There are two broad categories of lists: internal (house) and external (outside) lists. Internal lists include customers, former customers, subscribers (to services, magazines or newsletters), former subscribers, donors, former donors, inquirers and more. An internal list is going to be the most valuable for several reasons, including:

Customers cost less - It costs eight times more to obtain a new customer than retain an established one.

More responsive audience - Your house list is five to ten times more likely to respond to your campaign than any other list.

It's free - You own the data, so you can do with it as you wish, without incurring additional costs.

Has hidden value - Use an internal list for profiling and analysis. Knowing who the best customers are can help you identify other "like-kind" businesses to pursue.

Ideal for email marketing - With the increase in email regulations and spam filters, it is recommended to focus your email marketing efforts on current customers using your house data.

Know as Much as You Can

For business to business companies, the type of information or data you have about your customers will include:

• Address and telephone number
• Amount(s) of their transaction(s)
• Date of their transaction(s)
• Their primary type of business

You should also collect the following:

Email address Number of employees Sales volume Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)

How they market Who their customers are Key competitors Hobbies, birthdays, etc.

Having the names of your customers will be essential for personalizing your marketing. You should also know the titles and functions of the individuals primarily responsible for buying what you are selling. Several titles may be involved, since many business to business purchases involve buying teams (e.g. chief operating officer, plant engineer and purchasing agent).

For business to consumer organizations, there are various characteristics that you will want to know. Depending on your industry, you should be capturing the following information about your customers: age (exact vs. inferred), children, income/net worth, home ownership/rental, length of residence, geography, marital status, education, interests/lifestyle, ethnicity/religion, vehicle, etc. Creating a well-defined customer profile is essential to marketing success.

The more you know about your customers, the easier it is to speak to them one-to-one. This is the key to relevant marketing.

Update Frequently

To maintain and even improve the value of your house list, you'll need to manage it. Implement a documented maintenance plan to periodically cleanse your existing data. Consider having your list run through the National Change of Address (NCOA) or CASS Certification software. These recommended processes improve address accuracy and deliverability rates - saving you time and money, while reducing waste.