Direct marketing has a proven track record of getting profitable results. Whether by mail, email, or even SMS message, placing a personalized message directly in front of a consumer has repeatedly been shown to lead to conversions and profit.

The tricky part is putting together a good list of prospects to use in your mailshot. Data is highly valuable, and if you’re starting out in the direct marketing space, how can you possibly compete with established players with access to comprehensive, extensively tested lists? The answer is to buy in a ready-made database by using the services of data brokers whose job it is to collect, sort, test, clean, and target customer data from public and non-public sources.

The Advantages of Buying List Data

Buying list data from a broker offers many advantages for a business looking to get a quick start in a direct marketing campaign, including the following:

– Quality data brokers will supply clean lists, with current information on live customers.
– The legalities of opt-in and data protection will have been taken care of already.
– Buying a list is vastly quicker than building your own.
– You can choose to have pre-qualified data filtered to your own niche, demographics, and other requirements.
– Many data brokers can help with the logistics of mailshots or broadcasts if necessary.
– Once you’ve bought the list, it’s yours to refine and improve with every use.

The Disadvantages

However, there are a few notable drawbacks to taking this approach. None are insurmountable, but it pays to be aware of them before committing resources to a campaign.

– Unless you pay extra for an exclusive license, your list may also be being used by other companies, even direct competitors, making it harder to gain attention.
– No matter how carefully the list is put together, success rates are unpredictable compared to a well-used and refined list of your own.
– Early uses can have a very high attrition rate, meaning you’re left with fewer eventual prospects than it first appeared.
– High-quality data can be expensive.

Whatever business you’re in, contacting potential customers directly is often more successful and profitable than scattergun advertising, but has a higher cost of entry when it comes to compiling suitable data. Using the services of a data broker company allows you to concentrate on your own product or service rather than diverting resources into drawing up useful lists.