed to each record on the list one time.
  2. Most list owners require second or multiple uses of a list to be approved and ordered separately.
  3. List costs should always be confirmed at time of order. These costs include the base price and all selection charges.
  4. Output and shipping charges can be estimated. These costs can range from $25.00 to $150.00 per list.

COUNTS

  1. Counts based on selection criteria should be run before placing orders. Counts usually take 24 to 48 hrs. Each list vendor has different systems and capabilities to run counts.
  2. The more selection criteria used in combination will lower the counts.
  3. List counts are sometimes run on separate systems than list orders. Therefore, the counts that you have run can be different than the counts you get when your list order is run. It is IMPORTANT to always view counts as ESTIMATES unless otherwise noted.

SAMPLE MAIL PIECES

Most list owners require that you submit a sample of your mail piece for approval before processing of your list order. The "List Owner Approval" process can take anywhere from 1 hour to 5 days depending on the list owner. The earlier in the process a sample can be provided the better. Samples can be sent to all lists being considered without any cost. It is a good idea to have more lists approved than lists ordered.

ORDER QUANTITY VS. MAIL QUANTITY

Based on the number of lists and the type of lists order these quantities can greatly vary. If one list is ordered, than the order quantity and mail quantity will be similar. When multiple lists are ordered, then duplication rates must be taken into consideration. Duplication rates can vary anywhere from 0 - 35%. Duplication rates are affected by several factors. Tight geographic and vertical market selections can raise duplication rates.

OUTPUT FORMATS

Availability of output formats vary among list vendors. Most provide the lists via email or FTP. Others may be limited to tape or diskette. Most mailhouses prefer FTP or email. It is important to be specific on output formats at time of ordering.

KEY CODING

We recommend that key coding records be done during the data processing function, not by individual list vendors. By centrally key coding all lists, you can be assured that the key codes are uniform.

LIST ORDERING CHECKLIST

  1. List or Lists
  2. Quantity
  3. Geography
  4. Key Codes
  5. Format
  6. Selections
  7. Delivery Date
  8. Shipping Address