Your list or database is the single most important part of any direct marketing campaign – after all if you don’t know who you’re talking to, how will you know what to talk about?

Experts gauge that about 40% of the success of a campaign will be down to targeting. That’s a big percentage riding on some names and addresses. Here’s how you can work that list.

Keep it clean – your database that is. When you have your list you need to look after it, think of it as your goose with the golden eggs. Your list is a mine of information and depending on what’s on your list you can use it in multiple ways. In its basic form it will tell you who you are posting to and where they live – so far so good – as personalised direct mail always makes customers feel that bit more loved.

But sometimes you know the customer isn’t always right – check the address is correct in the first place. How many times have you accidently mistyped the ‘O’ as ‘0’ or you’ve hit the ‘G’ instead of ‘H’ on your keyboard or worse still – used a touch screen because they have a mind of their own. Customers are no different, but you can validate addresses and postcodes with the Royal Mail’s Postcode Address Finder.

Check that the data you have is as up to date as it can be and that there are no duplications and make sure your list goes through suppression processing. This checks whether the people who you think live at number 29 Acacia Road actually still live there - 80 year old Mr Davies might not be interested in 18-30 holidays to Ibiza. Equally important is making sure you bereavement process your list. 

Keep adding to your database. Every nugget of information is vital in converting potential business. Do this for everyone on your list and you will start seeing trends and patterns that will help you make decisions about what, when and how to offer something.

‘Quality not quantity’ and ‘size doesn’t matter’ well they’re not just sentences to pacify the insecure, they’re true. Your list could circle the Earth but if 50% are deceased or ‘not at this address’ and another 30% are under the age of five then your list is pretty useless.

But one of the things you absolutely must do is keep your list legal. Repeat offenders of unsolicited mail can end up paying thousands in fines or in jail – so go check that list.