Caryn L. Gray

Custom Prospect Database Solutions – Technology Implications

| Caryn L. Gray

In the third installment of this four-part series on building custom prospect databases, we’ll discuss how customized consumer prospect database systems require changes in how we leverage and apply technology to the process of customer acquisition. Specifically, we’ll explore where prospect databases are hosted and maintained, how data consolidations work if the house file is integrated in the prospecting solution, and how and by whom the “rental” data are accessed.

Custom Prospect Databases: A Revolution, Not an Evolution

| Caryn L. Gray

In recent years, an increasing number of direct marketers are turning to private prospect databases as a means to combat the external forces that spoil their customer acquisition efforts. For marketers who use direct mail to acquire customers, challenges include declining response rates, list fatigue, lack of new names, shortened campaign times, and the need for timely postcampaign metrics. Not too long in our past, we could have dialed up our modeling efforts, but even sophisticated modeling techniques have their limitations against these industry forces.