Many businesses just don’t know where to begin when it comes to acquiring legitimate and profitable leads. One of the growing trends we’ve been seeing in obtaining these leads has been the purchasing of contact lists provided by third-parties. These lists are compiled based on any number of factors including market segment and industry profession.
A great resource to purchase one of these lists from is Florida DBPR, which has contacts for all state licensed professionals. Green Group Studio can help you acquire similar lists, and works with specialized list purchasing companies to help you to nail down a targeted list through key aspects including household income, region and consumer interests to better optimize your return on investment.
Reaching Out:
Once you have a potential list of customers and contact information, it’s time to reach out to them via methods such as phone, email or snail mail. No matter what method you end up going with, if you’re truly serious about reaching out to customers and keeping track of your points of contact, using a Contact Relationship Manager (CRM) is necessary. CRMs will be discussed in another blog post, along with how we offer the Vtiger CRM for FREE to customers who host their website with us.
Calling:
Purchasing telemarketing lists has become a much more difficult task as homeowners unplug their landlines and sign up for “Do Not Call” lists. However, there are a number of companies who sell telemarketing lists that are compiled using a variety of factors to help you target only the most profitable of leads.
Conversely, businesses are not eligible to be listed on the National DNC list. Using the telephone to reach out to potential customers can help establish relationships and work as a great additional point of contact when sending out target mailers or e-blasts. Green Group Studio can help you put together a list of the most important factors to look for when purchasing a telemarketing list.
Email:
The purchasing of email address lists has entered into the gray area of email marketing as “honeypots” or SPAM traps have become more efficient in identifying spammers and destroying their email deliverability and IP (emailing server) reputation. However, there is another cost effective option that allows you to garner leads based on consumer interest in YOUR product or service. Creating and maintaining a permission-based email list is proven to increase your ROI and improve customer loyalty because your marketing efforts are being directed at current or prospective customers who have voluntarily chosen to receive info about your company or products.
These opt-in lists are a compilation of users who have purposefully subscribed to receive email notifications and newsletters from your company. After you’ve collected a quality list, you can seek out an email provider like Constant Contact or Mail Champ to help you automate your messages and provide you with useful insights. Email marketing allows for the easiest segmentation of users, email frequency and topic preferences. Furthermore, with proper email marketing, you can get statistics on your open rate and deliverability. You can also set up a “drip campaign” where you can dynamically email users based on their behavior, including re-emailing those who did not open your initial email campaign. If you need assistance in setting this up, feel free to reach out to our friendly staff via our handy chat feature, or by calling us at (561)594-7336.
Snail Mail:
When it comes to sending out physical mailers, you can also purchase lists, or you have the ability to use EDDM – also known as Every Door Direct Mail. The beauty of EDDM is that you can select individual areas and neighborhoods—more specifically, mail routes that you can deliver a mail piece to. A drawback of this method is that there is a per-drop fee, and there are very large limitations for what you can send. For instance, it is important with direct mailers to ensure that whatever you’re sending—flyer, promo box, postcard, etc.—will fit within a standard mailbox, otherwise it will have to be folded by the mail carrier, or they will be forced to leave it at the post office for pickup, thereby ruining your first impression to prospective customers.
Sending out direct mailers can be a very effective use of marketing dollars — especially if you have a wonderfully designed piece. It should be noted, however, that this type of marketing is a more effective solution when used by businesses who specialize in business-to-consumer (B2C), versus business-to-business (B2B). B2B is better reached through a well-planned SEO and pay-per-click (PPC) campaign,discussed further in a later blog post.
It is important to remember that your direct marketing campaign is only as good as the leads you’re sending it to. A list of quality, highly-targeted prospects will garner your company more attention and retention than larger, more general lists. Contact Green Group Studio today for help on finding and purchasing lead lists, creating opt-in email marketing campaigns, and for designing attention-grabbing direct mailers. If you are interested in finding customers already looking for your services, call our office (561-594-7336) and ask to speak with someone regarding search engine marketing today!
